When Beauty Bowed Before Beauty:-
Just imagine how great would be the stature of the person in front of whose beauty a master actor like Dilip Kumar was feeling small. How amazing that person must have been. Today it is being mentioned because the same Dharmendra, the same farmer of Punjab, the son of Punjab, the same of cinema, has probably quietly returned to the same God in whose name Dilip Sahab had once jokingly complained. Yes, today the news has come that Dharmendra sahib is no more. And when this news came, millions of people were heartbroken. Heartbroken because Bollywood’s brightest star suddenly went silent. That star who never got tired, who never looked old, who always smiled like a friend. Who, despite being a superstar, looked like an ordinary person.
A Star Who Felt Like Family:-
He took away the feeling that we saw in Veeru’s initial laughter in Sholay. He climbed on the water tank and saw his mischief. Don’t dance in front of Gabbar and these dogs. Saw it in Basanti’s anger. It was seen in his values that became the backbone of the Deval family and in the love that beats for him in millions of hearts. Whenever that person appeared on the screen, it felt like he was one of our own. Be it Sholay in youth or Rocky Rani story in old age, every time we felt that this is one of us. Yes, more handsome, a little strong and much more filmy and this was Dharmendra. The biggest secret of Dharmendra’s beauty was his simplicity. Despite being a superstar, Dharmendra did not look like a superstar. Despite being a legend, he did not live like a legend. Even after growing so big, he looked ordinary because he was pure at heart, open and a true person. A person who never forgets decency even after drinking alcohol.
The Man Who Never Pretended to Be Larger Than Life:-
A person who does not become arrogant after loving. There were many ups and downs in his life too. Got hurt several times. His heart was broken but Dharmendra’s heart did not become bitter. And that is why it seems that such people are born less and the grief is greater when they leave. Dharmendra was the one who did not hide his weaknesses even amidst the glamour of Bollywood.Loneliness makes me feel it too. All this was said at a time when talking about mental health was almost a sin. But Dharmendra did not hide his tears. And this is what brings them closer to us rather than separating them.
Born From the Soil of Punjab:-
This is what makes Dharmendra special and that is why today Dharmendra is not there, so it is important to listen to and understand his story. Dharmendra was born on 8 December 1935 in a small village in Firozpur district of Punjab. In a house where kerosene lamps burned. Outside in the fields, the bells of the oxen. Father was a head master. Strictly book lovers. My mother used to fill the house with the fragrance of desi ghee. Dharmendra would go to the fields in the morning and plough the fields and then hearing the whistle of a train somewhere far away, he would think that one day he would sit in this train. Dharmendra was average in studies. But no one could stand in front of him in the arena.
Strength of Body, Dreams of Stardom:-
Push-ups, wrestling, wrestling, such a body that even the villagers would say that he is an amazing person. If you have a body like this, if you are a man then he should be like Dharmendra. Darmand would often listen to Lata Rafi’s songs on the radio and after midnight, looking up at the stars somewhere above, would think that one day too would become like that. Passed 10th in the year 1954. The family members said that now he has got a job in an American drill factory. But his heart was beating somewhere else. One day he secretly took some money home. Picked up the pickle box made by mother. Set out with two pairs of clothes and lots of dreams.
Mumbai: Sleepless Nights, Endless Hope:-
But when Dharmendra’s turn came and the judges saw him, they said, friend, this is a hero. This is a real man. He is a desi man. He should become a hero. And get first film Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere, year 1960. After this, the era started when there was a fight between Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan as to who was number one, but in that era, Dharmendra had become the king of Bollywood. If one has to choose one face from Bollywood from 1960 to 1980, it would be Dharmendra. Because Rajesh Khanna had romantic magic.
The Decades He Ruled Like a King:-
Amitabh had the angry young man but Dharmendra was everything. When Phool Aur Patthar Saar was released in 1966, for the first time a hero was seen on screen without a shirt. The girls in the theatre started screaming. That film made him a superstar. After this the film Aaya Sawan Jhum Ke came. Even today, if you see that romance with Nutan, your heart melts. In Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Jat’s anger turned into a pledge. Mischief in secret. Fun with Hema Malini in Sita Aur Geeta. There were 100 shades of the same man. And then in the year 1975, the character which made Dharmendra immortal. In Sholay, Veeru and his character expressing their love by climbing on the tank, Basanti in front of Gabbar saying don’t dance in front of these dogs,even today, to be honest, this is the language of understanding of generations. Even today his song ‘Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge’ is played. Makes people feel friendly. In the same year, he single-handedly took on the entire village in Pratigya. This was the time when whistles and applause would be heard simultaneously for Dharmendra and people would say that this is the man. This is the lion of Punjab.
Sholay: The Immortal Veeru:-
The girls were crazy about his smile. The girls were just one question at the ticket window about their kill. This is a picture of Dharmendra. During this period, Dharmendra fell in love with Hema Malini. Dharmendra was married then. Bobby Deol was the father of two children of Sunny Deol. But love breaks all the rules.In the year 1980, Dharmendra accepted Islam and changed his name to Dilawar Khan. He married Hema Malini for the second time. However, his first wife Prakash Kaur is the mother of Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. He also never got divorced. Prakash Kaur had once said that which man would not slip after seeing Hema Malini.
Between Love, Life, and Relationships:-
However, this greatness belongs to Prakash Kaur ji. But Dharmendra also never left. Both continued walking home. Two sons, two daughters Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and here Isha Ahana, one man, two houses, lots of love, without any noise, without any drama. Age kept increasing but Dharmendra was not retired. He was neither retired nor retired. When other heroes were retiring,Dharmendra was setting the screen on fire. In 2007, it brought together three generations. He had fun with his sons in Yamla Pagla Deewana and in 2023, he played the character in Rocky Irani’s love story, which even at that age, when he came on screen, made all the other stars look pale in front of him. Dharmendra’s hair had turned white. The voice had become slow.
An Actor Who Never Retired:-
But there was the same mischief in his eyes. It was the same smile, the same fragrance of Punjab. And then, early in the morning on November 24, 2025, the phone rings. Someone says that Dharmendra is no more. At first I thought that maybe this time too it was a rumour like last time. But when the truth came out, it felt as if someone close to me had gone away. Now people are sharing old clips of Dharmendra on social media. Someone is getting the heroes onto the tank. Someone is showing Thakur’s revenge. Someone is showing a Basanti scene. Someone is telling stories of Dharamveer. People are crying too but with a smile. This is because Dharmendra never taught how to cry.
The Morning the World Became Quieter:-
Taught me to laugh, taught me to live. However, the truth is that Dharmendra is not dead. The body is gone. The heartbeat has stopped. But how can Dharmendra die? Where does a man who lives in millions of hearts, whose laughter still echoes on TV, whose friendship is still sung among friends, die? Perhaps after Dilip Kumar’s complaint, he has gone to the God who had made him more beautiful than Dilip Kumar. Now perhaps Dilip Sahab, Rajesh Khanna, all of them would be sitting together. Must be sitting together and drinking tea.
Legends Don’t Die—They Change Addresses:-
Maybe he was having fun with Shammi Kapoor. Maybe he might be sharing his experiences with Sushant. Must be sitting with Siddharth. And perhaps Dharmendra would be sitting there joking with Dilip Sahab and saying that Dilip Sahab, don’t complain now. Wherever Dharmendra lives, he will always remain young. The same gold of Punjab will remain the same man. And that’s why today a last salute to Dharmendra. Salute as a fan , salute as a farmer’s son, salute as a human being. Rest in peace Dharam Sahab.