Dharmendra Birthday Special: 15 Best Roles Played By The ‘He-Man’ Of Bollywood

Bollywood’s most loved and humble superstar, Dharmendra turns 81 today. Also known as the He-Man of Bollywood, Dharmendra has given us some exemplary performances in the past. Some of his films like Sholay, Chupke Chupke and Anupama will always have a special place in the history of cinema.

As the superstar turns a year older today, let’s take you through 15 best roles played by our very own Dharam paaji...

Anupama (1966)

Anupama Movie Poster 

Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Anupama had Dharmendra play the role of an Urdu poet. The movie starred Sharmila Tagore, Shashikala, Deven Verma and Surekha Pandit in key roles.

Satyakam (1969)

Satyakam Movie Poster

After the success of Anupama, Hrishikesh Mukherjee got Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore together again in Satyakam. The movie also won National Film Award For Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Guddi (1971)

Dharmendra played himself in Guddi. The plot of the film was about a spunky schoolgirl, Kusum, aka Guddi (Jaya Bachchan), who is obsessed with film star Dharmendra. Guddi somehow manages to meet the real-life Dharmendra and that turns out to be an eye-opener for her. Why? That’s because she realises the vast difference between real world and the make-believe world of cinema.

Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973)

Yaadon Ki Baarat Movie Poster

Yaadon Ki Baraat was the first masala film, combining elements of the action, drama, romance, musical, crime and thriller genres. The film was later remade in Tamil as Naalai Namadhe, in Telugu as Annadammula Anubandham, and in Malayalam as Himam. 

Blackmail (1973)

Blackmail Movie Poster

Blackmail, a thriller film directed by Vijay Anand, saw Dharmendra, Raakhee, Madan Puri, and Shatrughan Sinha in key roles. Its song Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas became a chartbuster instantly and is still considered as one of the best songs of the golden era. Dharmendra’s female fans could not stop gushing everytime the superstar sang those lines.

Chupke Chupke (1975)

Chupke Chupke Movie Poster

Dharmendra, as a botanical professor shared a superb chemistry with Sharmila Tagore in Chupke Chupke. This film is highly remembered for Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan's comic acts. In the same year, all-time blockbuster Sholay also released.

Sholay (1975)

Sholay Movie Poster

Sholay, as we all know, created our very own, ‘Jai-Veeru’ jodi. Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra’s bromance became the talk of the town. Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s ‘Koi Haseena’ song is still sung by lovers to melt their lady’s heart. The film also starred Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan. Sholay was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards.

Maa (1976)

Maa Movie Poster

Directed by M. A. Thirumugam and produced by Sandow M.M.A. Chinnappa Devar, Maa starred Dharmendra and Hema Malini in lead roles.

Dharam-Veer (1977)

Dharam-Veer Movie Poster

Dharmendra plays Dharam and Jitendra plays Veer in the film. Dharam-Veer is about a tale of twin brothers separated at birth who still become best friends when they are older, not knowing that they were real brothers. Zeenat Aman and Dharmendra's O Meri Mehbooba from the film became an instant hit. 

Chacha Bhatija (1977)

Chacha Bhatija Movie Poster 

Chacha Bhatija starred Dharmendra, Randhir Kapoor, Rehman, Hema Malini, Yogeeta Bali, Jeevan, Master Satyajeet and Sonia Sahni. This was Dharmendra’s second best film in that year after Dharam Veer. The film was directed by Manmohan Desai.

Burning Train (1980)

The Burning Train Movie Poster

Starring  Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Parveen Babi, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Vinod Mehra, Danny Denzongpa in key roles, the plot of the film revolves around a train named Super Express that catches fire on its inaugural run from New Delhi to Mumbai. Dharmedra's iconic scenes on the train's rooftop with Jeetendra and Vinod Khanna were one of the highlights of the film.

Ghulami (1985)

Ghulami Movie Poster

The film had an ensemble cast comprising Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Mazhar Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raza Murad, Reena Roy, Smita Patil, Anita Raj, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Shivpuri. Amitabh Bachchan narrated the film.

Hukumat (1987)

Hukumat Movie Poster

Humkumat became the highest grossing film of 1987 with Dharmendra and Rati Agnihotri in key roles.

Hathyar (1989)

Hathyar Movie Poster

Written and directed by J.P. Dutta, Hathyar had Dharmendra play an underworld don, Khushal Khan. The film also starred Sanjay Dutt, Paresh Rawal, Rishi Kapoor and a few more.

Johnny Gaddar (2007)

Johnny Gaddar Movie Poster 

Though the film didn’t do seemingly well at the box-office, it was critically acclaimed. It was also Neil Nitin Mukesh’s debut film. Johnny Gaddar was a treat for Dharmendra fans as they watched him play Sheshadri – a gambler.

We wish you a very happy birthday, Dharam ji!


Image Source: Google