The iconic film in Bollywood released almost 48 years ago, Sholay, and that iconic character from the film Veeru—wow, what a perfect and delightful treat to the audience! You must have gotten a flashback of all those characters played by the evergreen actor Dharmendra. This actor, who was recently seen in the movie Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and became viral due to his kissing scene, turns 88 today.
Dharmendra entered Bollywood with the movie Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere in the year 1960, and till date, his journey in the Bollywood film industry has been thrilling and exciting. Do you have any idea how he became an actor and how he entered Bollywood?
In the year 1948, Dharmendra watched the first film of his life in theater, Shaheed starrer Dilip Kumar. He was fascinated by that one character, Ram, played by Dilip Kumar. It was a patriotic film, so its hugeness, Ram’s emotion towards his nation, that freedom struggle—everything was so recent and fresh, which made Dharmendra a fan of Ram. When he got to know about the actor’s name, he fell in love with that name, Dilip Kumar.
After watching that movie, he became a huge fan of Dilip Kumar. And at that time, he decided to enter Bollywood. Whenever Dharmendra talks about Dilip Ji, he says that he has become a star due to the light of Dilip kumar’s success and talent, which he took from him.
Dilip Kumar is the most humble person for Dharmendra, and their bond was so precious, they used to call it ‘Bhaichara’. It’s a very fortunate thing for Dharmendra that he shared the same birthday month with Dilip Kumar.
That one film, Shaheed, changed Dharmendra’s entire destiny; Dilip Kumar became his inspiration, and this young guy back then caught a train for Bombay. And till date this actor has appeared in more than 300 films.