'Why can’t I do this?': When Dharmendra danced through PAIN in 'Ikkis', the choreographer recalled the midnight song shoot

Dharmendra’s final film, 'Ikkis,' was released on January 1, and crew members who worked closely on the film are now sharing memories of working with him. Choreographer Vijay Ganguly spoke about one such moment that stayed with him. He shared that Dharmendra was not fully comfortable physically but still wanted to do everything properly. Vijay shared that even standing up was not easy for him at that time. Still, Dharmendra did not want to step back. He wanted to give his 100 percent to the film. Vijay said this showed the kind of actor and person Dharmendra was till the very end.

The 3 am qawwali shoot

Talking to Pinkvilla, Vijay recalled a night shoot for a qawwali sequence. The scene was set during Dharmendra’s character’s college reunion. It was around 2:30 to 3 am. Vijay said they told Dharmendra that he only had to dance a little and could do whatever he felt comfortable with. But Dharmendra asked what the other boys in the scene were doing. When Vijay showed him that the boys were doing a leg step while holding each other’s shoulders, Dharmendra asked, “Why can I not do this?” The team was worried about him and asked him to take it easy. They told him dancing was not very important for the scene. But Dharmendra did not agree easily.

Getting up was also difficult for Dharmendra

Vijay shared that Dharmendra was sitting because getting up again and again was difficult for him. Still, he got up and did the steps. Vijay said, “He insisted on doing the steps.” Later, the team requested him to stop because many retakes could make it very tiring for him. Vijay added that dancing was not needed for the character, but for Dharmendra, it was personal. He felt he had to give his full effort. He also did not want anyone to think that he could not do it. Vijay said everyone felt proud watching him. Dharmendra even asked for the song lyrics and said he would memorize them in case lip-syncing was needed.

Hema Malini on losing Dharamji

In another interview with TOI City, Hema Malini spoke about losing Dharmendra. She said, “It was an inconsolable shock.” She shared that for one month, the family struggled when he was unwell. “We were all there, Esha, Ahana, Sunny, and Bobby, all together,” she said. She added that earlier he had gone to the hospital and returned fine, so they thought it would happen again. “He was talking to us nicely. On my birthday, October 16, he even wished me,” she recalled. Dharmendra was about to turn 90 on December 8, and the family was planning celebrations. “To personally see him sink was very difficult. Nobody should have to go through this kind of situation,” Hema Malini said.