In scorching Bikaner, Garam Dharam stays Cool!

He may pretend to be cool about the issue, but it threatens to blow into a no-show between the Jat and the Dream Girl. Irked by her elusive marital status, Dharam’s second ‘wife’, BJP heartthrob Hema Malini, is now blowing hot and cold about her ‘husband’.

Hema has refused to campaign for Dharmendra, even though she was in neighbouring Jaipur, but the macho Jat covers it up saying he never called her anyway. ‘‘There is no need for Hema to come here,’’ says Dharmendra. ‘‘I want to test my strength and charm to see what I am worth. I don’t want it to become someone else’s victory if I win.’’

Jumping out of his jeep at his first stop in Devikund Sagar, a Jat cluster 30 miles out of the city, Dharam flings his Stetson for a colourful turban the village elders have thrust on his head. After being weighed in gur (jaggery), and an aborted attempt at a political speech (the plug was pulled off in the melee), he jumps back into his cool jeep, to launch into a speech on democracy and dictatorships.

‘‘People have become lazy and loose because of democracy,’’ says Dharmendra, ‘‘and I want dictatorship only as a punishment for them.’’ He is ‘‘inspired’’, he adds, by ‘‘the discipline I have seen in Russia and China…It is what we need today.’’ The fit and fanciful 67-year-old actor, however, admits dictatorships are suffocating and quickly adds that what matters to him the most is ‘‘humanity, love, brotherhood, co-existence among religions and cultured behaviour’’.

So what is he doing in a party that is accused of being communal and of launching a vitriolic campaign against women leaders like Sonia Gandhi? ‘‘I don’t know anything about the BJP’s philosophy nor do I want to know about it,’’ says Dharam, wiping his brow. ‘‘People say this about the BJP and it is wrong if some leaders talk about women like this. I believe religion must be kept within the four walls of your home, and once you step out, your only concern should be your matribhoomi (motherland).’’

Dharmendra’s world springs from his mother’s womb, and whether it is patriotism, nationalism or materialism, it is all conjured by maternal boons: ‘‘My nana lost his job because my mother walked with the tiranga during the freedom movement,’’ says Dharam proudly. ‘‘I was born out of that womb…It was also my mother who asked me to apply for the talent contest in Bombay which made me the star I am today. I owe everything to my mother and motherland and I want to give something back in gratitude.”

While Dharam admits he joined the BJP because of Hema, despite good friend and Congress leader Balram Jhakhar’s protestations, he was also motivated by the good work done by Prime Minister Vajpayee. ‘‘I saw Vajpayeeji shaking hands with Musharraf Saab and that was enough,’’ says the happy Jat from Ludhiana. ‘‘Pakistan is my mausi land and it is important to keep your neighbourhood harmonious,’’ he says.

He has a favourite pick-up line for the voters, and he repeats this from village to village, about 15 stops in a punishing schedule that stretches from 10 am to 10 pm.

‘‘Ram, Ram, Saab,’’ he drawls in an exaggerated Bollywood style, sending the small crowds into whoopee delight. ‘‘I will be your voice and take your problems personally to Vasundharaji (Scindia) and Atalji, whether it is bijlee, paani ya schools, and let me tell you, they will respond immediately.’’

The contest in Bikaner is a straight fight between the BJP and Congress, the latter won the seat in the last election. However, the BJP is confident of victory this time because, partymen say, those who worked against it before are now back in the fold. Says Dharmendra’s chief strategist, Manekchand Sorena, a former minister: ‘‘Important leaders like Devi Singh Bhatti, Ram Pratap Kausariya, Gopal Joshi are all back with us.”

The Congress camp ridicules the claim saying its sitting MP has introduced reforms despite the failure of the BJP state government to fulfill its promises.

But Dharmendra is excited about his new film with Haryana Bombshell Mallika Sherawat. ‘‘It is a scandal kind of film,’’ he laughs, ‘‘but a ticklish comedy. I cannot live without the movies and God has been kind to me,’’ he says, looking heavenwards. ‘‘If I lose, it is obvious I was not fit for this role.’’

His nonchalance is matched equally by the voter’s indifference—Hanutram, a farmer of Katarasia village, shrugs, ‘‘If Dharamji doesn’t deliver, we will vote someone else next time.’’