Farewell Veeru...

When he was not breaking hearts with his gentle smile, he was breaking bones of baddies with his “dishoom” biceps. And then there was his comic timing that left the audience bathed in mirth.

Dharmendra was the rare star packing it all in a 65-year career with no full stops. Machismo, sensitivity, charisma. And classic handsomeness. Sprinkled with stardust and wrapped in tinsel, his was a career that spanned every kind of movie – from intense Satyakam to romantic Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi, from boisterous Sholay to wholesome Chupke Chupke.

Dharmendra, the man who more than anyone else perhaps embodied a certain goodness and wholesomeness, died on Monday at his Mumbai home. He would have been 90 on December 8.

In 2023, when he was all of 88, he romanced Shabana Azmi to great effect in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani — still breaking hearts and evoking sighs to the strains of that evergreen love song Abhi Na Jaao Chhod Kar as he serenaded his lost love. This was an actor who saw the Hindi film industry evolve through the decades, moving from black and white to colour and now the digital age, and ensured that he stayed relevant in each era. His foot firmly planted in commercial cinema, Dharmendra survived the superstardom of Rajesh Khanna and the rise of Amitabh Bachchan, making sure his space was all his own.

He was Garam Dharam and the original He-Man of Hindi cinema with the marshmallow softness of the fairytale hero.

Dharmendra, who acted in more than 300 films, was often called a ‘Greek God’, a tag that hid a sensitive artiste just a little eclipsed by his macho man roles.

“I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don’t know what it means to be a Greek god but people used to call me one,” he said with characteristic modesty in an interview.

Dharmendra was born Dharam Singh Deol in Nasrali village, Ludhiana district of Punjab on December 8, 1935, to an idealistic school teacher. The family moved to Sahenwal village after his father’s transfer when Dharmendra was just two. In 1958, Filmfare announced a nationwide talent hunt. The young Dharam decided to try his luck, won the contest and packed his bags for Mumbai.

The first film he signed was Bimal Roy’s Bandini opposite Ashok Kumar and Nutan. While waiting for the movie to begin, he found it hard to make ends meet and worked in a drilling firm for Rs 200 a month to survive.

The first break came in 1960 with Arjun Hingorani’s Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere in 1960. The debut was not a success. But he did get noticed.

After a series of films, including Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Haqeeqat and Kaajal, came stardom with the 1966 film Phool Aur Patthar opposite Meena Kumari.

That same year saw him in Anupama, his first film with Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The director, who imagined Dharmendra differently from the rough screen persona of several of his other movies, went on to cast him in Majhli Didi, Satyakam, Guddi, Chaitali and, of course, Chupke Chupke where his his role as botany professor Parimal Tripathi won immense love.

Dharmendra the superstar bloomed to his full potential in the 70s and 80s when another big name was on the horizon: Amitabh Bachchan.

He teamed up with Bachchan in Chupke Chupke. And also memorably in Sholay where their roles as Jai and Veeru came to define male bonding. In later decades, Dharmendra slipped into character roles.

There was no escaping the unrelenting spotlight on his personal life. He was married to Prakash Kaur. They have four children – sons, actors Bobby and Sunny Deol, and two daughters Vijeta and Ajeeta.

In 1980, the actor tied the knot with Hema Malini after allegedly converting to Islam, a claim Dharmendra denied. The couple share daughters Esha and Ahana.

Also a Padma Bhushan recipient, Dharmendra dabbled in politics briefly, winning the Lok Sabha seat from Bikaner on a BJP ticket in 2004.