It was a sunny Summer afternoon in 2007 when I was covering Delhi Government for The Hindustan Times newspaper in Delhi. The routine for us beat reporters on the job was predictable — moving from one office to another, starting with the Chief Minister’s office on the first floor to the seventh floor where the offices of some of the ministers in the then Congress Government was located with the only purpose of getting an exclusive news story. In between, there were endless rounds of tea, coffee, Idlis and whatever was available in the Government canteen and was offered to us by the Public Relation officers of the ministers, and the departments they were holding or the bureaucrats whom we met.
As a matter of routine, two of us — me and Rajesh Kumar, then and still with The Pioneer, went to the office of Dr AK Walia, then minister of Urban Development, Finance and some other key departments. He was practically the Number two in the Sheila Dikshit Government. Ironically, the tall, ever smiling Dr Walia, one of the ministers thoroughly engaged in the development of Delhi, is no more with us as he was snatched by Covid epidemic.
Dr Walia asked us to forget about any news for the moment as the “He Man” Dharmendra was coming to meet him in the office and asked us to wait in his ante-room. This was sort of a private room, attached to the office with a plush sofa set, a bed, TV and a washroom. Clearly, Dr Walia was quite excited as were we.
Both of us — me and Rajesh, waited in the ante-room and were drinking water, brought by the peon when Dharmendra, accompanied by Dr Walia walked in. The tall, smiling Dharmendra, wearing a Blue Jeans and a White Shirt, immediately shook hands with us as Dr Walia introduced us to the film star. His warmth and smile bowled us. I recalled his movies and characters immediately — Veeru from Sholay was still fresh in mind and could remember each and every dialogue he delivered in that landmark movie which changed the course of Hindi film industry. He was much taller than what I had expected and must have been in his early 70s at that time. But there he was handsome as ever and looked at least 20 years younger than what he actually was.
We talked about movies, entertainment in general, film industry, cities like Delhi and Bombay. As a fanboy, I mentioned the movies in which he had acted and I had greatly appreciated his work. He was all ears as I told him about the Jailor in Bandini with Nutan, a Black and White movie which had a deep impact on me due to its storyline. Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Sita aur Geeta, Dharamveer, Aankhen, Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Razia Sultan etc. He was smiling sheepishly as the fanboys, Dr Walia included, appreciated his work over the years and how he had captivated the audience due to his acting skills and the ability to get into the skin of the character he was portraying in films.
He asked us about journalism in general in Delhi and also spoke about how some film journalists were simply into sensationalism in then Bombay, now Mumbai. But instead of a monologue, he was all ears when four of us in the room spoke about our experiences and how movies changed our worldview in the 1980s when it was the only mode of mass entertainment for the country.
It was a great interaction for half an hour or so. It was only then that Dr Walia summoned the official photographer of Delhi Government. It was pre smartphone or selfie days and we had to pose before a Camera for a photograph. Dharmendra, the ever green hero of the Indian film industry, happily obliged and posed with us. A couple of staff members of the minister too joined in to be photographed with Dharmendra. He charmed us, bowled us over and gave us memories of a lifetime with this brief interaction. 18 years down the line, when Dharmendra moved to a higher realm and became a soul, the memories came rushing in and flooded my consciousness.