Dharmendra passed away a couple of weeks before his 90th birthday which would have been on December 8. He is the only actor to give SEVEN HITS in a year and not only once but it happened twice in 1973 and 1987. In 1987, he had 10 releases including two long delayed films and seven of them scored at the box office including the top grosser of the year, HUKUMAT.

The 1973 record would hold the edge to 1987 as the films were bigger but still to get seven HITS in a year is pretty much unthinkable. It is nearly impossible even today and even that time the norm was 3-4 films a day. The films in 1987 were generally action films catering to the masses and apart from HUKUMAT. they were multistarrers but Dharmendra was the main selling point of these films. Even if the role was lesser in screen time, he would be dominating the posters.

The 1980's was pretty similar to the situation today when metro audience had shifted to video and today that reads streaming but the industry was able to shift fast enough to the needs of the audience which has not been the case today. The early eighties saw Dharmendra delivering less HITS than earlier though all the films opened very well. But in 1987, it came together as the openings were huge and the films sustained as well. These seven hits in a year came when it was the 27th year of his career which itself is also unthinkable as it will not be the peak of the career.

The 1987 releases for Dharmendra went as follows.

Hukumat - Blockbuster

Aag Hi Aag - Super Hit

Loha - Hit

Watan Ke Rakhwale - Hit

Insaniyat Ke Dushman - Hit

Insaaf Kaun Karega - Hit

Dadagiri - Hit

Insaf Ki Pukaar - Average

Jaan Hatheli Pe - Average (Long Delayed)

Mera Dharam Mera Karam - Flop (Long Delayed)

Mard Ki Zabaan - Flop (Extended Guest Role)

Filmmaker Anil Sharma, who worked with the late actor Dharmendra on seven films, called the veteran’s passing on Monday at the age of 89 as a personal and professional loss. The director, who had planned a sequel to Apne (2007), states that the project can no longer proceed “without his idol.”

The 61-year-old says, “Apne to apno ke bina nahi ho sakti. Without Dharam ji, it’s impossible to make the sequel. Everything was on track and the script was ready, but he left us. Some dreams remain unfulfilled. Without him, it’s not possible!”

Sharma directed Dharmendra in Hukumat (1987), Elaan-e-Jung (1989), Farishtey (1991), and Tahalka (1992), later producing Policewala Gunda (1995), directing Apne, and a cameo in Singh Saab The Great (2013). He also worked with Dharmendra’s sons, Sunny and Bobby Deol.

Recalling their last meeting Sharma says, “I met him in early October and he said: ‘Anil, koi acchi kahani laa, acchi film karni hai…camera meri mehbooba hai, mujhe yaad karti hai. Mujhe jana hai uske samne.’” The three Deols were set to reunite on screen with the sequel after nearly two decades.

Sharma first met Dharmendra on the sets of The Burning Train (1980) as an assistant. “He put his hand on my head and said, ‘mehnat se kaam karna’. When I narrated Hukumat, he approved the story in 10 minutes. ” Recalling the shoot, Sharma said: “Dharam ji’s connection with his fans was incredible. He was a great actor — unaware of the legend he was, and will remain, even after he has gone!”.”

My fingers are frozen, my eyes are moist and my heart is flooded.

How does one pen an ode to the greatest hero that ever lived? How can a word count ever do justice to his 89 years? His 65-year career that spawned more hits than any superstar born. Even today. Yet he disliked the tag ‘superstar’.

“Call me actor. Brother, son, father. Those are the most important roles we play,” he stated often during our many interactions. And great actor-star he was, with a flair for comedy no star can master. And those fist fights? Phew. When his massive hand covered the face of the bad guys and that famed dialogue ‘kutte’ rang out – there was theatre frenzy unleashed.

No wonder a teenage me always wanted to be Dharmendra. Every youngster did. A soft vulnerable face that charmed every bird from every tree. A physique that every youngster wanted long before gyms were a thing. The classic soft face, a tough body. And with an endless well of emotions that never failed to overwhelm.

No wonder, when I joined the legendary magazine ‘Stardust’, I wanted to interview Garam Dharam (an epithet fondly given to him by the magazine publisher and editors past). The editor warned me. ‘He doesn’t speak easily to us. And you will have to chase him and convince him.” That very day my chase began. In an era without mobile phones, I chased him to every shooting, every mahurat, every premiere but he always gave me a fresh date.

It was six months later that I finally got an interview at Film City. Of course, I sat miles away, near the green room door to run if required. However, the man I met was the kindest, most humble, most caring star I’d always imagined. Nevertheless, after the interview the warning came; “I trust you, so write well. Don’t twist my words, otherwise you know I can get angry also.”

