Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has described Dilip Kumar as ‘Mahanayak’ of his generation. In a condolence message, Koshyari said:

"Dilip Kumar was the first super star of Indian cinema. He represented the Golden era of Indian films. So fascinated I was by his Mughal-E- Azam that I saw the film back to back twice. Unfortunately, I didn’t watch any film thereafter and Mughal-E- Azam remained the first and the last film I watched.

The Indian film industry is undoubtedly the most popular in the world. The credit for this success goes as much to film stars like Dilip Kumar as it goes to great filmmakers, Directors, lyricists, technicians, musicians, playback singers and others. Dilip Kumar was a legend. Nobody can take his place. To me he was a Maha Nayak. I pay my respects to the memory of the departed soul and convey my deepest condolences to Smt Saira Bano and numerous admirers of Shri Dilip Kumar.”