‘Dharmendra said my sons are too innocent, they don’t have affairs with actresses,’ says Anil Sharma: ‘Mere time pe…’

Dharmendra and his sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, have appeared in many films together, including the likes of Apne and Yamla Pagla Deewana. In a recent interview, Gadar director Anil Sharma, who worked extensively with Dharmendra in the 1980s, recalled an anecdote about making of Apne, when the veteran actor seemed to be pulling his sons’ leg, and his sons got so awkward with his jokes that they ran away.

Talking to Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Anil recalled a “funny” incident and shared, “Dharam ji, Sunny, Bobby and me were all sitting together in the vanity van. Dharam ji says ‘Mere ladke bade seedhe hain (My sons are too innocent)’. He didn’t realise both his sons were sitting there. ‘Inka yaar, kuch heroines ke sath chakkar hi nahi chalta kabhi. Inko koi badi herone milti nahi hai kabhi dono ko. Aur mere time ko dekho, sab heroines peeche aati rehti thi. Sab padi rehhti thi peeche (They don’t have affairs with actresses. They don’t find anyone. And look at me, all the heroines were after me)’.”

Anil laughed and said that as soon as Sunny and Bobby heard this, they made a swift exit. This is when Dharmendra also started laughing and Anil shared, “Dharam ji laughed and said ‘Inko samajh nahi aata. Bade seedhe hain ladke. (They are so simple. They don’t understand anything).’ Then he said, ‘Main bhi bada seedha hu, haske bolne lage. Aisa kuch thode hai (I am also innocent, he laughed and said. There’s nothing like that)’.”

ALSO READ | What made Govinda go from being the ‘greatest star on screen’ to nowhere to be seen?

Anil said that Dharmendra’s charm was so magnetic that every female actor of his time wanted to work with him. He added that Sunny is shy and simple, and despite the fact that Bobby had a starry attitude, he chose to be a family man. Anil had previously mentioned that he would be making Apne 2 with the Deols. He is also expected to make Gadar 3 with Sunny Deol.

Why should you buy our Subscription?

You want to be the smartest in the room.

You want access to our award-winning journalism.

You don’t want to be misled and misinformed.

Choose your subscription package