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.
Maddock Films announced Ikkis on Dharmendra's 86th birthday in 2021.
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 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 of any other option," the filmmaker said.
Haqeeqat To Ikkis
Sriram Raghavan, a self-confessed film geek, has several posters of movies from across the world in his home study. One of the posters is that of 1964's Haqeeqat, another war drama also starring Dharmendra. Based on the 1962 India-China War, the film was directed by Chetan Anand and is widely regarded as one of India's greatest black and white war-films.
Haqeeqat starred Dharmendra as Captain Bahadur Singh, a keen young soldier who is in-charge of his platoon in Ladakh. This was one of the earlier films of Dharmendra, who had started his film career with Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere just four years ago at the time.
Was there any conversation about Haqeeqat between the two cinephiles on the set of Ikkis?
"We had lots of chats about Haqeeqat and many other films. When we began this film (Ikkis), one of my associates for my birthday, so I said 'Wow'. These are old posters and quite rare and probably expensive. We got it signed by him and we spoke about the movie, how they were shooting and we spoke about Chetan Anand.
"Dharam ji was a new actor when he did the movie and he's wonderful in the movie. I think this is probably the best war film made in India. I always well up listening to the song Kar Chale Hum Fida. I have watched the film several times. I even watched Haqeeqat during the making of Ikkis," Sriram Raghavan said.
Ikkis has "shaped up well", said the director, adding Dharmendra doesn't have a guest appearance in the movie.
"He has got a substantial role in the film. It's almost like a journey from Haqeeqat to Ikkis. It's very overwhelming for me. There's a lot of emotion in the story and now it will be quite crazy watching it. I'm watching him every day because right now we are in the mixing stage. For me, it's a strange thing. He has such a legacy and he will always be with us."
The other cast and crew of Ikkis are also "shattered".
"Whenever he used to be on set, there used to be a whole group around him. He would regale us with stories or shayari (Urdu poems). He used to write wonderful poems in Urdu, I hope some of those are published. In our film, we have also used one of his little poems," added the director.
Dharmendra's Legacy
Dharmendra was a fine actor who had played versatile characters in his career spanning over 60 years in 300 films, and it's a bit unfortunate, Sriram Raghavan said, that the star persona of Dharmendra often overshadowed his acting prowess.
"He has worked with some of the best directors in India. He has done such variety of roles. But unfortunately, he was such a big star and he has done a lot of fun movies, people forget the other gems in his filmography.
"Even when I was doing Johnny Gaddaar with him, I used to feel like Johnny Gaddaar would do to him what Pulp Fiction did to John Travolta. Suddenly, he's back, that kind of a thing! I have great regard and love for him," he said.
Sriram Raghavan is also looking forward to watching Sholay in theatres. The epic action movie, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra as Jai and Veeru, is set to re-release in cinemas in a newly restored 4K version titled Sholay: The Final Cut on December 12, four days after what would have been Dharmendra's 90th birthday.
"Sholay is also coming again, how am I going to watch Sholay now?" said the director, who also has a poster of the Ramesh Sippy classic which turned 50 this year.
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
