Amitabh Bachchan recalls strangers walking into Dharmendra’s home and an open-door ‘free for all’ hospitality, warmth and generosity: ‘He had a massive heart’
Amitabh Bachchan has revisited a heartwarming and amusing memory of his late ‘Sholay’ co-star Dharmendra, highlighting the veteran actor’s famously generous nature and open-door hospitality. During ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati,’ Bachchan recalled how Dharmendra’s home was practically a “free-for-all”, with people from his village and elsewhere freely walking in as though it were their own house. Remembering the incident, the megastar said Dharmendra “had such a massive heart” and welcomed everyone with warmth.
Amitabh Bachchan recalls Dharmendra’s ‘free-for-all’ house
Taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane, Amitabh Bachchan recounted a hilarious yet touching story about how strangers would casually walk into Dharmendra’s house and make themselves at home, reflecting the veteran actor’s warmth and large-heartedness.Sharing the anecdote, Amitabh Bachchan said, “Ek baat batadu inke ghar ke baare mein. Sir, inka ghar jo hai na, free for all jo aayega yeh aapka hi ghar hain. Ek din mujhe yaad hai Dharam ji aayein aur dekha ki 4-5 aadmi seedhi chadke jaa rahein hain to unhone pucha bhai, kaun hain aap? Kya kar rahein hain? toh bola ki gaaon se aayein shayad aapki mataji ne bula liya hoga, he himself didn’t know ki kitne log aatein hain… bahut bada dil tha.“(Let me tell you another thing about his house. Their home was a ‘free for all’ — whoever came, it was like their own house! I remember one day Dharam ji came home and saw 4-5 men walking up the stairs. So he asked them, ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ They said they had come from the village. Dharmendra assumed that his wife had probably invited them! He himself didn’t even know how many people were coming and going in his house and always welcomed everybody with love and warmth. He had such a massive heart.)
More about Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan’s camaraderie
Dharmendra was Amitabh Bachchan’s senior in the industry, and the two icons set a benchmark for on-screen friendship with their unforgettable characters Jai and Veeru in ‘Sholay’. Their song ‘Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge’, featuring the duo on their iconic three-wheeled bike, remains one of Bollywood’s most relatable friendship anthems even 50 years after the film’s release.
Dharmendra’s demise
Dharmendra passed away in November last year. Amitabh Bachchan, along with his son Abhishek Bachchan, was among the first to arrive at the crematorium to pay their final respects to the legendary actor.
