Dharmendra: The much underappreciated Hindi film star!

The actor Dharmendra is perhaps one of the most underrated and underappreciated stars of Hindi cinema. Right through the 1960s, Dharmendra acted in some of the finest films made in Hindi cinema, which included Bandini (1963), Haqeeqat (1964), Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Anupama (1966) and Satyakam (1969). As the historian Mukul Kesavan noted in his fine piece on the actor that appeared in Outlook magazine in May 2008, “The great baton change in Indian cinema is not between Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh (Rajesh Khanna is a brief detour into the box-office potential of male whimsy and self-pity), it's between Dharmendra and Bachchan, between the self-sacrificing idealist who dies in the cause of a fairer, better world, and the disillusioned vigilante who visits vengeance on an irredeemably corrupt one.”

Besides Satyakam, Dharmendra had a bunch of successful films release in 1969 even as the nation was caught up in the hysteria that surrounded Rajesh Khanna. In Pyar Hi Pyar, he acted alongside Vyjayanthimala and the pair were featured in two memorable songs, including the film’s title track and ‘Main kaheen kavi na bann jaaoon’. In the recent episode of The Golden Years: 1950-1975, A Musical Journey, which covered the many beautiful Hindi film songs of 1969, Javed Akhtar commented on Dharmendra’s chance to act with the more senior Vyjayanthimala. Akhtar said, “When Dharmendra was a college student in Punjab, Vyjayanthimala was a star even back then. He must have seen her act alongside Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in films. But look how life changes that one day Dharam-ji comes as a hero along with Vyjayanthimala.”

Besides Satyakam and Pyar Hi Pyar, Dharmendra also acted in Yash Chopra’s Aadmi Aur Insaan in 1969. The film also featured Feroze Khan, Saira Banu and Mumtaz and had the popular songs, ‘Zindagi, ittefaaq hai’, ‘Jaagega insaan zamaana dekhega’ and ‘O yaara dildaara’. Then there was the J. Om Prakash produced- Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, which was directed by Raghunath Jhalani. Here, Dharmendra was paired with Asha Parekh, arguably the most successful film actress of the 1960s. The pair featured in the two Lata Mangeshkar- Mohammed Rafi duets in the film – the film’s title track and ‘Saathiya nahin jaana ke jee na lagey’.

The other actor, who was successfully weathering the Rajesh Khanna popularity tsunami, and carving his own niche, was Jeetendra. In 1969 itself, the actor starred in LV Prasad’s, hit film, Jeene Ki Raah, opposite Tanuja. The songs of the film, ‘Aaney se uske aaye bahaar’, ‘Aap mujhe achhey lagney lagey’ and ‘Aa mere humjoli aa’ fetched Laxmikant- Pyarelal Best Music Director award. L-P also gave the music for Ravikant Nagaich’s Jigri Dost, which had the rather vibrant and optimistic song ‘Mere desh mein’ picturised on Jeetendra. Another film, which had the same rustic, village element right through its storyline as is evident in ‘Mere desh mein’, was Dulal Guha’s Dharti Kahe Pukarke. The film had Jeetendra and Nanda in the lead role and Majrooh Sultanpuri, as songwriter, perfectly articulated the film’s rural hinterland setting with songs like, ‘Ki hum tum chori se’ and ‘Ja re kaare badra’.

But the actor, whose career ended with the coming of the Rajesh Khanna juggernaut was Shammi Kapoor. Shammi, who had been dubbed ‘The Rebel Star’ following his emergence against the successful triad of Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, had his last good year at the box office in 1969. In Prince, which was directed by Lekh Tandon, the film-maker who had earlier made the blockbuster Professor with Shammi in 1962, the actor was cast opposite Vyjayanthimala and had the rock-n- roll number, ‘Badan pe sitaarey lapetey huey’ picturized on him. Then in Tumsa Achha Kaun Hai (1969), which was directed by Pramod Chakravorty, Shammi featured in the very popular title track and ‘Janam janam ka saath hai’.

One of Shammi’s enduring legacies is that Hindi film music underwent a serious change to cater to his physicality, his dancing theatrics. Because of this, the music in his films acquired a distinctive element. As Javed Akhtar noted, “You could hear the song and know that this was a Shammi Kapoor song. And even other music directors, whether it was Shankar- Jaikishan or anyone else, when they used to work with him, with Shammi Kapoor, his kind of music had become a brand. There is no doubt about this.”

You can watch The Golden Years: 1950-1975, A Musical Journey with Javed Akhtar on Zee Classic every Sunday at 8 p.m.!