Dharmendra's birthday: Did you know he was Hrishikesh Mukherjee's first choice for Anand?

Legendary Hindi film industry actor Dharmendra turns 85 years old as December 8 marks his birthday. The 'He-Man' of Bollywood has given Indian cinema several blockbuster films including Sholay, Satyakam, Do Chor, Yaadon Ki Baaraat and Aadmi Aur Insaan to name a few. However, did you know that Dharmendra was the first choice of late prolific filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee for the cult classic Anand, which later went to the late legend Rajesh Khanna? 

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Dharmendra trivia: When Dharmendra drunk-dialed Hrishikesh Mukerjee

According to a report by IMDb, deemed as one of the finest filmmakers of Indian cinema, Hrishikesh Mukerjee had narrated the story of 1971's Anand to Dharmendra during the shooting of Hrishikesh's 1969 film Satyakam. Dharmendra was reportedly all geared up for starring in Anand as he was assured the role by the late director. However, the actor was shocked to later find out that his contemporary Rajesh Khanna was signed for the role while he had also commenced the shooting of the drama film.

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Thus, a furious and drunk Dharmendra called the Chupke Chupke director all night long and demanded to know why the Kati Patang actor given the role instead of him. During grandson Karan Deol's debut film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas' promotion on The Kapil Sharma Show, Dharmendra himself admitted drunk-dialling 'Hrishi Da' after realising that Rajesh Khanna was roped in to play the part he was offered first. The Sholay actor revealed that he didn't let the Dada Saheb Phalke Award-winning filmmaker sleep for the entire night as he wanted to know why Khanna was given the role when they had discussed it first on a flight during the shooting of Satyakam. 

Check out the video below:

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However, Dharmendra's movies with Hrishikesh Mukherjee including Chupke Chupke, Majhli Didi and Guddi along with Satyakam have been some of the most critically lauded Hindi films of the 85-year-old. Meanwhile, Dharmendra was last seen on the big screens in Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se. The 2018 film marked the third instalment of his hit film Yamla Pagla Deewana with sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.

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