Hema Malini Aur Dharmendra Ke Saath Ek Shaam

Hazaron saal nargis apni benoori par roti hai
Badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein Dharmendra paida

This is the Urdu couplet (minor alteration is there of course) with which I ended my interview with the amazing Dharmendra ji a short while back. Sitting with him, looking at his child like face and precious warmth oozing out from his persona....I was in a daze. His childhood stories when he snuggled close to his dad and how his dad asked him to tell Maths Tables and how his mom told him to always ensure that the kitchen should always be open to whoever comes to your home. He thanked his parents for their genes that made him so handsome and naturally physically fit.

Dharam ji recounted the famous 'suicide' scene from Sholay and how he added the ji to 'Mausi' making it Mausi Ji, the memorable Mausi ji. Why did Jai always put him in a spot with regards to his personal life by bitching about him to Mausi and Basanti and then saves his life at the end. "Ek lawaris hi doosre laawaris ki jaan bacha sakta hai," Dharam ji said about Jai's sacrifice at the end of the film. Dharam ji recited a few Urdu couplets. Off camera, he said "Hum ahle zabaan to na sahi lekin Urdu se mohabbat bahut hai" (Urdu may not be a language that's part of my paradigm but I love it very much). It has often been said that with partition, Urdu became Pakistan's language while Hindi got stuck to India. I told Dharam ji, "Sir, Urdu aapki bhi ahle zabaan hai. You are from Punjab and Urdu is an intrinsic part of Punjabi and hence Indian culture". Dharam ji hugged me after listening to this. Truly memorable experience.

Right before Dharam ji's interview, I had interviewed Hema Malini ji. Hema ji's bungalow in Juhu is a stone's throw away from Dharam ji's bungalow. Today is Hema ji's birthday. She looked radiant in a yellow sari. Hema ji is excited about Tell Me O Khuda and she is keen to step up the gas on its promotions. She said, she has realised it now that today promoting a film rightly has become very important. Hema ji spoke on launching Shahrukh with Dil Aashna Hai and how Salman has added a lot of zing with his special appearance in 'Someone Somebody' number that will be used as a promotional video coming with the end credits.

Hema ji went down memory lane and spoke about how Basanti is an intrinsic part of her life. She remembered how she has to say the 'Chal Dhanno' dialogue even if she goes for political rallies. Hema ji was visibly moved as we talked about 'Razia Sultan', a film that took 8 years in making and didn't do well at the Box Office. She says that she'd love to remake it with Esha. 'Ae Dil e nadaan' from Razia Sultan is one of her best songs, she said. Hema ji also spoke about other special roles like 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Meera', the bike speeding experience in 'Naseeb', working with Mr Bachchan in films like 'Baaghban', 'Baabul' and 'Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap' in the recent times. She discussed her jodi with Dharam ji, her passion for dancing and how her TV serial 'Nupur' still remains special.

We also interviewed Esha Deol and Arjan Bajwa today. Esha looks in great shape. I asked her why does she refer to Salman as Salman bhai considering she has done romantic roles with him. What did she say? Find out soon :)

Great day. Memorable for sure.

Hope you guys are rocking!!!!!

Cheers!!!!
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