‘Never forgot his roots’: Punjab villagers recall Dharmendra’s ‘late-night’ visits home

LUdhiana : As tidings skint of Bollywood fable Dharmendra’s going at 89 at his abode in Mumbai on Monday afternoon, residents of his native village, Dangon and nearby Sahnewal town where he grew up in Ludhiana district of Punjab, remembered a son of the soil who is still loved in the region.Dharmendra’s bond with Punjab and its people was of a kind that meant that generations –– across the social and income spectrum –– considered him family, not a larger-than-life film star. Everyone in Sahnewal town knows the rented house where Dharmendra, the son of school teacher Kewal Krishan Deol, spent his childhood, and although it has since been sold and renovated, it is still called Dharmendra’s house. “Everyone here knows the way to Dharmendra ji’s house. We may be its owners now, but even we call it Dharmendra Bhaji’s house,” says Honey Singh.The house originally belonged to Master Ramji Das, who was also a teacher and friend of Dharmendra’s father. “Kewal Krishan ji was transferred here from Lalton Kalan, a village in Ludhiana. The actor’s ancestral village is Dangon. The staff at the Government Primary School where his father taught is still known as Dharmendra’s father’s school,” Honey Singh added.At the actor’s century-old home in Dangon, his aunt, Pritam Kaur, who is now over 100, sat surrounded by relatives remembering the actor’s late-night visits — quiet, unannounced, and always filled with warmth. Her son, Manjit Singh Deol, Dharmendra’s cousin, and his children recalled how the actor preferred arriving after dark so he could meet the family away from the crowds that inevitably gathered during the day.“Some years ago, ‘uncle ji’ (Dharmendra) came and transferred his 19 kanals of agricultural land to my father. It was his way of keeping the family bond alive,” said Buta Singh Deol, Manjit Singh’s son. “He worried about the land, but he trusted us to preserve it. He was proud that his roots remained untouched.”Buta remembers how deeply Dharmendra grieved when his father and the latter’s younger brother Shingara Singh, who the actor adored, died during Covid. “He was shattered,” Buta said softly.Over the years, Dharmendra often spoke about his regret at not being able to do much for Dangon because of his demanding film career. He would gently correct people who assumed Sahnewal was his hometown. “Though all of Punjab is my motherland,” he once said, “my roots are in this village.”And he never forgot it, or his people, from Dangon and Sahnewal.“Dharm Bhaji was five years elder to me. I met him twice in Mumbai while undergoing training for my job in Life Corporation of India. I stayed in his house, his children welcomed me with open arms and hearts. Sunny Deol guided me to a room on the first floor. There were over 50 pairs of shoes and Sunny asked me to try on whichever I liked,” said Girdhari Lal Sharma, a friend of Dharmendra’s younger brother Ajit Singh.Satish Kumar, a sweetmeat shop owner in Sahnewal, said: “My grandfather, Sadhu Ram, was Dharm Bhaji’s childhood friend. Dharm ji was fond of sweets. He never missed visiting our shop when he came to Sahnewal. During the wedding of his grandson, Karan Deol ( Sunny Deol’s son), Dharm ji ordered 35kg of ‘barfi’ from our shop in 2023.” Residents in both Dangon and Sahnewal have been praying for his health since he was hospitalised in Mumbai earlier this month. On Monday, as the news of his passing flashed on TV channels and on social media, people started gathering at the ‘sath’ (village common land) near the house where he once lived with his parents, to mourn the death.“Dharmendra ji was my grandfather’s age, but he was the Bhaji (elder brother) or Uncle ji for all of us –– an affectionate elder who never forgot his roots and lives on in our hearts,” said one of the mourners, Gaurav Kumar.Maya Devi (90), who grew up with Dharmendra, broke down on Monday after hearing about his death. “We studied together in the government school here. We played in these same streets. I wanted to see him, but I couldn’t. Today, when I heard he was gone, my heart broke” she said.