Dharmendra, or should we say ‘He-Man’, as he has been fondly known over the decades, truly embodies the title in every sense of the word. Not only because he redefined how masculinity was portrayed on screen with his good looks, but also because he was among the first few stars whose talent commanded major fees for his films.
His fee for the 1975 classic Sholay remains one of the most talked about examples of his stature in the industry. Despite Sholay’s impressive cast, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, and Amjad Khan, Dharmendra was said to be the highest paid among them. He received Rs 1.5 lakh for the role of Veeru, while Amitabh Bachchan received Rs 1 lakh for the role of Jai.
Interestingly, Dharmendra initially did not want to play the role of Veeru in Sholay. Director Ramesh Sippy revealed this in a conversation with Lallantope, He recalls how Dharmendra wasn’t very happy when he first heard the script. Sippy recalled Dharmendra saying, “This is the story of Thakur fighting Gabbar. What are we going to do?” To this Sippy quipped: “Okay. Either you play Thakur or Gabbar but then you won’t get Hema Malini.” That’s when Dharmendra agreed to play Veeru’s role.
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Another lesser known fact about Sholay is that Amitabh Bachchan was not the first choice for the film. The role was initially offered to Shatrughan Sinha, whose hectic schedule prevented him from taking it up. Speaking to Aaj Tak about it, Shatrughan shared, “I was offered the role of Amitabh Bachchan in Sholay. Ramesh Sippy had written this in his book. I tried to fix dates for the film but I was doing too many films. I was very busy and Ramesh ji couldn’t give me fixed dates for as long as he needed. He wanted me to block all my dates for Sholay which couldn’t be done. I feel I should have done this film. I didn’t but I also feel happy for Amitabh Bachchan, who got his big break with Sholay and became a national icon.
Read also | ‘He is my soul’: Dharmendra talks about Dilip Kumar, the guiding light who inspired him to embrace a career in films
Coming back to Dharmendra and Sholay, as the 50th anniversary of the timeless classic completed a few months ago, Dharmendra in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN He revealed that Sholay is actually not his favorite at all. Instead, he brings Pratigya closer to his heart, a film that released in the same year. He said, “Though Satyakam and Sholay are among my favourites, my all-time favorite is Pratiggya. It came in the same year as 1975 with Sholay, so it went unnoticed. But let me tell you, Pratiggya was a huge hit despite competition from Sholay. Just like it happened in 1971, when Naya Zamana was clicked despite being a huge hit like Mera Gaon Mera Desh.”
Much to the relief of his fans, Dharmendra is now recovering at his residence in Juhu after being discharged from Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. The veteran actor was admitted on October 31 and was discharged yesterday morning.
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