“How is Suchitra Sen?  Is she recovering?” asks an enquiring Dharmendra (pictured) about his favourite leading lady of ‘Mamta’ in 1965.  The evergreen star is in Shillong to shoot for ‘Har Pal’ directed by Janhu Barua and produced by Tito Juneja. Dharmendra is happy to learn that Suchitra Sen has returned home.

Says Dharmendra, “I still have fresh memories of ‘Mamta’.  It was director Asit Sen’s first Hindi film with Ashok Kumar, Suchitra Sen and myself.  It was the Hindi version of his master piece ‘Uttar Falguni’.  We shot the song sequence ‘In Baharon Mein Akele’ at Darjeeling in just one take.  No one could beat Suchitra in song sequences.  She was also fabulous with emotions.  We shared a warm rapport and she never made me feel like a new comer.”
Dharmendra has hit the bull’s eye with ‘Life In A Metro’ and ‘Johny Gaddar’.  But he does not want to term this as a comeback. 

He says, “I don’t want to call it a comeback.  I was always there acting.  These two films were new experiments by upcoming directors with a lot of promise. They were able to bring the best out of me in these films. ‘Johny Gaddar’ did not have my name in the titles. My appearance was announced as a surprise package.  I am very happy viewers have appreciated the film.” At present Dharmendra is concentrating on ‘Har Pal’ where he is starring alongside Preity Zinta, Shiney Ahuja and Lilette Dubey.  The film has lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by Pritam. 

Dharmendra narrates, “It is a very different character, something I have not attempted in recent times.  I perform the role of a mature person who is not married, has lost all interest in life and is a drunkard.  One day in a bar I am introduced to Preity Zinta and it changes the course of my life.  I bring her up as my daughter.  The story then undergoes many emotional twists and turns.”

This is for the first time Dharmendra is acting under the baton of a director from parallel cinema.  He explains, “I don’t believe in parallel, middle and commercial cinema.  To me it is either good or bad cinema.  Janhu Barua has won the national award nine times.  He believes and does realistic cinema. I will be too happy to surrender to him and essay my character as he directs me. I will also put in my additional inputs as an actor which I have gathered with my forty seven years of experience.” 

Dharmendra is further going to produce two films under his banner Vijeta Films titled ‘Masters’ and ‘Justice’.  In ‘Masters’ he appears as a conman along with his sons Sunny and Bobby and it will be totally shot abroad.