A tribute to Dharmendra on his 90th Birth Anniversary In 1966, in a what was to become an iconic scene from OP Ralhan’s Phool Aur Patt...
A tribute to Dharmendra on his 90th Birth Anniversary
In 1966, in a what was to become an iconic scene
from OP Ralhan’s Phool Aur Patthar, a young strapping Dharmendra took his shirt
off to cover a shivering Meena Kumari. It was a defining moment in hindi
cinema. A moment when the macho hero was born. True, there were heroes like
Shyam earlier, and even Dara Singh who appeared tough and swashbuckling in
their screen persona, but the brawny machismo that is oh so common in Hindi
cinema today, came into being with the advent of Dharmendra. The first he-man
of Hindi cinema.
Countless films over the past decades have gone on
to reinforce and firmly establish Dharmendra as the quintessential “Mard”. The
ultimate he-man, the evergreen action star. But somewhere down that tremendous
road of success, another side of Dharmendra has gotten completely overlooked.
Ignored and forgotten. The “sensitive bhodrolok” persona of Dharmendra.
Interestingly enough Dharmendra has shared a unique
equation with some of the top notch Bengali directors of Hindi cinema. It was
Bimal Roy who gave him a break as the sensitive jail-doctor who silently pines
for Nutan in Bandini. His association with directors like Asit Sen (Khamoshi),
Phani Majumdar (Akash Deep), Dulal Guha(Chand Aur Suraj, Dost, Do Dishayen)
have more often than not showcased him in roles devoid of the usual
rumble-tumble one associates his movies with. Even in Hindi remakes of Bengali
films like Naa (remade in Hindi as Devar), Dharmendra shone in his quiet,
sensitive avatar. Dharmendra’s only full-fledged tryst with Basu Chatterjee
(barring cameos in the director's Chhoti si Baat and Swami) saw him essay the
role of a quiet and shy Sanskrit professor, complete with an attire of a simple
kurta-pajama and thick-rimmed spectacles. It was amazing that Chatterjee’s
Dillagi was released in 1978 alongside films like Shalimar and Azaad. Even
Pramod Chakraborty the maker of Azaad, Jugnu and other commercial potboilers
started his association with Dharmendra in the Hindi remake of Bimal Roy’s
Bengali film Udayer Pathey. Naya Zamana portrayed Dharmendra in the role of an
upright idealist, a role it seemed he was born to play.
Dharmendra’s association with Hrishikesh Mukherjee
requires special mention not just for the quality of films the two of them have
worked together in, but also for the type of roles Mukherjee offered him all
through. Be it the sensitive writer of Anupama, or the soft hero of Majhli
Didi, the professor of botany in Chupke Chupke or the college lecturer in
Chaitali, Dharmendra was the quintessential bhodrolok. His undeniablly good
looks added that extra sheen to each of his characters that he portrayed with elan
in his films with Mukherjee. Even when he was cast as himself, the film star,
in Guddi, a soft sensitive endearing side of a larger than life star was what
Hrishikesh Mukherjee managed to make Dharmendra portray. How one wished all
superstars would have a human side to them as Dharmendra did in Guddi. And of
course the absolute stamp of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s vision of Dharmendra as an
actor was put in the masterful association of the two in the iconic Satyakam.
The brilliance of Dharmendra’s performance as Satpriya makes us wonder why and
how he got to flaring his nostrils and shooting his machine gun in countless
mindless movies when he could come up with something like this.
Macho man, Garam-Dharam are titles Dharmendra has
had to live with all his life, throughout his career. Maybe he owes his success
thanks to that image. But maybe somewhere deep inside there might be a tiny
trickle of regret of not being the “bhodrolok” he could’ve been. The sensitive
actor he was destined to be at one stage of his career.
Aaya Hai Mujhe Phir Yaad Wo Zaalim...
By Pratik Majumdar (author: Love Coffee Murder and
1975 The Year That Transformed Bollywood)
No comments