‘You Might Have Ten Men, But I Have An…’ Fearless Dharmendra Once Gave It Back To Underworld, Warned Not To Mess With Him

The underworld plagued the film industry of Mumbai in 1980s and 1990s. Extortion, the obligatory financing of movies by the mafia and dons, were usual, the threats of death were quite real.

Most of the actors were paying protection either, or were forced to work in films made by underworld-connected producers. But there was one superstar who never knelt- Dharmendra. 

When Dharmendra gave it back to the underworld

Dharmendra, who was known as the He-Man of the Hindi film industry, died on Monday in Mumbai. He was 89. The old actor was burnt in Mumbai in the company of his family. 

Dharmendra fighting the underworld is not the only story that demonstrates his roughness and uncivilised bravery in the industry that appears to be fast to betray and give in.

Actor-director Satyajeet Puri once remembered the reason why the underworld could not dare to touch Dharmendra.

Puri, in an interview with Friday Talkies, has claimed that the underworld had a terrifying hold on Bollywood in the 1980s and during the 90s.

The underworld was in full blast at the time. He said in the interview that one phone call and most actors could tremble.

“But Dharmendra and his family never feared. Should any underworld person attempt to hostility him, Dharam Ji would inform them that in case they come to deal with him, the entire Sahnewal (his own village) will come along with him (Punjab). You may have ten men but I have an army. Bharke log Punjab se ladne aa jayenge Ek bolunga aur truck bharke log. So don’t mess with me.’ And they never did,” said Puri to Friday Talkies.

The He-Man of Bollywood, Dharmendra, was known to be of a crude heart to such confrontations.

When DHARMENDRA was attacked with his knife

Puri, who had helped Dharmendra in the 1985 film Ghulami, also revealed some additional stories, how even the gangsters used to think twice before getting into trouble with Dharmendra.

In the shooting of Ghulami, one of the scenes involved a rider riding a horse up a staircase of a palace made out of marble. There was a copy prepared but Dharmendra insisted on it being done by himself. Puri only requested them to clean up the premises around the horse; this he remembered during the interview.

Puri stated that people on the film set failed to notice that the horse had urinated on the stairs therefore making them slippery.

Dharmendra, who never rested his feet in the stirrups, began climbing.  At the midway point the horse started to lose its footing and started to fall backwards. 

Within a second, Dharmendra banged his left leg on the marble, and he pushed himself and the animal up again, with the strength of his thigh. Dharmendra got furious at this negligence and went round the set in search of the assistant. One of the assistants was caught by the collar by him, but the guy slipped off and ran.

Then he proceeded to the horse to strike it, but pulled himself, Puri said, and he added, in that instant everyone in the set had fled, no one dared approach him.

After calming down, I found that Dharmendra was first and foremost concerned about the horse, and he at once paid the owner some Rs 200, fearing that the animal must have been hurt by the fall.

Another event of the fearless nature of the actor was also described by Satyajeet Puri. There was an occasion when a man assaulted Dharmendra with a knife. After half a minute, Dharam Ji had disarmed the man, and held him down, he said. Actors today come with six bouncers and gunmen. At that time, nobody could walk freely in the streets singing, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna, without any security.

It is also the last that we see Dharmendra on screen, in the war film Ikkis directed by Sriram Raghavan. Playing the father of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, PVC. A tribute to the war heroism of the Indo-Pak war in the year 1971, the film will be released during Christmas.

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