FILM INTERVIEW: DHARMENDRA

 

“Acting is not a profession for me--it’s my mehbooba. When she used to get angry and keep me away from her, I used to woo her back, and vice-versa. She was angry with me for a few years, and I am trying to win her back with this film Yamla Pagla Deewana,” Dharmendra, who is now 75, jokingly told the Indian media last week. “The audience will get to watch the Dharmendra of the last 30 years. We waited long for a good comic script. We have tried to do something different here.”

 

Being in such a festive and joking mood, Dharmendra--who had spoken with the reporters in Delhi with his two sons, Bobby and Sonny (both of whom are also in the film)--displayed no signs of physical handicap nearly ten months after being hospitalized in Chandigarh due to chest pains. The hospitalization, coincidentally, temporarily halted shooting of Yamla Pagla Deewana.

 

His jovial spirit may perhaps be accredited to his undying love of being a thespian--an acting career now 50 years in the making. Launching in the 1960 film Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere, Dharmendra set the Bollywood standard for acting excellence. Earning stardom in the 1966 film Phool Aur Paththar, Dharmendra essentially became an icon with leading roles in classic Bollywood films such as Sholay and Satyakam. Even more, the Sikh thespian found unparalleled on-screen success and chemistry with his future wife, Hema Malini, during the 1970s and 1980s.

 

Fast-forward more than two decades later, Dharmendra found similar on-screen success with his two sons in the 2007 film Apne, which performed well at the box office. Nearly four years later, Dharmendra hopes Yamla Pagla Deewana is as well-received by fans of Hindi cinema.

 

“After Apne, we wanted to make the audience roll with laughter. Yamla ... will be a muscular comedy with three macho men,” Dharmendra excitedly told reporters. “In 2007, I made Apne with Sunny and Bobby. People were very happy to see us together. So I decided to gift them another film, casting all three of us, in this new year. Apne was a very emotional movie with a sports background. People loved it. This film has lots of comedy, action, and also few good emotional punches. So this time, we hope to bring a smile on people’s faces and tears in their eyes.”

 

A 50-year veteran in India’s most prolific film industry, Dharmendra has seen his fair share of smiles and cries.

 

“It has been 50 years that I am part of the Hindi film industry. The only force that drives me even today is the love and support of the people,” the actor candidly informed the press. “I am thankful to them that, even after 50 years, they have not thrown me out of their hearts. And I know I will be there in people’s hearts forever.”

 

Once considered among the ten most handsome men in India, Dharmendra probably earned his place in the hearts of his fans, not because of his dashing looks, but instead because of his noble roots followed by his steady rise to fame and fortune from the Punjab village of Sahnewal to the glamorous streets of Mumbai.

 

“I dreamt an impossible dream. As a child, I saw a dream of becoming an actor. Then, before I could realize … I got addicted to films. It was very hard to make it to the film industry in those days, especially for a boy coming from a middle-class family,” Dharmendra recalled. “But my every breath was desperate to fulfill my dream. I didn’t see any film till Class 8th; my parents were very strict. When I was in Class 9th, the first film I saw was … Shaheed, and I was spellbound.”

 

Ever since, scores of men and women have been spellbound by Dharmendra’s grand persona both on and off screen. Naturally, the actor is hopeful his hoorah continues into 2011 with this week’s release of Yamla Pagla Deewana, a riotous comedy directed by Samir Karnik set to open on January 14th.

 

Beyond Yamla Pagla Deewana, the first quarter of 2011 will truly be a family affair for the acclaimed actor who has several lifetime achievement awards to his credit. In addition to co-starring with his two sons in Yamla Pagla Deewana, Dharmendra is also expected to be seen in multilplexes again in March, when he stars in Tell Me Oh Khuda, which was coincidentally directed by his wife, Hema Malini, and co-stars his daughter, Esha Deol.