When ‘Bollywood’s biggest boozer’ Dharmendra was caught drinking on set by co-star Moushumi Chatterjee: ‘Main thoda extremist hu’

Besides being known for his acting prowess, charisma and good looks, Dharmendra was also in/famous at one point for his drinking habits — to the extent that he was dubbed ‘the biggest boozer in Bollywood‘ by many, particularly since he was often unable to stop once he started. Interestingly, the actor once opened up about his ‘tryst’ with liquor, while also sharing an anecdote from the sets of Sholay (1975). He also recalled an incident in which actor Moushumi Chatterjee caught him secretly drinking beer on the sets of one of their films.

“If love and liquor didn’t exist, would life even be worth living?” he shared poetically during an appearance on Aap Ki Adalat. Dharmendra also shared a humorous story from Sholay’s production, where he would sneak beers from a crew member. “Our cameraman, Jim, who was working with us on Sholay, had the habit of carrying 5-6 bottles of beers. I would sit behind him and secretly drink from his stock. When the people from the production told him that he had consumed 12 bottles, he reacted baffled, ‘How did it happen? I don’t know!’ One day he caught me. You should enjoy life,” he said. When the interviewer brought up his reputation as Bollywood’s biggest boozer, Dharmendra laughed it off, saying, “Mera liver bahut strong hai!”

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Nonetheless, the legendary actor revealed that he would occasionally give up booze for six months at a time. “Beech mein 6 mahine ke liye chod deta tha, badminton khelta aur sweat out karta tha aur phir shuru ho jata hoon. Main thoda extremist hu (I would stop drinking for 6 months, play badminton, sweat it out and then go back to drinking again. I am some sort of an extremist),” he said.

In fact, Dharmendra’s drinking habits were so extreme that he would sometimes have liquor between takes. Though he tried to be discreet, his co-star Moushumi Chatterjee once caught him red-handed. “One afternoon, I felt like having some beer. I had told them (the production team) to make the beer frothy so that it looked like lassi. When Moushumi saw me drinking, she asked, ‘Aye, Dharmendra, yeh kya peeta hai? (Dharmendra, what are you drinking?)’ I lied saying that it was lassi. She knew I was lying so she asked me, ‘Achcha, thodi mujhe bhi dena (Give me some as well then).’ I burst out laughing and admitted that I was having beer. Beer peene se kuch nahin hota (Beer doesn’t harm you),” he added.