A star at ease with himself

In a very significant way, Bollywood actor Dharmen-dra, who died in Mumbai on Monday after being ill for a short time, was multifaceted. He mastered both comedies and tragedies with unimaginable ease. Born Dhar-mendra Singh Deol in a humble Jat Sikh family in rural Punjab, he pushed his way to the higher echelons of mo-viedom to sink into characters that were mind-bog-glingly varied and enormously captivating. Once a Member of Parliament and the winner of Padma Bhu-shan in 2012, his private life had masala all right. Despite being married to Prakash Kaur, he tied the knot with “Dream Girl” Hema Malini. Yes, it was nota union Indian law recognised, but Dharmendra seemed not to care. Neither did Hema. Interestingly, he never divorced Pra-kash, living famously in a bigamous union and brazenly flouting the law which forbade it. Although his private life did not augur well with prevailing social norms, his brilliance on screen just about erased the black clouds which threatened his peace and wellbeing.

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Despite this disturbing patch, his movies made money and endeared him to the masses. Two of his films stand out among his innumerable: Sholay and Chupke Chupke, While the first was considered Indian cinema's defining moment with its violent passages and unforgettable characters, with Dharmendra essaying small-time crook Veru, Chupke Chupke was a rib-tickling comedy in which the star, Dharmendra, although a professor, had to “act” as a driver to meet his lady love, Dharmen-dra may not have reached the heights of Balraj Sahani or Dilip