Dharmendra cycled with so much josh, he overtook a running train in Apne, recalls Anil Sharma: ‘15,000 people cheered him’ | Bollywood News

Anil Sharma has done a number of films with the late Dharmendra, who passed away this past Monday at the age of 89. They’ve collaborated on hits across decades, from the 1987 action thriller Hukumat to the 2007 family drama Apne. Sharma recalled how during the shoot of a key outdoor sequence in the latter, Dharmendra demonstrated his unparalleled physical stamina at the age of 71.
“He was very happy during the Apne shoot. He used to cry and get emotionally choked whenever he’d len to the story or watch the film later,” recalled Sharma, adding, “I remember a shot in Apne. Dharmendra was on a cycle, racing with a running train. About 10,000-15,000 people just showed up on set and they began cheering, ‘Dharmendra! Dharmendra!’”
“Dharam ji got so pumped up that he overtook the train on his cycle, even on the rocky path next to the railway tracks,” revealed Sharma in an interview with Vickey Lalwani. He added that Apne was a special film for the late actor since he was long looking for an opportunity to share screen space with both his sons, Sunny Deol and Bob Deol.
“I didn’t want an action film with all three of them together. There can be action, but there should be a basic emotion in the story too. So, it took a year or a year and a half in writing the story, but it worked out,” said Sharma. He revealed his favourite scene of Dharmendra from the film was when he enters the boxing ring.
“It’s empty, and there’s silence. Then he talks to the signs of his son’s blood on the mat. Wow, what a scene! Dharam ji is extraordinary when it comes to emotion. People say his action and comedy are great, but I say Dharam ji is the best in everything, but his emotion really touches you. It feels very real. And he never puts glycerine. None of the three Deols do that. Tears just flow out of their eyes,” added Sharma.

He revealed that he’d written the script of Apne 2, but is not in the right state of mind to pursue it now, after Dharmendra’s death. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it yet. I’d written a very good role for Dharam ji in that one. We were supposed to continue the same story. I can’t say how we’ll do it now, if at all,” said Sharma.
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He recalled his last meeting with Dharmendra at the latter’s residence last month. “He hugged me. I touched his feet. He gave me his blessings. He said, ‘Aur bhai chhutke! Kya ho raha hai? Kya kar raha hai? (What are you upto).’ I told him I’m writing a couple of films with Utkarsh (Sharma, son), and also planning for Gadar 3 and Apne 2. He said, ‘Write a good role for me. I want to shoot and do a good film. I want to do something. The camera is my mehbooba (lover). You just give me a role, and I’ll do it. You see what I’ll do,’” said Sharma.