As one of filmland’s favourite men turns 82, we gush a little over the man who chooses to be remembered as “a good human being, rather than a superstar”…

Fairy-tale Life

How often do you hear of a village boy from Ludhiana spotting an advertisement for a talent contest, sending a photograph across and actually bagging his debut film in 1960! “Now when I look back I consider myself fortunate to have worked with the best filmmakers and the most beautiful heroines in the film industry. For a boy from the village in Punjab it was a dream come true.” Who can resist a rags-to-riches tale?

 Simplicity Personified

Stardom couldn’t steal his inherent innocence. As he himself tells it, “I’ve never liked shor sharaaba. I don’t attend parties and don’t throw any. I am a simple man with simple needs. What keeps me going is not fame, fortune or success but the love of the people. I’ve no hesitation in saying I am loved by one and all. That is my greatest achievement…”

Gorgeous Good Looks

Voted as one of the handsomest heroes of the Seventies, he was surprisingly unaffected by the attention. “I wasn’t even aware I was good-looking until I began receiving movie offers for my good looks,” he revealed. Even later generations admitted that he was the handsomest to grace the Hindi film screen. “I think he is one of the most handsome men I have ever seen on screen,” said Madhuri Dixit, while Arjun Rampal, himself an extremely good-looking bloke, believes that the title is Dharmendra’s alone.

The Original He-Man

“I have played and still play a variety of roles, but we Deols definitely have some advantages over others when it comes to doing action flicks,” the veteran actor has laughingly admitted. “In my heyday, I was lucky to have the physique for an action hero. I may not be doing that many films any more. But the love of my people remains undiminished. I was born the he-man of Hindi cinema. I will die the he-man.”

Chick-Magnet!

In his heyday, Dharmendra was known to be an incorrigible ladies’ man. However, he was too much the gentleman to kiss and tell! “I remember all my heroines with much fondness as I am sure they remember me,” is all he has shyly admitted to.

Inherent Honesty

What’s in his heart, is on his lips. Like his disclosure about co-actor Amitabh Bachchan. “Amitabh now says that I recommended him. If he is saying that from where he is now, from such a dizzying height, people will talk about his greatness. He never said earlier that I had recommended him. So now when he says it, people will say he is great, not I,” he has complained, with touching honesty.

Dotty about Dream Girl

Dharmendra chose to uphold his responsibilities towards his wife Parkash Kaur, and converted to Islam to wed Hema Malini. The pair continues to remain pretty much smitten. Ask Dharamji, as Hema calls him, to talk about her and he says, “This is something very close to my heart. So, if I speak about my feelings, it will lose its impact. Main apni dil ki batein dil mein hi rakhta hoon. She is a wonderful person and of course she is still my dream girl — I can say only this much.”

…Need we say more?