Dharmendra – A Beautiful Man

Dharmendra – A Beautiful Man

If Madhubala presented stunning looks and a vivacious smile, Dharmendra's face seemed unreal, almost as if he was transported from the other world. If a shirtless Salman Khan captured the imagination of the country in the '90s in a liberalised India, Dharmendra had the nation's hearts in `tatters` when he `exposed` in Phool Aur Patthar (1966) in an India which was conservative at its core, yet seeking a cultural liberation of sorts. In a way perhaps Dharmendra has been his own man – both in reel and real life – doing stuff that he believes in.

My hero Dharmendra recently turned 80. It is incredible that after over fifty five years in the industry, he inspires people with stories of how beautiful he looked when he started his career and how beautiful he continues to be as a human being. The macho man from Punjab has the incredible distinction of being counted as a superstar despite never really having been counted in the league of a Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan.

When the Rajesh Khanna wave hit the country in the late '60s post the 1969 release of Aradhana, he catapulted himself to a league which has never been reached by anyone before and after. While Amitabh constructed a solar system of sorts with all other planets (read stars) revolving around him, Dharmendra continued to occupy a space of his own. In fact, while everyone else in a Bachchan movie was a sideshow, Dharmendra enjoyed equal screen space even when Amitabh ruled the roost – as can be seen in the 1980 release Ram Balram. It is a tribute to the legendary status of Dharmendra that even at the peak of Rajesh Khanna's success, in the 1971 Hrishikesh Mukherjee-directed film Guddi, he played himself, whom the protagonist Jaya Badhuri is in love with.

Dharmendra arrived on the scene looking like a Greek God, stunning people with his looks, the kind normally reserved in God's Creation Factory for women. If Madhubala presented stunning looks and a vivacious smile, Dharmendra's face seemed unreal, almost as if he was transported from the other world. If a shirtless Salman Khan captured the imagination of the country in the '90s in a liberalised India, Dharmendra had the nation's hearts in `tatters` when he `exposed` in Phool Aur Patthar (1966) in an India which was conservative at its core, yet seeking a cultural liberation of sorts. In a way perhaps Dharmendra has been his own man – both in reel and real life – doing stuff that he believes in.

Dharmendra as an actor has never been counted in the league of the greats, but is accepted as a legend of Indian cinema. History of Bollywood cannot be written without a significant mention about his contribution to the cultural paradigm that Hindi films present for society. He has brought to his repertoire sensitivity, machoism, comedy and romanticism. While he portrayed a kind of sensitivity in Satyakam (1969), a landmark film in his career, which still touches a chord, his macho personality and `kutte, kamine` dialogues have become his trademark. His penchant for comedy can be seen in films like Chupke Chupke (1975) and Sholay (1975), in which the mausi scene has become a national slogan for anyone struggling to get his love to agree for marriage. His romantic connection with Hema Malini in both reel and real life is not just an event, but a landmark of sorts in Bollywood. One of the industry's most talked about pairs acted in over forty films together.

While as an actor, Dharam Paaji will always be remembered for taking on the bad elements on screen in his inimitable style, to not recognise and acknowledge his range as an actor is injustice to an artist who from humble beginnings rose to be a superstar investing over fifty in an industry that still reveres him as a Greek God. To turn out performances of the kind he did in films like Bandini (1963), Satyakam, Charas (1976) – another landmark film in his career – Ankhen (1968), Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973) and many more are testimony to his ability to enact roles that require more than just average ability.

When reflecting on the life and work of this legend, Dharmendra may not be counted amongst those who belong to Bollywood's school of acting. But there is no denying that he embellished the canvas of Bollywood with both panache and a personality that will continue to endear him to his fans for as long as Bollywood thrives. It is a tribute to his stature in Indian public life that fans even today look forward to a Dharmendra release and can't stop themselves from admiring a man with over fifty years in front of the camera still bouncing with energy and goodness.

Dharmendra is not just a superstar in his own right, but also a beautiful man – both in face as well as heart.