Legendary icon Dharmendra died on Monday. He was 89. Veteran actor Javed Akhtar, in an interview with NDTV, paid tribute to him.
He said, "There is no one like Dharmendra, and there will be no one like him. This is the end of an era."
When asked what new stars can learn from the late actor, Javed Akhtar told NDTV, "Dignity and Humility. This generation lacks both. Sometimes, both are missing in the stars."
"An Era Has Come To End"
In the same conversation, Javed Akhtar said, "We are shocked, the whole film industry is shocked. Unfortunately, I'm not in Mumbai. With Dharmendra's death, an era has come to an end. He was one of those giants."
He shared that he first met Dharmendra when he was starting his career. He shared, "I feel very fortunate that when I came to Bombay, I was a clapper boy. I was 20-21, and he was at the pinnacle of his career. My second film as an assistant director was Yakeen, where he was a superstar, and I got a salary of Rs 175 only. He had no reason to be nice to me."
He went on to describe an incident that stayed with him for decades. "One time he shouted at me, and then he called me and apologised to me. I was so embarrassed because there was no need for him to say sorry. When you are a nobody and people don't know you, nobody behaves nicely, but Dharmendra was so nice and very warm with me. He was different from other people," he added.
"He Was A Very Unusual Actor": Javed Akhtar
Remembering Dharmendra's personality, he added, "He was a very unusual actor and a very unusual human being. He had an inherent dignity that nobody dared to touch. He was a humble and polite person."
He concluded, "At one end of the spectrum, he was the He-Man. He was actually the opposite of that - gentle, soft, polite, and quiet. This kind of strange spectrum in his personality as an actor is rare. He was genuinely a good man. He had a typical desi sense of humour. It's totally relevant today that an era has come to an end."
Dharmendra's Death
Dharmendra died at the age of 89 on Monday. He had recently been admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in South Mumbai and was discharged after showing signs of recovery.
Reports stated that he was placed on a ventilator due to breathing difficulties. The actor had been living at his farmhouse in Khandala with his first wife, Prakash Kaur, after relocating from Mumbai because of rising pollution levels.
His death follows a series of recent losses in the film industry, including Pankaj Dheer, Asrani, Satish Shah, and advertising veteran Piyush Pandey, who died last month.
Dharmendra's Last Rites
Veteran actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan arrived at the Pawan Hans crematorium on Monday to pay their last respects to Dharmendra, who died earlier today.
They were photographed arriving in their cars amid heavy police deployment. Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan, and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur were also seen at the crematorium along with members of the late actor's family.
About Dharmendra
Born in 1935 in Punjab, Dharmendra began his film career in the early 1960s after being discovered through a talent hunt. In 1958, he won a nationwide contest conducted by Filmfare magazine and Bimal Roy Productions, which selected him for his screen presence and marked his entry into Hindi cinema. The same initiative later introduced Rajesh Khanna to the industry.
Dharmendra went on to become one of Bollywood's most popular stars, known for his romantic, action, and comic roles. His notable films include Phool Aur Patthar, which established him as a leading actor, and Sholay, where his performance as Veeru achieved iconic status.
He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.
