Phagwara awaits its hero's recovery: The town that Dharmendra never left behind

A wave of concern swept through Phagwara on Tuesday as news broke that legendary actor Dharmendra has been admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. In temples and gurdwaras across the city, his childhood friends and admirers offered ardent prayers for the recovery of the man they have always called their own.

For Phagwara, Dharmendra has never been just a film icon. He is the boy who once walked its dusty streets, the friend who never forgot his roots, and the superstar who returned every time the town called.His closest childhood companions — philanthropist Kuldip Sardana, Harjit Singh Parmar, Advocate Shiv Chopra and members of the Aman Committee — gathered at local temples and gurdwaras on Tuesday to pray for his swift recovery. Many of them have stood by Dharmendra since the days when he was known simply as Dharam — the polite boy with dreams too big for a small town to contain.

The early days

Though born in Sahnewal near Ludhiana, Dharmendra spent his formative years in Phagwara, where his father, Master Kewal Krishan Chaudhary, taught mathematics and social studies at Arya High School. He completed his matriculation here in 1950, studied further at Ramgarhia College until 1952, and then left for Mumbai with a dream that would one day reshape Indian cinema.

“He was soft-spoken, humble, and always smiling,” recalled Senior Advocate S N Chopra, his classmate at Arya High School. “Even then, he had a special spark. Fame never changed his humility.”

“Whenever he visited, he wanted to sit with us, talk about old times, joke, and relive memories,” said Harjit Singh Parmar. “He never came as a star; he came as our friend.”

A superstar who never forgot his town

Despite fame, Dharmendra’s bond with Phagwara never faded. On each visit, he insisted on staying with his cousin Hakim Sat Pal and meeting his childhood circle — Sardana, Parmar, Chopra and Late Aman Committee President Manohar Lal Kaura. Many unforgettable evenings were spent sharing stories about school days, teachers, the old Paradise Theatre, and the changing face of the town.

In a much-loved local anecdote, Dharmendra once revealed that before his acting days, he was rejected for the role of Sikandar in a Ram Lila staged by the Quami Sewak Ram Lila Committee. Years later, as a superstar, he teased his friend Kaura:

“Can I get a role in the Ram Lila now?”

The town laughed — celebrating the boy who reached the top without losing his innocence.

A moment Phagwara will never forget

His deepest connection to the city shone in 2006 when he returned to inaugurate the Gurbachan Singh Parmar Complex, built on the site of the old Paradise Theatre — the cinema where he once watched films as a dream-filled teenager. Standing before thousands, Dharmendra choked with emotion and declared: “Phagwara Zindabad!”

Elders wept, children cheered and for a moment, the superstar was simply a son returning home.

“He and his wife, Parkash Kaur, visited our home and sought blessings from my mother,” Parmar remembered. “He treated us like family, because to him, we were family.”

Prayers for his recovery

Today, his old friends — Sardana, Parmar, Advocate Chopra, and members of the Aman Committee — are leading quiet prayers at gurdwaras and mandirs, hoping to see their Dharam Paaji smiling and healthy once again. Their voices tremble with emotion, but their affection remains unwavering.

Dharmendra’s own words from that emotional 2006 visit echo across Phagwara: “I am a farmer’s son from Punjab. Whatever I am today, I owe to this land and its people.”

To the world, he is a superstar. To Phagwara, he is family.

As prayers continue, one heartfelt slogan rises once more: “Phagwara Zindabad — Dharmendra Zindabad.”