Dharam Singh Deol, who weaved magic in Bollywood for three decades (from the 60s to 80s) as the macho Dharmendra, is today a disillusioned man.
Dharam Singh Deol, who weaved magic in Bollywood for three decades (from the 60s to 80s) as the macho Dharmendra, is today a disillusioned man. But it is not his personal life that has left a bitter taste in his mouth, it is his public life, to be precise political life, that is troubling him.
The 73-year-old BJP MP from Bikaner opened his heart to DNA’s Ashish Mehta on the sidelines of a Rotary conference in Jaipur on Saturday.
Dharmendra, who earned the sobriquet ‘He-man’ with battle cries of kutte… before thrashing villains on screen, admitted he was a “misfit” in politics and regretted failing to salvage his reputation as a politician.
“I joined politics because I firmly believe good people from all walks of life should join it,” he said.
Denying the allegation that he “ignored his constituency” by staying put in Mumbai, Dharmendra said, “Bikaner has improved a lot, but I could never take credit for the work done. Even the electorate does not know that I’m behind the many developmental works carried out in the constituency.
“The Sur Sagar lake has been transformed into a tourist destination, traffic flow in the town has become smooth because of flyovers and the girl’s college is doing better now.”
“Despite all these improvements, if people are unhappy, I am willing to quit,” the embittered hunk said, adding, “I have realised politics is not my cup of tea. There is no place for emotional people here. You have to be cunning; you need to market yourself.”
The actor-turned-politician also seemed disinterested in the upcoming general elections. Asked if politics was a closed chapter for him, he equivocally replied, “I can’t say anything.”
However, the actor regained his composure at the mention of Bollywood. Describing his passion for his profession, the jat yamla pagla deewana said, “Acting toh meri mehbooba hai, main iske siwa kahan jaoon? (Acting is my love, where else would I go?).”
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