On Air, Salman Khan Cries Remembering Dharmendra
MUMBAI- Bollywood superstar Salman Khan broke down into tears during the grand finale of the reality show ‘Bigg Boss season 19’while paying an emotional tribute to the late legend Dharmendra.
The actor’s eyes welled up and he was seen choking as tears rolled down his cheeks. Salman Khan’s public display of emotion, especially on national television, was unprecedented. Informing the contestants about the unfortunate news, a tearful Salman revealed, “Dharmendra passed away on the 24th of November, on my father Salim Khan’s 90th birthday.” He described Dharmendra as “the He-Man of Bollywood, with an innocent face and the body of a He-Man, with a 60+ years of legacy.” Salman became even more emotional when he mentioned that Dharmendra’s birthday falls on the 8th of December, which is coincidentally the same day as Salman Khan’s mother’s birthday.
Salman also praised the dignified way in which Dharmendra’s funeral and subsequent rituals were handled. “I have seen two funerals being conducted with full dignity to date; one was of filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya’s mother, and the second was Dharamji’s. Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, and the entire family of Dharmendra ji conducted the prayer meetings also with so much dignity, love, and grace. It was such a beautiful moment to see so many people celebrate his life with so much love.”
As Salman remembered Dharmendra, an audio-visualfeaturing their moments together on the ‘Bigg Boss’ sets over the seasons was telecast. Watching the video visibly made Salman extremely emotional. He mentioned that Dharmendra was an actor who would always visit the set with him at least once each season. “But this time he won’t be there,” said Salman as he broke down again. Expressing his grief, he added, “If it is so difficult for me, imagine how difficult it must be for Sunny, Bobby, and Esha—all of them have made Dharamji proud. Prakash aunty, Hema ji as well.” He asserted that there was no actor like Dharmendra and that there could never be another actor like him, stating that only Dharmendra deserved all the grace, respect, and love amongst the entire Bollywood.
Dharmendra passed away on November 24 at the age of 89. Salman Khan was one of the first Bollywood celebrities to arrive both at the crematorium on November 24 and also at the prayer meet organized by the Deol family on November 27. Salman shared an extremely close equation with Dharmendra. Both the actors had starred together in the movie ‘Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’, which also starred Kajol and Arbaaz Khan. Dharmendra’s association with the Khan family spans over 50 years, starting from the era when Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, co-wrote the iconic classic ‘Sholay’ with Javed Akhtar. Dharmendra had essayed the role of Veeru in ‘Sholay’, a role that is to date touted as one of the finest characters in Bollywood. (IANS)
