The release of Ikkis a month after Dharmendra's death will be a bittersweet moment for the director of the film, Sriram Raghavan, who had shown portions of the upcoming war drama to the legendary actor during its dubbing stage.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Sriram Raghavan spoke about how Dharmendra's death is a personal loss, how they talked about films on the set of Ikkis, and how it was reuniting with the actor 18 years after Johnny Gaddaar.
Dharmendra died on November 24, the same day the makers of Ikkis released his character poster from the film. In Ikkis, Dharmendra plays Brigadier ML Khetarpal, the father of 1971 war hero Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, essayed by Agastya Nanda.
Ikkis Director Sriram Raghavan On Dharmendra's Death
"It's a very personal loss... I'm very happy he did the film and he's done a wonderful job. He had seen the film in the dub but I would have liked him to see the film with all the background music, effects and everything. I would have liked for him to be there longer. It's how it is. I'm just glad he didn't suffer," the filmmaker said.
Sriram Raghavan was keeping tabs on Dharmendra's health but he said he never personally contacted the Deol family as he felt it would be "very intrusive".
"We had dubbed with Dharam ji in October, at that time he was ok. We had a chat during the dub, so he saw other portions of the film also and he was talking about it. I didn't expect this to happen. We all prayed and hoped for the best, but..."
Directing Dharmendra In Ikkis
There was hardly any change in Dharmendra, the actor and the person, even after all these years. Ikkis marks their reunion after crime thriller Johnny Gaddaar which released back in 2007.
"He was a little older but he was as flamboyant as before. He loved the camera too much and the camera loved him too. We shot in Chandigarh, Lucknow, Delhi, and Pune. There were a whole lot of locations and it was not a studio-based kind of film which would be easy.
"It was a little strenuous, so he used to get tired and sometimes our schedules are sort of killing. I would tell him, 'Sir, there's one more shot in the scene' and he would say, 'Haan batao'. I knew he was tired, but he would say, 'Ok, ok, let's do it'. And, when the cameras would roll, he would be magic. He was unbelievable," Sriram Raghavan added.
Sriram Raghavan said he and Dharmendra kept in touch even after they finished shooting on Johnny Gaddaar.
"When I had done Johnny Gaddaar with him, it was an ensemble cast and we really got along. We enjoyed working with each other. He was a wonderful human being. We used to talk about films and I used to ask him about old directors, films, and so on. We were very much in touch even after the release of the film. He used to call me and say that he has found a subject for me..." he recalled.
How Dharmendra Boarded The Cast of Ikkis
The director knew he wanted Dharmendra to star in Ikkis the moment he decided to take on the project produced by Maddock Films. Sriram Raghavan, also known for neo-noir action thrillers such as Ek Hasina Thi, Agent Vinod, Badlapur, Andhadhun, and Merry Christmas, said the story of Ikkis came to him by accident.
"This is not my genre and I did not go out looking for it. I was in Dinesh Vijan's office when my co-producer was narrating the story. I was just sitting there and asked, 'Who's doing this story?' They said, 'No one as of now. Are you interested?' I said, 'Give me 5 minutes. Let me just think'. I went out and thought 'Why not?' The story connected with me majorly and the moment I said yes, I knew this was a very good role for Dharam ji."
This was happening in 2018, in the pre-pandemic era, and even before his superhit film Andhadhun had released.
"I narrated the story to him (Dharmendra) at that point of time, and he loved the story. He used to keep asking me, 'When are you making this film?' In between I made Andhadhun and so on. He used to ask me, 'Are you doing this film or not?' I used to tell him, 'We are doing it sir and we are doing it with you'. The first day of the shoot was with him. He felt very emotional about the story and the character. He was on board right from the outset, I didn't have to think for any other option," the filmmaker said.
Ikkis will hit the screens on December 25, a month after Dharmendra's death.
Also Read | Ikkis: Dharmendra On Screen One Last Time, A Month After His Death