Dharmendra: The small-town boy who dreamed of being like Dilip Kumar, bought a Fiat as his backup plan

At a young age, the actor expressed his desire to go to Bombay to his mother Satwant Kaur, who quickly silenced him.

“I want to go to Bombay, Maa. As soon I said this, my mother covered my mouth and said, ‘Son, please don’t say this ever again. Your father will throw both you and me out of the house.’ This upset me. But, she couldn’t see me upset. To make me feel better, she said, ‘Why don’t you send applications to Bombay? You look good, if they like you, they will call you,'” shared Dharmendra on Asian Paints’ show Har Ghar Kucch Kehta Hai.

As luck would have it, Filmfare had launched its first-ever talent hunt. Dharmendra applied for the same. He recalled chanting the Gayathri mantra before sending his photos and details about his appearance to the Filmfare office. Two months later, he received a reply with an all-paid trip to Bombay. This was a dream come true moment for Dharmendra, born to a simple school headmaster, Kewal Kishan. Winning the Filmfare Talent Hunt in 1958 marked the beginning of his journey as an actor.

Two years later, Dharmendra marked his debut with the film Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere. However, it largely went unnoticed and didn’t fare well at the box office. In 1961, he appeared in the film Shola Aur Shabnam. The Ramesh Saigal movie proved to be the actor’s first commercial success, followed by Mohan Kumar’s Anpadh (1962), and Bimal Roy’s Bandini (1963), which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Dharmendra shared in an interview with India TV, “When I started to do a little better in the industry, and was paid well, I bought my first car, a Fiat. However, my brother Ajit didn’t approve of my choice. He said, ‘Paaji you could have bought a better looking car, with an open roof, after all you are a hero.’ I said, ‘We can’t trust this industry. Tomorrow I might not get work. If things go south, I will at least have this Fiat, which I can turn into a taxi and earn a living.’”

But, there was never a dull phase for the actor in terms of bagging roles. With each passing day, his stardom only got bigger and better, eventually earning him titles like ‘Action King’ and ‘He-man’. In fact, Jaya Bachchan said Dharmendra looked like a Greek God in her appearance on Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee With Karan in 2007. Dharmendra is also said to be the actor who started the trend of going shirtless on screen with his characters in Phool Aur Patthar (1966) and Dharam Veer (1977), among others.

ALSO READ | When Hema Malini revealed Dharmendra’s protective influence on daughters’ choices: ‘It’s okay for them to learn dance, but can’t enter films’

Dharmendra was regarded as one of the most good-looking actors of his time, but his mother didn’t think so. He shared on Har Ghar Kucch Kehta Hai., “We were six brothers and sisters. I had an elder brother, Santosh, who passed away at the age of 2. So when I was born, my mother told to her father, ‘Babuji, Santosh was so adorable, Dharmendra doesn’t look as appealing as his brother.”

Dharmendra starred in several box-office hits, including Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Mamta (1966), Anupama (1966), and Aaye Din Baahar Ke (1966). In 1967, he did critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful films Dulhan Ek Raat Ki opposite Nutan, Majhli Didi and Chandan Ka Palna opposite Meena Kumari with whom he shared a close bond.

In 1968, Dharmendra delivered more successful films like Shikhar, Akhen, Izzat, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost. By now, Dharmendra had become a popular face with many hits under his belt. So popular that even Rajesh Khanna’s emergence as a superstar in 1969 couldn’t slow down Dharmendra. He and Manoj Kumar were the only two actors who remained unaffected in the Rajesh Khanna superstardom era.

In fact, the 1970s saw Dharmendra attaining superstardom with films like Jeevan Mrityu, Tum Haseen Mai Jawan, Sharafat, Kab? Kyu? Aur Kahan? Two of these films were with Hema Malini, who he eventually tied the knot, causing a lot of controversy and drama in their professional and personal lives.

