Bollywood he man Dharmendra is no longer with us. Arguably India’s most beloved male actor passed away on 24th November, 2025, peacefully in his sleep. Dharmendra’s legacy will live on forever. He is survived by his six children, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Ajeeta Deol, Vijeta Deol, Esha Deol, and Ahana Deol. This article touches upon the best movies of Dharmendra.
Dharmendra is indeed the actor who has been active in cinema for the longest timeframe, which spans over six decades. If we consider a decade as a generation, Bollywood’s he-man has been entertaining us for six generations. He’s the kind of actor that used to be your granddad’s favorite, then your dad’s favorite, and now your favorite.
Bollywood he man Dharmendra: Nation’s pride
Dharmendra’s acting takes us through the different phases and eras that our nation passed through, starting from our newly gained independence to the time when we began to match pace with the modern world. Dharmendra is the embodiment of India’s journey since times untold. His charismatic smile has been capturing the heart of the nation for a long time.
The catchy feature about Dharmendra was that you could not limit his work to a single genre. Action and tragedy were areas where he excelled and held audiences together. But in terms of comedy as well, Dharmendra was second to none. He had panache for entertaining the audiences to the max. In just about every single one of his roles, Dharmendra seemed believable and true to his character.
When one catches any of Dharmendra’s recent flicks, one finds it hard to believe that he used to be around when Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, and Dilip Kumar were popular actors. There used to be a time when Amitabh Bachchan was a beginner, working with Dharmendra as an established name in Indian cinema. With Dharmendra around in a movie, he removed the risk factor. The likelihood of the movie being a hit increased manifold. Sholay and Chupke Chupke were just two movies where Dharmendra created magic with Amitabh Bachchan. Both movies find daily runtime on Indian movie channels to date. An interesting piece of trivia: both released in 1975.
Sholay and Chupke Chupke: among the best movies of Dharmendra
It is surprising to note that both movies had a whole lot of stuff in common, even though both entertained audiences in their own, very typical ways. A whole lot of the cast was similar in both movies. This included Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Asrani, and Keshto Mukherjee.
Now, while Ramesh Sippy directed Sholay, Chupke Chupke was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. But N.C. Sippy was the producer of Chupke Chupke. He is the brother of G.P. Sippy, Sholay’s producer. Then Gulzar wrote the lyrics for Chupke Chupke, unlike Sholay, where Salim-Javed had enthralled audiences with their out-of-the-ordinary scriptwriting skills.
The nation bemoans the departing of Bollywood he man Dharmendra, who will stay alive within our hearts forever. Such actors appear once in an era. Watching the best movies of Dharmendra will always bring joy to our hearts as these movies are timeless.
