fourthpillarsnews 24.11.2025
At a time when social media posts are often curated by teams, Dharmendra was as real as it got – in life and on screen
Before Dharmendra, India’s screen gods were tragic heroes. Dharmendra came on to the scene, took his shirt off, owned his sexuality, made people gawk at his Greek-god looks, and left an impression any actor seldom had until then. For the Indian cinemagoer, the game had changed. Cinema had a new religion. It was called Dharam.
Garam, Naram, the adjectives for Dharam were many. The epithets more: Greek god, son of the soil, family man, a man who wore his heart on his sleeve. He fit all of them like a glove. He lived a full life. He loved like there was no tomorrow. And when he appeared on screen with his seeti-maar dialogues, the Indian audience responded with taalis. He did so for six decades. Over 300 films. Many, many hits. And ninety years of holding the Indian moviegoer in thrall.
On November 24, Dharmendra said a final goodbye to his extended family–his audience–two weeks shy of his 90th birthday.
Dharmendra: A Dream Come True
Dharmendra’s story of coming to Mumbai and becoming one of India’s most popular stars is the stuff of dreams.
It was screen icon Dilip Kumar who inspired Dharmendra, a simple village boy from Nasrali, Punjab’s Ludhiana district, to become an actor. One of the first films that left an indelible mark on young Dharmendra was 1948’s Shaheed, starring Dilip Kumar.
