The star who adapted his shine to every character

34

Memories of Dharmendra: Dharmendra was an all-round actor. He played all types of roles with ease in that era when it was difficult for big heroes to break out of their established image.

November 24, 2025

Here’s a look at the top 10 films of his career spanning over 300 films:

• “cinder”: This 1975 classic film recently celebrated its golden jubilee. It is one of the most important films in the filmography of Dharmendra and his co-star Amitabh Bachchan. Dharmendra’s playful, emotional and outspoken Veeru was the perfect partner for Bachchan’s Jai. Veeru was a warrior and Jai was his ideal protector. This film directed by Ramesh Sippy is one of the best films in Hindi cinema. Dharmendra’s romance with Hema Malini and his drunken scene were also liked by the people. ‘Basanti! Dialogues like ‘Don’t dance in front of these dogs’ garnered a lot of applause from the audience.

• “Chupke Chupke”: In 1975, Dharmendra showed his versatility in two completely different films like “Sholay” and “Chupke Chupke”. In “Chupke Chupke” he played the role of Botany professor Parimal Tripathi, who falls in love with Sharmila Tagore’s Sulekha. He is very influenced by his brother-in-law Raghavendra. Parimal disguises himself as Pyare Mohan and gets a job as a driver at Raghavendra’s place and this leads to many funny situations.

• “Anupama”: Mukherjee worked with Dharmendra for the first time in this 1966 film. The actor played the role of a sensitive young man named Ashok, who is a writer and teacher.

• “Satyakam”: Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1969 film was based on Narayan Sanyal’s Bengali novel of the same name. In this, Dharmendra once again starred opposite Sharmila Tagore, which is considered one of his best roles in Indian cinema. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi that year.

• “Sita and Geeta”: This 1972 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film by the team of Sholay is about two estranged twin sisters, Sita and Geeta (Hema Malini), who meet after years and switch places. Dharmendra plays the role of Raaka, who is Sita’s lover. This film made this pair a favorite pair of fans. Both Dharmendra and Hema Malini worked together in more than two dozen films including “Tum Haseen Main Jawan”, “Dreamgirl”, “Charas”, “Azad”, “Raja Rani” and “Tum Haseen Main Jawan”.

• “Procession of Memories”: Nasir Hussain’s 1973 masala film was based on the story of three brothers who get separated after their parents are murdered by a gangster. This film became a new trend in the story of “lost brother”. Dharmendra plays the role of an elder brother in the film, who meets his two other lost siblings years later through a song sung by his parents.

• “Pledge”: The 1975 action comedy film directed by Dharmendra and BS Deol starred Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Ajit, Johnny Walker, Jagdeep, Mukri, Meher Mittal and Keshto Mukherjee. The story revolves around Dharmendra’s character Ajit, who is out to avenge the brutal murder of his parents by dreaded dacoit Bharat Thakur.

• “Dharam Veer”: In this 1977 film, Dharmendra and Jeetendra play the roles of two lost twins who become best friends despite being unaware of their relationship. Dharmendra falls in love with a princess while Jeetendra falls in love with a gypsy girl. Eventually they discover that they are brothers and that their uncle had plotted to murder them in order to take over the kingdom. The popular song in this film was “Saat Ajoobe Is Duniya Mein” and it was a hit.

• “Mad Crazy Mad”: In both these films produced by his own production house Vijayata Films, Dharmendra is seen with his two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol. The 2007 film “Apne” brought the family together for an emotional story. 2011’s “Yamla Pagla Deewana” featured the family on a fun roller coaster ride.

• “Rocky and Rani Ki Love Story”: In Karan Johar’s National Award-winning film, released in 2023, Dharmendra played the role of the Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather of the family, who spends some time with his grandson Rocky (Ranveer Singh). His lost love for Rani’s grandmother Jamini (Shabana Azmi) lays the foundation for Rocky and Rani’s relationship. In the film, Dharmendra is seen romancing Azmi on classic Hindi tunes.

Also read: Dharmendra was the owner of how many crores, he was also fond of luxury cars, know how much was He-Man’s net worth.