He came. He saw. He conquered. He ruled. And—he loved.
Dharmendra was no ordinary human being. Such blessed entities, sent to earth by the powers above, are specially equipped to provide not just delight and joy to family, friends, and fans, but also achieve brilliance as well as immortality in their chosen fields.
And who was the professional Dharmendra? Just an actor? Not really. He was a producer too, officially (Ghayal, Barsaat) as well as behind-the-scenes (Samadhi, Pratiggya, Krodhi, Betaab, Sitamgar, Socha Na Tha, Apne, Yamla Pagla Deewana and more) and also a lyricist (in the song Kadd Ke Botal from Yamla…). He put in a lot of his earnings back into the industry that gave him so much, also building the Sunny Super Sound studio complex.
And what about Dharmendra, the person, who, on his own admission, came to Mumbai (that too via the only talent contest then—the Filmfare United Producers’ Talent Contest) to own “just a flat and a Fiat (car)”?
A Star Who Stayed Human
This simple young man, born to schoolteacher Kewal Kishan Singh and wife Satwant Kaur in the peaceful village of Nasrali in the Ludhiana district of Punjab and raised in Sahnewal, grew up to be fond of the movies, and despite becoming a mega-star still remained rooted in his village ethos.
“The simple peasant in Dharmendra’s persona never really left him,” said Sharmila Tagore, his co-star in seven films who also shared his birthdate—8 December.
The actor went through many downs from the early 1990s and even took to B-grade cinema so that he could continue to make money for his household (where at any given time, many relatives from Punjab would be in residence!), finance the making of a proposed studio in Khandala, and later invest in building a farmhouse there.
Yet, it was definitely not just the human race that he cherished: his overwhelming affectionate nature embraced flora and fauna as well. Till the end he was active on ‘X’ and would occasionally post pictures of his interactions with the animals there.
Love was his weapon, his philosophy, his mantra, and almost his metier. Ever a philosopher at heart, his interesting personal life brought out the poet within him in 2007 at a ‘young’ 72 years, and he began to spin free-flowing poetry, encompassing not just his deepest personal feelings but also truisms of life. “Hoti hai taarif ahmiyat ki / Insaniyat ki magar qadar hoti hai (The world praises important people, but it is humanity that is valued)” was a incisive two-liner he penned.
When I got the great honour of writing his biography, Dharmendra: Not Just A He-Man, he gave me access to his treasury of those priceless poems to pick and choose for inclusion in my book.
Emotional and human were the prime characteristics of this man who found resonance in fans of all ages as friend, lover, son or father.
During his struggle phase, he was very close to Manoj Kumar and Shashi Kapoor, also strugglers then. When Shashi fell seriously ill in 2011, the two decided to visit their old “yaar” at the hospital.
But on the planned day, a picture of Amitabh Bachchan visiting Shashi appeared in a leading daily, and Dharmendra called up Manoj to drop the idea! “My film (Yamla Pagla Deewana) is on release, and people will think I want the publicity if we are photographed!” he told him.
I first met Dharmendra when he loved an article I wrote on his life and career in India-West, an American paper for which I was correspondent. He took the trouble of calling their office (he was in the US for the Apne premiere), taking my number and calling me at 9.30 am India time to lavish praise on me, saying that of “5,000 articles and interviews on me”, my story had touched his soul.
It was weeks before he returned, and since then, we met multiple times for interviews and even at events. Every meeting, whether lasting two minutes or 40, saw a nostalgic reference to “tera India-West ka article!”
When I told him that I was writing a book on him, he blessed me and met me specially for the book, besides sharing some photographs. When I later asked him points over the phone, he was equally enthusiastic. When the book released, and I called him up, he said, “Tu mere baare mein kuch bura thode likhega? (Will you ever write anything negative about me?)"
The Magnificent Talent
I for one, am very sad that he—along with the whole world and his fraternity—would have celebrated his 90th birthday just a fortnight from now. Such a magnificent talent deserved this at least. What makes me sadder—in fact, very angry—is that in our industry, understated and natural performances are not recognised as great and the actor I idolised as one of our most natural (and Dilip Kumar has certified that!) talents never received any Best Actor award.
But I am happy that Dharmendra never left any film incomplete. His last film, Ikkis, with his Johnny Gaddaar director, Sriram Raghavan, releases in his birthday month on 25 December. His latest releases were Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani in which he also enacted several classic songs from his times, and Teri Baton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, a hit and a success respectively.
The variety in Dharmendra’s oeuvre is mind-boggling. There was no role the man could not do. From a cop to a doctor to a smuggler to a villager to a ghost, Dharmendra essayed all with great panache and enviable effortlessness.
A random enumeration of the crème-de-la-crème of his work would include Ayee Milan Ki Bela (his first negative role), Phool Aur Patthar (his true breakthrough), Anupama, Jeevan Mrityu, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Pratiggya, Chupke Chupke, Dharam-Veer, Ghazab, Apne and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
His heroines again were testimony to his surpassingly long acting career of 65 years, spanning the biggest co-stars from five generations from Meena Kumari to Rati Agnihotri. Wife and co-star of over 20 films Hema Malini once revealed that he had even planned a coffee- table book comprising pictures of all his heroines. When I had met her for my book, she told me, “Accha hua tum book likh rahaa hai! Woh bolta rehta hai, kuch nahin karta! (Good you are writing a book. He is one to talk, but never do anything.)”
The cream of directors cast him at least once, from Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee to Karan Johar and Anurag Basu. His music was also special, if low-profile. Easily one of our most musical stars, Dharmendra had the cream of his songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, among over 150 popular songs and hits, with Kishore Kumar and Mukesh ranking next. 28 singers sang for him and the maximum songs were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and written by lyricist Anand Bakshi, together and separately.
The finest human beings are those who dole out love, and receive it back in full. And Dharmendra’s love will never be forgotten by all those who have experienced his affection.
Just as we will never cease to love him.
((Rajiv Vijayakar has been an entertainment journalist for over thirty years, and has won the National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema for 'Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal'. He has twice been on the National Film Awards Jury and is the author of Dharmendra's biography, 'Not Just A He-Man'. He was also on the Oscar selection jury for 2025. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)