I never gave him that chance. It was the cover, headlined ‘50 Years and Sexy Still’. That interview made my bones as a writer as soon as the issue hit the stands. Later that night, my landline at home rang. “Dharamji baat karenge,” said the voice.

My heart skipped several beats until the star himself spoke, “You have gained my trust. I liked your article. From now my home is open to you at any hour. Just don’t break the faith.” Vindication!

After that there were several times I interviewed him, often dropping into his warm and cozy home. It was his warmth and greatness that almost made me feel like family. Always so much more than an actor or a star. That was a trait the world came to love and adore. A rare trait. He could be anyone, play any role. At Bobby’s launch in Barsaat, it was as if he was Editor, Writer, Photographer all in one. He wanted Sunny and Bobby to do a feature clad in denim. It became one of the highest sold covers. Thanks to Dharam ji’s vision. All because it came from the deep emotional heart of a doting family man.

A little-known fact about this huge talent, was and is, that he is fluent in Urdu and wrote the most beautiful shairi. During my The Times of India tenure, he asked me, “Urdu jaante ho?” Shamefacedly I couldn’t nod. “Shame on you. You should know Hindi and Urdu first. Uske baad English.” Then he recited the most beautiful poetry I’d heard. All from the pen of this multi-talented man.

Hard to imagine that this man, with the massive fan following and the toughest natural muscles in Bollywood had a soft side. A weakness. He couldn’t see suffering. Legions of people visited him daily for solace and help; even producers stuck for funds. And a superman named Dharmendra always helped them. A cameo in a film, a phone call of support and even not charging many distressed producers. Surely many must’ve taken undue advantage, but our hero didn’t care. “Be good and be humble” was his motto always. The only time he flared up was when his family or any woman were disrespected. Then God help the offender. At heart he was always the gentle giant. A good man, of the finest mettle that was ever made.

In later years, he made action movies like Hukumat, Loha and Insaniyat ke Dushman coming on the heels of an industry strike. Those movies saved the industry, blockbusters all. Though his all-time personal favourite remained the sensitive Satyakaam.

From on-screen lover boy to an action star with a flair for comedy, he could be anything he wanted at any point in his career. Cinema and the world of Bollywood adapted around him. How else can we explain the iconic Chupke Chupke? The hilarious Naukar Biwi Ka? The sensational Sholay? This legend made any genre slip into cinema as easily as he carried off the gladiator look in Dharam Veer. He also made a dance style his own, reminding people that tough guys can dance.

Tragically, every story has a cruel twist. The man with the endearing smile will smile no more. An era is past. Or is it? Does the flame of the eternal hero ever dim? 65 years of film magic will live on forever. And as millions of hearts brim over worldwide; a song haunts us in the background – Gaadi bula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai … from Dost - another of his beloved films. It reminds us that heroes never really go away. They live in hearts and minds forever. Dharmendra has just taken a train to Valhalla. He will be back soon – on every screen there is. And I will watch and clap like that teenager of our first meeting.

After all, yeh dosti hum nahin todenge…

After the string of hits - Pathaan, Gadar 2, and Jawan last year, the current state of cinema is different. This year has brought a noticeable dip, with only a handful of films managing to perform well. Why are audiences finding it harder to connect with films these days? And where have all the mass entertainers disappeared to?

Anil Sharma, often tagged as a director who makes mass entertainers, spoke to us about what goes into making a mass entertainer and says there is nothing wrong with a film being categorised as such. He explains, "We are not here to teach science or law - that's what colleges are for. I think a filmmaker's job is to entertain. Action, music, dance, romance - yehi mera motto hai. To make a film larger than life, to present a story that isn’t even real and still make it believable for the audience, is not easy."

"Hand pump ukhaada nahi ja sakta, lekin logon ko itna believe karwa dena ki yeh sach hai - yeh aasaan kaam nahi hai, yeh difficult kaam hai. Yeh kaam Manmohan Desai ji karte thay, K Asif ne Mughal-e-Azam mein kiya, Mehboob saheb ne Mother India mein kiya, aur Sippy saheb ne Sholay mein kiya. Yeh bahut mushkil hota hai."

He adds, "We (He and his team) see ourselves as stress-busters. Whether we get validation from certain people or not isn’t important - what matters is the love we get from the audience. My next film, Vanvas, will connect with 600 crore people because every family has those members."

In a recent conversation, he spoke about into what goes into making a mass entertainer.

