Dharmendra once joked he was jealous of SRK for THIS
What's the story
The film industry and moviegoers are mourning the death of veteran actor Dharmendra, who passed away at 89 on Monday, November 24. Tributes have been pouring in from various actors and film personalities. On Monday night, superstar Shah Rukh Khan penned a touching tribute, calling the late actor "nothing short of a father figure."
Film promotion
Two shared a close bond
The two stars were quite close. In July 2015, while promoting Second Hand Husband, Dharmendra shared that Khan had once advised him to market and publicize his films more effectively. This advice was given in relation to Apne (2007), a film featuring Dharmendra and his sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. "A lot of films in the sports genre got support from the media, but our film did not," he lamented.
Age is just a number
'I wish I could become so young again...'
In a December 2015 interview to celebrate his 80th birthday, the veteran actor confessed to feeling jealous of Khan. "I wish I could become so young again that all heroines work with me aur unko jee bhar ke lipat jau!" "I want to do such romantic scenes with these heroines ki log fir yaad karein ki '60s, '70s aur '80s wala Dharmendra wapis aa gaya!" "I feel very jealous when I see Shah Rukh."
Mutual respect
Dharmendra's tribute to Khan at 42nd Filmfare Awards
At the 42nd Filmfare Awards in February 1997, Dharmendra was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Khan presented the award and delivered an emotional speech about Dharmendra's greatness. In response, Dharmendra called Khan his "chota bhai" and said, "Dilip Kumar Saab, Raj Kapoor Saab, Dev Anand Saab gave me inspiration and actors like Shah Rukh Khan and my two sons are giving me competition." Meanwhile, fans will be able to see Dharmendra on screen one last time in Ikkis.