“I never had a personal meeting with Dharmendra ji. Once he called me when Hema ji became an MP. He had written a letter… He was worried that Hema ji should win from her constituency with a good vote margin – he mentioned this in the letter – and that’s exactly what happened; Hema ji won by a very good margin,” Amit Shah said, as quoted by NDTV.

“Dharmendra ji was a man with a very clean and pure heart. Today, I have come here as a fan of Dharmendra ji; I have not come here as the Home Minister. Dharmendra ji entered the film industry at a time when there wasn’t much money, nor the kind of luxury we see today. Through sheer hard work and dedication, he achieved that stature. The same person who could play a character like the one in Sholay could also play a completely different kind of role in Chupke Chupke,” the Union Home Minister continued.

“I have watched many of Dharmendra ji’s films that are connected with patriotism. I have watched his film Aankhen many times. Even back then, it felt as though this was a true patriot; this wasn’t just acting. The whole world knows that Dharm ji was a farmer’s son and loved the country deeply. Even at the age of 90, Dharmendra ji’s departure is a great loss. May God grant peace to his noble soul. Vande Mataram!” he added.

Dharmendra passed away on November 24. Previously, his sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, also held a prayer meeting in Mumbai, which was attended by several Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Malaika Arora, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha, Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty.

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