Whether it’s Gadar, Gadar 2, or The Hero: Love Story of A Spy, Anil Sharma's films have dialogues that stick with audiences years after the credits roll. But according to Sharma, the secret lies in never writing with the audience in mind. “I don't write scenes hoping for applause,” he says.

He says, "The story should carry that emotion. Jab mujhe laga ki kahani mein woh emotion hai jo 600 crore logon tak jaa sakta hai, tab main us kahani mein gaya. Agar aapki kahani mein woh emotion hai, toh woh audience tak zaroor pahunchta hai. Maine kabhi yeh nahi socha ki main scene taaliyon ke liye likh raha hoon. Scene ki requirement aur kahani ki zarurat ke hisaab se hi har scene likha."

Sharma’s films, especially Gadar, have often faced criticism for being overly jingoistic. What does he think about this? He responds, "When I first heard this, I looked up the meaning of jingoism. Main iss desh ka rehne wala hoon, aur apni bhavna ko waisa hi dikhata hoon jaise main sochta hoon. Jo log subtle sochte hain, main unki terah nahi dikhata. Main waise hi film banata hoon jaise ek aam aadmi sochta hai. Na main khud vishesh aadmi hoon, na vishesh logon ke liye film banata hoon. Jo meri film ko jingoistic sochte hain, kripya na dekhein, kyunki yeh film unke liye nahi hai."

"When I started making films, even VCRs didn’t exist. When I decided to make Hukumat (1987) with the idea that I was making it for the masses, it became a turning point in my life. Hukumat gave me a tag, and then with Gadar, I got another one,” Anil Sharma shares.

“Now, when I look around, technology has advanced, but somewhere we’ve fallen behind in terms of content. Kahin na kahin kuch gadbad hai - there are so many talented people here, but they aren’t able to work effectively within the system.. Koi unbalance toh hai jiski wajah se filmein utni safal nahi ho pa rahi hain aaj. Last year, we saw some good performances at the box office, but this year things look different."

He continues, "Films are performing only in segments. It seems like some directors and actors are making films only for a specific target audience instead of making film for the entire country. And even when they try to make those films, perhaps the corporate side isn't supporting them. I don’t know exactly why, but the kind of momentum we once had - 10-12 blockbusters a year - isn’t there at present."

Anil Sharma shares a long-standing relationship with Sunny Deol. What he believes makes the actor-director dynamic work, he says, “Honesty. A director should never deceive their actors by promising one role and delivering something different on set. If I change anything in the role, I always inform them. Director ko apne actor ke saath fraud nahi karna chahiye."

He adds, "Actors are inherently insecure, so, it's better to tell them which actor is doing what scene especially when it is a multi-starrer film. I make sure to tell them - yehi scene hai aur yehi karna hai - and I always have a reason for it. Truth in storytelling and honesty with actors is important."

Recalling how he wrote the iconic handpump scene in Gadar, Anil Sharma says, “Mujhe agar bologe Hindustan murdabad, toh mujhe itna gussa aa raha tha ki mujhe laga building hi utha kar phenk doon. Woh emotion blast hota hai. Building toh nahi phenk sakta tha, fountains nahi phenk sakta tha, aur uss zamane mein hand pumps hote the, toh maine hand pump phenk diya.”

He continues, “We had a two-hour discussion on set about that scene, and shooting was halted because of it. Many people objected to the handpump scene, calling it illogical."

But Sharma managed to convince them. He explains, "Sometimes, an emotion is so overwhelming it consumes a person entirely. Don’t we all feel, at times, that our anger could make us destroy everything physically?”

He adds, “Jab story mein emotion itna hota hai, toh apne aap bomb ki tarah explode karta hai aur audience tak pahunchta hai. Hum emotion la nahi sakte. Emotion ko film mein import nahi kar sakte. Agar emotion andar hai, tabhi woh export hoga.”

Moviegoers don’t just want good stories, they also want songs they can dance to. Sharma explains, “Music of the film is like blood to the body,” underlining that a film cannot stay memorable without music.

“Whether it was Manoj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, K Asif, or Vijay Anand - the kind of films they made had music as the lifeblood of their stories, and I’ve learned from those films. I can’t imagine a film without music, and I can’t make a film without it. I don’t enjoy films that lack music. I want to entertain people through my films, but I also want to entertain myself - and I don’t think I can ever be entertained without music.”

What are the elements of a mass entertainer? Sharma says, "Ultimately, log entertainment ke liye aa rahe hain. Aapse seekhne-samajhne nahi aa rahe hain."

- A story with emotion that resonates with crores of people

- Honesty in storytelling

- Serving truth like medicine coated with sugar

- Entertainment ka tadka, lekin tadka na lage