Gentle Giant

The death of Dharmendra at 89 brings with it a wave of nostalgia strong enough to make an entire nation pause.

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India has lost more than a film star ~ it has lost a cultural companion who, for decades, made audiences believe in courage, romance, friendship and the goodness of the human spirit. His legacy lies not merely in the 300-plus films he acted in, but in the millions of hearts that beat a little faster when he appeared on screen.

Unlike many stars who chased the idea of “number one”, Dharmendra was content being the hero who smiled generously from the sidelines of competition.

What made him extraordinary was precisely this lack of pretence. His ascent from a humble background in Punjab to the highest echelons of cinema never turned him into an aloof symbol. He remained the accessible hero, the man next door who just happened to possess superhero charm and strength.