Once Bollywoods most eligible bachelor Dilip Kumar held that title for a long time before getting married at the age of 44. His romance with a woman half his age was what attracted viewers attention in addition to his outstanding performance and film selection. In 1944 Dilip Kumar made his Bollywood debut in the same his wife was born. In fact Saira Banu was only 22 years old when she was his bride. The couple found themselves in a serious situation when the superstar secretly married Asma Rehman 16 years into their marriage. It was through the newspapers that Saira first became aware of the second marriage. She didnt believe it at first but the reality eventually came to light and she was devastated. Dilip Kumar wrote about this traumatic time in his life in his memoir The Substance And The Shadow: An Autobiography. He mentioned that he met Asma at a cricket match in Hyderabad. Eventually what started as a casual exchange between a celebrity and his admirer took a different turn. Later on Dilip learned that their encounter had ulterior purposes. He clarified that Asma who was introduced as a married mother of three was someone he had met through his sisters. He soon discovered that Asma and her husband seemed to be aware of his itinerary and showed up wherever he went. Dilip Kumar wrote I was completely unaware of a connivance that was being mischievously perpetuated and a situation being cleverly created by vested interests to draw a commitment from me. Saira who had total faith in Dilip was shocked to learn that he had married Asma. It was a two-year romance (1981-1983) and a marriage he regretted. Their relationship was severely impacted by this occurrence and Dilip admitted the immense grief he had given her. It read I can never forget or forgive myself for the hurt I caused to Saira and the shattering of the unshakeable faith she had in me. In the end Dilip told Saira about his grave mistake and requested time to formally divorce Asma. When he acknowledged his blunder and requested his ladylove for some time to correct the wrong through the appropriate legal channels and restore the integrity of their sixteen-year marriage the Purab Aur Paschim actor stood by him. Dilip reaffirmed his vow to her parents that he would never consider getting married again in a letter of commitment he signed with Saira before the divorce being finalized. Dilip Kumar felt that he had been a victim of a situation that was set to precipitate a deep crisis in my marriage with Saira after thinking back on this chapter. He believed that the chaos was being driven by a divine purpose and he concluded that the experience strengthened our closeness and our emotional dependence on each other. Saira and Dilip stayed together until 2021 when he passed away.