Only Salman Khan Can Play Me: Dharmendra

Suman Sharma in conversation with the legend Dharmendra.

- Suman Sharma

He has enjoyed more than five decades in the top flight of showbiz. Yet, he’s retained an unheard of simplicity. It’s as if Dharmendra is still a Punjabi lad, shy, soft spoken and amicable. You’d never imagine he was the hit machine that churned out hits in the ’70s and the ’80s like they were live tweets. You’d never guess he is the original action movie icon of Hindi cinema. Someone who will be remembered as the Indian superstar who gave Greek gods a run for their money. To top that he’s known for his penchant for Urdu poetry. What’s more he even pens it.

Even legends have bad days. On one such day, B-town’s original He-Man Dharmendra had an accident. He reveals, “I was stepping in my vanity van when I missed a step and fell down. I dislocated my shoulder, but I am fit now. Sometime back my haemoglobin had gone down. It came down to 6 when it should have been 13. At home everyone was worried. I had become weak.” Dharamji is a positive soul and naturally he sees the good side to bad health too. “Thanks to every one’s good wishes, my life span has increased. Now I am taking care of my diet so that my health remains good.” At 79 he’s fit as a fiddle and the secret he says was his upbringing in the robust environs of Punjab. “I am the son of a farmer. I was a hard working boy. We used to play Kabadi and hockey. Hum kheton mei kaam karte the. Today’s heroes work hard in the gym to earn their six packs; we used to go to the akhada. The food used to be wholesome and nutritious in the village. We have grown up on pure ghee, milk and curds. Even today I take care of my health. That’s why I am so fit at this age.”