Dharmendra was one of the most popular and good looking actors in the 70s and 80s. The actor has been a part of some big commercial movies but in a recent interview director Sai Paranjpye has revealed how Dharmendra had once expressed his desire to work with her. She is known for making ‘Chashme Buddoor‘ and ‘Sparsh’.
In a recent chat, Sai recalled how they had also started working together in a movie which came to a halt halfway. She said in an interview with The Culture Cafe by AMV, “One attempt at making a very commercial film, and let me talk about it because this film never got completed unfortunately. It was to be made with Dharmendra and he is such a lovely person, a delightful fellow and he came to me, he said ‘I’d love to make a film with you’. I had some concept and I told him about it,” she recalled. Sai said that the story was about two con artists and was titled Bichhoo. She cast Shabana Azmi opposite Dharmendra here. “When I wrote the script, I had Dharmendra in my mind,” she said.
She further added how Dharmendra loved the script but the film was left half way. “Dharmendra loved it and we started. And then somewhere along the way, I think he realised that I am not a commercial filmmaker,” she said and recalled an incident after which things took a turn. “I distinctly remember a scene where Shabana and him are face to face and he tells her something and she charges him and he has his back to the camera,” she said.
Recalling what happened during a scene, she said how Dharmendra was asked to do some gestures with his hand to convey that he’s lying. He did that and Sai announced that the scene was over. This left Dharmendra shocked and he asked about his close-up shots. “He said ‘but you haven’t done my close-up. I said ‘it’s not needed. We don’t require a close up because your back has said it all’. I think made him suspicious. He thought I was favouring the heroine. I don’t know what he thought. That day onwards, he would point things out like how certain things should be done. And then gradually, the whole tempo sort of slacked. I came to the realisation that he is not all that enthusiastic about it. The film came to a halt,” said Sai.
However, the film-maker is all praise for him as she added, “He was a gentleman throughout. He did not even say half a word against me in the press and I obviously reciprocated.”
