'Tragedy King' Dilip Kumar's extraordinary life in pictures

Dilip Kumar, who died on Wednesday aged 98, was a shy Muslim fruit seller who fought early failure and family disapproval to become one of Bollywood's most accomplished and respected film stars.

With Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, he was one of the three big names who dominated the golden age of Indian cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s, enjoying a career spanning more than 50 years and nearly 60 films.

Nicknamed "The Tragedy King" because of his brooding good looks, tousled hair and deep voice, he played the lead in some of the Indian film industry's most commercially successful films of the period, earning him iconic status.

But although a Bollywood legend, he missed out on international fame after turning down the chance to play Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia. The part went to an Egyptian actor, Omar Sharif.

Dilip Kumar was born Yusuf Khan on December 11, 1922 in Peshawar, then part of British-ruled India. His father was a fruit merchant who took his family to India's entertainment capital in the 1930s.

Let's take a look back at his life in pictures: