Sriram Raghavan remembers Dharmendra: ‘You watched all his films just because he was in it’

One of Dharmendra’s finest late-career roles is in Sriram Raghavan’s Johnny Gaddaar (2007). Dharmendra plays Sheshadri, the patrician leader of a group of crooks that is gradually gutted by betrayal. When Raghavan started thinking about Ikkis a few years ago, he told Scroll that he had only Dharmendra in mind for the role of the father of war hero Arun Khetarpal, played by Agastya Nanda.

The cast of Ikkis includes Jaideep Ahlawat, Simar Bhatia, Suhasini Mulay, Rahul Dev and Vivaan Shah. The Hindi film will be released on December 25, with special previews planned on December 21. Dharmendra’s demise on November 24 makes Ikkis his final project.

Raghavan has been a fan of Dharmendra for decades. When asked to name a few of his favourite Dharmendra performances to mark the movie star’s 90th birthday on December 8, the 63-year-old filmmaker declared that the task was “impossible”.

Yet, Raghavan managed to cherry-pick roles from a career that spanned six decades, but with caveats: the list is by no means comprehensive, and every Dharmendra movie, whatever its quality, is a treat.

Here is an edited transcript of Raghavan’s tribute to Dharmendra.

‘First and only choice for Ikkis’

He’s done a superb job in Ikkis. I would have loved for him to have watched Ikkis properly. He had watched more than half of it, and I was hoping to show him the completed film.

Haqeeqat was one of Dharmendra’s early films. The opening line from Kaifi Azmi’s song Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaan-o-tan Saathiyon in Haqeeqat is also the opening line of Ikkis. That song always stirs me whenever I hear it.

I first spoke to him about Ikkis around five or six years ago. We had stayed in touch after Johnny Gaddaar – he would call me and Pooja [Ladha Surti, Raghavan’s co-writer and editor] over to his home every now and then. We would listen to his poems and talk about movies.

He was always craving to get back to the sets. He was my first and probably my only choice for the film.

Dharam ji is a great, great star. There were questions about whether he would suit the role, but I had no doubts, and it paid off.

Sheshadri in Johnny Gaddaar

Sheshadri is my maternal uncle’s name. When I spoke to Dharam ji about Johnny Gaddaar, I asked him to suggest a good name for his character. He thought for a bit and said, Ranjit Singh. But the name had already been used in a couple of his movies. Why not Sheshadri, I wondered? It’s a good, South Indian name. And nobody ever asked why he is called Sheshadri.

I wanted a gentleman crook, the kind you find in French crime films, like Jean Gabin and Alain Delon at the other extreme. I wanted a star actor who was dependable, whose face is a landscape.

An early favourite: Yakeen

One day in 1969, my dad came home and said, let’s go and watch a movie, it’s called Yakeen. The film is directed by Brij. If you want trivia, it’s the movie in which Javed Akhtar is an assistant director.

Dharmendra plays a double role – it has the trope of the look-alike taking over. It’s quite a mad, fun movie with great songs. I used one of them, Bachke Kahan Jaoge, in Johnny Gaddaar.

Dharmendra is one of those actors – you don’t care if the movie is good or bad. You just go and watch the film because he is in it.

The iconic introduction in Yaadon Ki Baaraat

He is one of three actors and is one-third of the movie. I too am one of three brothers, which is probably why the film connects with me.

He’s too good in the film. His introduction is iconic. He plays the oldest brother Shankar, who as a child sees his parents being killed. He wonders if he can ever go back home. A train passes by and you suddenly see the character again – he’s wearing jeans and he is Dharmendra.

There’s also a beautiful sequence in which the brothers find out that they are related. This is Hindi commercial cinema at its supreme.

Guddi and “Jai Dharmendra!”

No other actor can be the object of a school girl’s obsession but Dharmendra. You wouldn’t believe anyone else in the role. It’s a lovely film. It also has a great last line by Utpal Dutt, who looks at the sky and says “Jai Dharmendra!”

The shift with ‘Ghulami’

There are also films like Ghulami. He had been known for a lot of tomfoolery in films like Naukar Biwi Ka and Phandebaaz. But Ghulami was like a John Ford film.

It was JP Dutta’s first release. Although the film is an ensemble, Dharmendra is the main character. This is a film worth revisiting, especially on a big screen.

The larger-than-life films: Dharam Veer, Jeevan Mrityu

I watched Dharam Veer at Badal Bijlee in Bombay. I was supposed to studying for the IIT entrance exam at Agarwal Classes. But I soon realised that this isn’t my zone.

Dharam Veer gives you memories of Ben-Hur and the Classics Illustrated comics. Dharmendra used to say that his dad loved the film. His father was a strict school teacher, but Dharam Veer was his favourite. The film is like Dharmendra – larger than life.

He was so likeable and good-looking. Jeevan Mrityu is based on The Count of Monte Cristo. Dharmendra comes back in disguise and, of course, we know who he is even if the other characters don’t.

Those days, even slightly bizarre, obscure movies of his ran for days. People really enjoyed them.

Mera Gaon Mera Desh is another favourite. Other films are fan favourites, like Sholay or Chupke Chupke. But I also love him in films like Anupama. He isn’t a star in the film, he is just a good presence. That goodness comes through.

This quality is also there in Bandini, Naya Zamana, Dost. They were moral tales, in a sense, but they held our interest at that time. Anupama and Bandini are wonderful stories.

I rewatched Phool Aur Patthar during Covid – it was such a strangely compelling story. He is also very good in JP Dutta’s Hathyar.

The star, the raconteur

I remember an anecdote about the song Abhi To Haath Mein Jaam from Seeta Aur Geeta. It was his birthday the year before last, and I had just started work on Ikkis. My assistant shot a video of me watching him in the song and wishing him. It is pinned on his X account.

He recalled shooting a scene with Nutan for a movie and slipping her a ladoo. She took it. Later, the director told him, I liked your improvisation. It was the first time he had heard the word, he told me.

Dharam ji once said that I had seen more films of his than he had. That was his connect with me, I guess.

(As told to Nandini Ramnath.)

Also read:

The rugged and tender charms of movie legend Dharmendra (1935-2025)

‘Johnny Gaddaar’: Sriram Raghavan on creating one of Hindi cinema’s best crime thrillers