Dharmendra Recalls his Struggling Days: I Lived in a Garage, Worked in a Drilling Firm for Rs 200

Veteran superstar Dharmendra recently made an appearance on the singing reality show Indian Idol 11, where he recalled his struggling days and cherished some old memories.

Dharmendra got nostalgic when contestants on the show performed the song Kal Ki Haseen Mulaqat Ke Liye from the actor’s 1976 film, Charas. 

Sharing memories of his struggling days, the actor said, “In my earlier days, I used to live in a garage because I didn’t have a proper home in Mumbai. To survive in Mumbai, I worked in a drilling firm where I was paid Rs 200, and to earn some extra money I used to do overtime.”

The 84-year-old actor had earlier made an appearance on another reality show, Superstar Singer, with his son Sunny Deol and grandson Karan Deol. Dharmendra had got emotional and could not stop his tears when a video depicting his journey was played on the show. 

After watching the video, Dharmendra had said, “Rula diya yaar, tumne mujhe rula diya (You made me cry dear). Yahi mai khwab dekhta tha yahan aane ke. Us pul pe jaata hun to us pul se kehta hu ki Dharmendra tu actor ban gaya yaar! (This is where I dreamt of coming to showbiz. Even today, whenever I visit that bridge, I say ‘Dharmendra, you became an actor!).

He further added, “Us pul se ja ke kehta hu ki mere khwab pure ho gaye. Aur ye gaaon ki mitti ke kann kann se juta hun. Hum waha partition se pehle se rehte the. Mai to jazbaati insaan hun, tum mujhe waha le gaye jaha mere jazbaat ubhar ubhar ke baahar aa rahe the. (I tell it to the bridge, so that it knows that I have achieved my dreams. I am attached to the soil of my village, I am an emotional person and you took me to a place where all my emotions belong).”