The Punjabi tadka

Dharmendra,who celebrated his 75th birthday last month,was in the highest of spirits and youngest of moods. “Acting is my passion,” he said,adding,“I can’t do anything else but act. I love being in front of the camera and will continue working as long as I can.” Cheers and applause from his fans at E-Square,where the the father-son duo made an appearance,egged him on. “It was fantastic working with my sons. But,when we are on the sets of a film,we are actors. We make sure that professionalism doesn’t suffer.”

Leaving the critics’ comments aside and instead raving about the audience response,the beefy-looking Sunny was all praise for director Samir Karnik. Even though Karnik doesn’t have too many hits to boast of in his resume,the Deols were confident about him. “Both Bobby and I have worked with Samir earlier. We were sure he could pull it off,and he has,” he said.

The title of the film instantly reminds one of the good ol’ Dharmendra days. The actor smiled,“Yamla Pagla Deewana is a song from my 1973 film Pratigya and it is still fresh in people’s memories. Plus,the title seemed apt for the film.”

Dharmendra started his career with Prabhat Studio in Pune. “I also signed my first autograph in Pune,” he recalled. And just like this city,he names Punjab as his treasure house of memories. “Shooting for this film was like an extended family holiday. We shot for two months in Punjab and what’s better than being with one’s kids in our native state?” he smiled.

Back to the son,who confessed that the promotion tour was a well-thought out strategy. He said,“I have come to believe that promotion of the film is very,very important. We actors have to reach out to people and make them aware about our films. Many of my films have suffered due to lack of promotion,but it won’t happen hereafter.”

The Deols are considering a sequel but after the whole process of screening scripts and storylines. Will an old hit of Senior Deol ever be remade by the sons? Sunny answered on behalf of Bobby and him: “It is difficult to recreate the same magic again. We will never attempt to remake any of our father’s films.”