Dango and Sahnewal, two nondescript villages in Punjab's Ludhiana district situated more than 30 kilometres apart, have one thing in common -- Bollywood's He-Man Dharmendra. And now they are united in grief over the passing of the showbiz legend.
The star with a 65-year career spanning 300 films died in Mumbai on Monday at the age of 89.
As the news of the legend's death flashed across news channels, Dango and Sahnewal slipped into deep mourning.
Born in Nasrali village in 1935, Dharam Singh Deol and his family shifted to Sahnewal and settled there after his father, Kewal Kishen Singh Deol, a schoolteacher, was transferred there.
While Sahnewal is mostly identified with Dharmendra, people of Dango, which is the ancestral village of the late actor, also have fond memories of him.
According to Dharmendra's friend Parminder Singh, the actor would meet people here like an ordinary villager, shedding the aura common for a Bollywood megastar. "He made us feel that he was like any one of us," said Dharmendra's friend, who is now in his eighties.
Ganshyam Lote recalled that despite being quite busy in Mumbai, Dharmendra never forgot Ludhiana, and Sahnewal in particular.
Once, some land owned by the actor's family in Ludhiana was illegally occupied. However, with the support of the local administration, he managed to get it vacated, Lote said.
While Dharmendra did not visit these places much of late due to his advanced age, locals attest that if anyone from these villages tried to meet him in Mumbai, the actor would gladly comply.
A lot of people said Dharmendra was so fond of Ludhiana that he would, at times, delay his work schedule to attend to people from the district.
Dharmendra also had a deep connection with Phagwara. His father, Kewal Kishen Singh Deol, taught in Arya High School at Hoshiarpur Road in Phagwara and lived in the Sarafan Bazaar area, and the actor used to visit him.
Prof Manjit Kaur Riyat, who was a tenant in that house, ultimately bought it. "He was a thorough gentleman and very respectful in his interaction with me," she reminisces.
Part of the Bollywood legend's schooling and his initial college days were in Phagwara.
Dharmendra visited his family friends -- the Parmars -- in Phagwara on January 12, 2006, spending about three hours there, meeting his old associates.
He also visited the house in Sarafan Bazaar where his father stayed. He sat on the parapet like he used to do so often in his youth before he left for Mumbai in 1959.
Gurdas Ram, a noted 'Hakeem' in Phagwara, was the maternal uncle of the Bollywood legend. Ram hailed from nearby Lakhpur village but later settled in Phagwara. Notably, eminent Punjabi film actor Varinder was Dharmendra's cousin.
The actor, who would have turned 90 on December 8, was not keeping well for a while and was in and out of a Mumbai hospital, with the family finally deciding to continue his treatment at home earlier this month.
He was married to Prakash Kaur. They have four children – sons, actors Bobby and Sunny Deol, and two daughters, Vijeta and Ajeeta. In 1980, the actor tied the knot with his frequent co-star Hema Malini after allegedly converting to Islam, a claim Dharmendra denied. The couple shares daughters Esha and Ahana.
He was a member of the Lok Sabha from Bikaner in the 14th Lok Sabha, representing the BJP.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)