In a very significant way, Bollywood actor Dharmendra, who died in Mumbai on Monday after being ill for a short time, was multifaceted. He mastered both comedies and tragedies with unimaginable ease. Born Dharmendra Singh Deol in a humble Jat Sikh family in rural Punjab, he pushed his way to the higher echelons of moviedom to sink into characters that were mind-bogglingly varied and enormously captivating.
Once a Member of Parliament and the winner of Padma Bhushan in 2012, his private life had masala all right. Despite being married to Prakash Kaur, he tied the knot with “Dream Girl” Hema Malini. Yes, it was not a union Indian law recognised, but Dharmendra seemed not to care. Neither did Hema.
Interestingly, he never divorced Prakash, living famously in a bigamous union and brazenly flouting the law which forbade it. Although his private life did not augur well with prevailing social norms, his brilliance on screen just about erased the black clouds which threatened his peace and wellbeing.
Despite this disturbing patch, his movies made money and endeared him to the masses. Two of his films stand out among his innumerable: Sholay and Chupke Chupke. While the first was considered Indian cinema's defining moment with its violent passages and unforgettable characters, with Dharmendra essaying small-time crook Veru, Chupke Chupke was a rib-tickling comedy in which the star, Dharmendra, although a professor, had to “act” as a driver to meet his lady love.
Dharmendra may not have reached the heights of Balraj Sahani or Dilip Kumar, but he was as endearing as Dev Anand or Shashi Kapoor and brought rare freshness to his roles. As a principled engineer in Satyakam (moving from hope to disillusionment) and a good-hearted crook in Phool Aur Pathar, he was just superb.
And these finally led him to take off his shirt and be dubbed as a “He-Man”, catering to female sexuality. In fact, he was the first Bollywood actor to have clinched this tag. Once he told his biographer, Rajiv Vijayakar, “I only had my dreams...” But they finally got him stardom and the dream girl herself!
Although he dabbled briefly in politics, his heart longed for the simpler ways of life and living, the only exception being acting. He would often go away to his farm, tending to his crops and cows and soaking in the comfort of sunshine and greenery. Power, he never hankered after, nor did he want glory.
What caught his fancy was sheer simplicity and a way of life that had this strange cocktail of romance and ruggedness. After all, he came from a farming family and was proud to call himself a farmer's son. In a journey that spanned six decades and over 300 movies, Dharmendra shone like a star, his boyish charm and infectious smile lighting up the lives of all those who swore by his performances.
