Birthday Special: When Dharmendra Almost Gave Up On His Dream of Becoming An Actor

Bollywood star Dharmendra has a legacy of six decades in the Hindi film industry. Often referred to as the most handsome leading man the industry has ever seen, he also had his own parallel stardom to escape the mass hysteria caused by Rajesh Khanna and then Amitabh Bachchan. The late Dilip Kumar is believed to have once said that if he ever met God, the only question he would ask was why he was not made as handsome as Dharmendra. Sr. Deol celebrates his 87th birthday on 8th December and on that occasion, let us look back at a certain incident in his life during his days of struggle when he decided to call it quits and return home.

As the national winner of Filmfare magazine’s New Talent Award, Dharmendra traveled from Punjab to Mumbai to work on a film to be made for the winner, but this never happened. The film was never made, leaving him disheartened and a new struggle begins in an unknown city.

According to media reports, when Dharmendra was trying his luck in Mumbai after the failure of his promised film, he met Manoj Kumar, an actor of those days. Both were on the same path, so friendship blossomed. Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar were roommates during their struggle in Mumbai. Manoj Kumar used to run his expenses by working as a ghostwriter.

At one point, Dharmendra decided to give up his struggle and return to Punjab, giving up on his dreams of being an actor. However, he was encouraged and motivated by Manoj Kumar to keep trying.

Manoj Kumar got an offer in 1960 for the film Kanch Ki Gudiya. He persuaded Dharmendra to stay on for another month as the new offer brought in an inflow of cash. Dharmendra accepted and paid it. Dharmendra got his first break within a week. He made his debut in Arjun Hingorani’s Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere the same year, and the rest is history.

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