He might be an idol for many, but megastar Amitabh Bachchan says his idol is none other than thespian Dilip Kumar and wished him good health and a long life on his 89th birthday Sunday. “It is a celebration for the greatest, on the eve of his birthday. He will turn 89, the 11th of December. Exactly 20 years older to me by birth and exactly 2,000 years ahead of me in our common vocation.

He is my idol and has been since the day I first saw his work,” Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. Called the greatest method actor of the Indian film industry, Yusuf Khan was introduced to the Hindi film industry by Devika Rani as Dilip Kumar with the 1944 movie ‘Jwar Bhata’.

“He has been an inspiration not just for me but I am certain to thousands of those that have ever dreamt of facing a camera for the art form called cinema. His presence, his aura and his dedication to film shall be documented as ‘before Dilip Kumar and after Dilip Kumar.”