, "Sholay"! The Bollywood version of cowboy films, fast paced, action filled, adrenaline pushing thrill. Ramesh Sippy's direction and Salim-Javed's dialogues indianised this "westerns" genre vitally.
Time was when the entire cinema hall would know literally by heart each and every dialogue, scene by frame, close-up by montage! The title of our blog itself can prove that obsession. An absolute icon of a film that had "drama, tragedy, comedy, action...", yet again to quote from the "tanki" scene!
'Gaon walon', it is such a tragedy that in the fiftieth year of that gem of a film, Viru of the duo whose legendary "dosti" was one of the reasons which made the film immortal, is no more. And, now, officially!
Dharmendra's demise is indeed an end of an era. "Why so? Is that your question? Ask, ask, ask no", as Basanti of the 'Sholay' fame would say. In a way, "Sholay" marks a mile stone in the history of Bollywood. It is a multi-starrer wherein the real hero is the story line. Very soon would usher in the era of Amitabh's larger than life characterisation, the only magnet of the filmography. Dharmendra, why, Rajesh Khanna, the first ever superhero, would soon be washed away in that tsunami.
Yet "bahut yarana tha, aur raha" between Dharmendra and his spectators. May be, that was because he embodied that typical earthy large-hearted village bumpkin essential indianness. He appeared to be decent despite his "kutton, kamino, main tumhara khun pi jaunga" dialogue-baazi! Ah, yes, every which way, he was typical masculinity itself, 'garam Dharam', handsome, body-builder, the first ever hero to reveal the 'packs' on screen.
Personally, I liked him for his comic sense and perfect timing, the best example being "Chupke Chupke", one of my favourites, yes, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. I think, a director's actor, Dharmendra was great in the Bengal branch of Bollywood. Look at any of his better films, they are by Bengali directors, most often based on Bengali stories.
Look at "Satyakam" (1969), one of my topmost favourite films. It is a Bengali story that brilliantly revives the Satyakam Jabali myth. It depicts the travails of an honest engineer with high ideals. Thus it captures the disillusionment that was slowly but surely corroding the euphoria of the post Independence era. It is directed, yes, by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
He was superbly sensitive and subdued, unlike his later screaming avataars, in "Bandini", yet again by a Bengali director, the great Bimal Roy. Who can forget "Guddi", yet again by Mukherjee!
Oh, yes, we cannot overlook his heroines, great actresses, be it Nutan, Meena Kumari, Nanda, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, and, oh, yes, the 'dream girl' Hema Malini. I suppose, Kishore Kumar's voice made musical his he-man, one of the best examples being "pal pal dil ke paas'. Remember the " aap ki nazaron me samza", one of the bestest by Madan Mohan?
So we need not ask this evening, "itna sannata kyun hai, bhai?" The dice has, unlike the final scene in "Sholay", claimed Viru! RIP, Ashok, most often Dharmendra's screen name!
Pratima@ "Aaj mausum," to quote from one of Dharmendra songs, 'sach me', that is, truly, "bada beiman hai", Aai would have felt. She liked him, and Shashi Kapoor.
Quote of the day: "For me, our job as artists is to serve the story, serve the director, and serve the fellow actors. And if you do that, by osmosis you’re serving yourself because you’ll get the best out of yourself," said David Oyelowo, a talented actor. Dharmendra would have agreed with him, I suppose.
Word of the day: impersonate. 'impersonate' means to be somebody other than one's own self. An actor impersonates for entertainment, at times, edification. In real life, often reflected in reel life, impersonation can be devious, to cheat, to hurt, to harm!
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