Veteran actor Dharmendra was recently on the popular TV show Aap Ki Adalat for promoting his upcoming film with sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol – Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se. The ‘He-Man of Bollywood’ was all bindaas on the show as he spilled the tea or rather lassi on his journey in Bollywood.
On several segments in the show, the actor revealed his relationship with alcohol and recalled several instances that gave the audience a good laugh. In his iconic role as Jai in 1975 film Sholay which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) and Hema Malini, Dharmendra revealed that a cameraman named Jim used to have 7-8 beers throughout the shooting every day without fail. He admitted he would drink up from his open beer cans while Jim was busy shooting sequences. However, after a few days, Jim found out and the two had a hearty laugh over it.
Dharmendra also mentioned how he once felt the urge so bad that on the sets of his 1987 film Aag Hi Aag, he mixed beer in lassi in order to avoid being noticed that he was drinking at work.
“I was shooting for Aag Hi Aag, it was afternoon time and I felt like having a beer. I asked this young man to get me a lassi and make sure that there is a lot of froth on top (so that when he mixes the beer, the beer’s froth doesn’t show). But my co-star Moushumi Chatterjee figured it out that I was drinking but didn’t tell me. She was like – What are you drinking? And I replied, it’s just lassi. But she wasn’t fooled as asked for a sip. At which point, I smiled and admitted that I had mixed beer in it,” the veteran actor said candidly.
The 82-year-old was asked how he is still healthy even after being known as the ‘biggest boozer in Bollywood’, the actor replied in his own unique style. “I have a very strong liver,” he added.
