When Dharmendra revealed he longed for more time with sons Sunny and Bobby; opened up about his own father’s strictness: ‘Was scared to death’

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Dharmendra on growing up with a father stricter than him

Many times, Sunny and Bobby Deol have spoken about Dharmendra being a strict father, but during the interaction, Dharmendra admitted how his own father was stricter than him. “My father was stricter than what I am with my kids, but that has made me what I am today. I remember I was in the fourth standard and it was winter. I wanted to sleep next to my father so I told my mother. My father called me and took me in his arms and I started feeling so nice. Suddenly, he told me to recite mathematical tables! I was scared to death. I looked at my mother and started making expressions to her that please get me out of here.”

Talking about a father-son relationship, he had said, “A father’s relation with his son is something inexpressible. I don’t think anyone can exceed the love a father gives to his son. The mother will always protect her son but a father will always be concerned.”

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‘My mother was shocked when I said I wanted to be an actor’

Dharmendra admitted that though he couldn’t muster the courage to tell his father about his ambition of becoming an actor, his mother accepted his dreams. “My father was a schoolteacher. When I confided in my mother that I wanted to become an actor, initially she was shocked. I was fascinated by cinema. When she realised how much it meant to me, she came around. She asked me to send applications to directors in Bombay — she was so innocent she thought you could just apply to become a star,” he had said.

Dharmendra then got selected in a talent search announced by Filmfare magazine. “I was short-listed for a screen-test and then there was no looking back,” he had shared.

‘Wished Sunny and Bobby would spend more time with me’

In another old interview with Asian Paints Har Ghar Kucch Kehta Hai series, Dharmendra shared that he wished his sons — Sunny and Bobby — would spend more time with him. He admitted that this was the same emotion his parents felt when he was the top actor in the industry. He said, “Sunny, Bobby are scared of me. I want them to sit and talk to me. Today, I feel that if my father was my friend, then it would have been so good.”

Talking about memories of his parents, Dharmendra said, “My father would be sitting with his head in his hands. I would ask him if he needs anything, but he told me that ‘I have everything – servants, bungalow – I don’t need anything, but you try and come early from shooting and sit with me for sometime. But I used to hug him and then just leave.’ When I would return from shooting, I would see my mother sitting in the same position and she would give me the same answer. They needed my company. They wanted me to show the same affection towards them that they had shown me in my childhood. I feel the same now with my kids.”

Dharmendra admitted that he feels he should have been less strict with his sons. “Sometimes I feel I should have been a little relaxed with my sons,” he had said.