Dharmendra travelled third class to Mumbai to participate in contest, was afraid he won’t get reimbursed: Shatrughan Sinha

Dharmendra started his career in the movies in the year 1960 and at the time, he had just won a contest by a film magazine that promised him a debut film. While that film never happened, the contest became the reason for Dharmendra’s arrival in the city, and eventually, his career took off. In a recent interview, his friend and colleague, actor Shatrughan Sinha shared that when Dharmendra was called to participate in the contest, on the basis of his application, he was told to board the first class compartment in the train, as the magazine promised to bear his expenses, but Dharmendra was quite skeptical about the whole arrangement.

In a chat with Aaj Tak, Sinha shared that when he decided to join the movies, Dharmendra was his inspiration as he too, had come from a small town in Punjab, and established himself as a movie star. “He came to Mumbai without any contacts or anything. He was called for the talent contest. He was told by them to come in first class and they said they would bear all the expenses. But, he was so cautious that he came in third class, that in case they don’t bear the expenses, he wouldn’t be able to afford it,” he shared. Shatrughan said that despite the promise. Dharmendra travelled in third class compartment for he wasn’t sure if they would actually pay his travel allowance.

Shatrughan recalled another incident and shared that Dharmendra was once rejected as he didn’t look “like a hero.” “He was rejected as he was told that we don’t need a footballer, we need a hero. Dharamji himself told me this story,” he said and added, “At one point, he was called one of the ten most handsome men in the world. And he was fired, saying he looked like a footballer. Even though there is nothing wrong in being called a footballer, it was the way he was told.”

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Shatrughan said that while the moniker of ‘He-man’ perfectly fits the late star. He added that he should have been called the ‘Dream-man’ as well as he gave the youth the power to dream. “He was correctly called the ‘He-man but it wouldn’t be wrong to call him the ‘Dream-man’ too. I thought the same thing that if he can do it, so can I,” he said and added that even after his selection at FTII, he would wonder what he would do next, and just then, he would think of Dharmendra. “He gave the younger generation hope and encouraged us,” he said.

Dharmendra passed away at 89 in Mumbai.