Tum Haseen Mai Jawan was Hema Malini’s debut film, and her pairing with Dharmendra proved to be a hit. They went on to make Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, and The Burning Train, among others. While their on-screen pairing was a fan favourite, their off-screen relationship created quite a stir. After all, Dharmendra was a married man with four children (including Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol). He tied the knot with Prakash Kaur at the age of 19, four years before he moved to Bombay. Hema Malini’s father was strictly against their marriage. Despite it all, the couple went ahead and tied the knot in 1980.

His marriage to Hema Malini while still being legally married to Prakash Kaur raised concerns, with many speculating if the actor had converted to Islam. However, in an interview with Oulook in 2004, Dharmendra firmly said, “This allegation is totally incorrect. I am not the kind of man who will change his religion to suit his interests.”

Dharmendra and Hema Malini welcomed two daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.

ALSO READ | Esha Deol says Dharmendra was ‘protective as a male’, didn’t want her to pursue acting: ‘He wanted to keep us more private’

Apart from Hema Malini, Dharmendra was also linked several other heroines in the industry. Once while speaking to India TV, Dharmendra said, “Mard hu, mard agar thoda chanchal na ho, thoda khilandada na ho, toh use mard kehlaane ka haq nahi (You are not a man if you are not naughty).”

Speaking of his naughtiness, Dharmendra was quite the riot on film sets. He would often mix alcoholic beverages in his buttermilk in between shots.

“I was shooting for Aagya. I felt like having some beer at noon. I mixed beer in my lassi. Moushami Chatterjee was my co-star in the film, who understood what I was up to. She teased me in her Bengali accent, ‘Dharmendra, what are you drinking?’ I said, ‘Lassi.’ On purpose, she asked, ‘Give some to me.’ She knew it had alcohol in it. I ended up laughing and confessed it to her, ‘I am having beer’”, said Dharmendra on Aap Ki Adalat.

Over the years, Dharmendra also tried his luck in politics. But the stint was not as successful as his films. Dharmendra was elected as an MP for the Bikaner constituency on a BJP ticket. He served the constituency from 2004 to 2009. The veteran actor calls these five years as the most difficult time of his life.

ALSO READ | When Dharmendra was asked if he agreed with the title ‘biggest boozer of Bollywood’: ‘Mera liver bahot strong hai’

He said, “Getting into politics was never my choice. A couple of them asked me to join by saying things like, ‘There are very few good people in politics; they need people like you.’ This changed my attitude and I built my own bubble where I believed I am everything politics needs. But, it is not meant for an emotional being like me; you need to be thick-skinned.”

“Those five years of my life were the most difficult times. Only I know all the things I have done for Bikaner. But, it so happened that every time I did something nice for the constituency, someone else would take credit for it. I never got credit for anything I did”, the actor added.

Dharmendra was also known for doing his own stunts, which included the actor fighting with a cheetah, working 19,000 feet above ground level with less oxygen and everything in between.

He told India TV, “My duplicate would often get tired so I used to do my own stunts. On the first day of my shoot, they left four huge tigers before me and I was in my jeep. Everyone was scared. Even I was concerned, what if it attacks my face. Yet, I was the actor and I had to do my job.”

The actor recalled an incident from another set. “We shot at the world’s highest road, Khardung La. There was very less oxygen, and many of our crew members fell sick. Our skin was peeling off. We trekked all the way. I was with the actor who played Samba. Even he fell sick, there was no water. I squeezed an apple in his mouth.”

Despite his success, Dharmendra has certain regrets. One of them was giving away the script of Zanjeer, which made Amitabh Bachchan the ‘Angry Young Man’.

“I bought the script of Zanjeer from Salim (Khan) for Rs 17,500. At this time, I was making a film with Prakash Mehra. He was so excited that he requested me that I gave him the film. I did. We were planning to shoot the film soon. But, something went wrong between my cousin sister and Prakash Mehra, who refused to work with her. As revenge, my sister made me promise not to work with him ever again. Due to this, I had to give up Zanjeer. Today, Amitabh Bachchan is known because of this film”, said the actor on Aap Ki Adalat.

Even after six decades in the industry, Dharmendra continues to act in films. He was recently seen in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and Shahid Kapoor’s Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.