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News India Live, Digital Desk: We all know Bollywood’s ‘He-Man’ Dharmendra i.e. our beloved Dharam Paaji for his dialogues and action. But can you imagine that a person, who is 89 years old, whose body no longer shows the same agility as it used to be, would be adamant to act like a young boy just for one scene in the middle of the night?
Recently famous choreographer Vijay Ganguly made the film ‘Ikkis’ He has shared an incident related to the shooting of which tells us that stardom is not created by how, but by what passion.
That cold night and faltering steps
Vijay Ganguly recalls that the shooting of the film ‘Iqees’ (which is being directed by Sriram Raghavan) was going on. It was around 3 o’clock in the night. Cold night and on top of that Dharmendra’s advancing age. His health was not such that he could stand for long. The reality was that at that time he was feeling a lot of pain even in standing.
Everyone present on the set was feeling that perhaps Dharam ji would shoot this scene tomorrow or a body double would be used instead.
“I will, you just line up the shots.”
Vijay says that when he saw that Dharmendra ji’s legs were trembling, he lovingly told him to take rest. But Dharam Paaji’s answer was such that it won everyone’s heart. He clearly said, “As long as the cameras are rolling, I am an actor, not some weak old man.”
This 89 year old great artist was adamant that he would do the dance steps himself. And what happened next? At 3 o’clock in the night, even in that condition, he gave his performance with full energy in front of the camera. The entire unit present on the set was surprised to see how the person who used to stumble behind the camera became so refreshed as soon as he said action!
This is real stardom
In today’s era, where actors ask for a ‘break’ after a little cold or fatigue, this story of Dharmendra is no less than a lesson. This story is not just about the shooting of a film, but is the story of an artist who has dedicated his entire life to the screen and his audience.