Bharat Dabholkar's Unique Kurta Connection with Dharmendra

Mumbai, Nov 25 (PTI): Renowned advertising professional and actor Bharat Dabholkar recently shared a unique anecdote about his ‘kurta connection’ with Bollywood legend Dharmendra.

Though Dabholkar has made appearances in Marathi theatre and films, he took to social media to narrate an interesting link with the iconic star, despite never having met him.

“Years ago, Satish Bhatia sir, a brilliant director of photography, cast me in the lead role of his Marathi TV serial 'Gharo Ghari', opposite the exceptionally talented Savita Prabhune,” Dabholkar, 56, recounted on Facebook.

“One evening, he instructed me to bring my nightwear for the next day's bedroom scene shoot. I spent the whole night imagining the scene and prepared by bringing my white kurta and a lungi, only to be told a white kurta would blur on TV,” he shared.

That’s when Bhosle Dada, who had worked with the esteemed Hrishikesh Mukherjee and was in charge of the costume department, announced that he had some colored kurtas worn by Dharmendra in Mukherjee’s films in his ‘peti’ (box).

“I was handed, with great respect, a colorful kurta worn by Dharmendra. It fit like a snug tee shirt,” Dabholkar humorously recounted.

“When I mentioned this to Bhosle Dada, he looked at me with disbelief and said, ‘Dharam ji ka hai, kisi ko bhi hona chahiye (It is Dharam ji’s kurta and should fit everyone).’

“In my mind, I thought it wouldn’t matter since it was a bedroom scene, expecting I’d be removing it soon. Little did I know that in a Marathi TV serial of those days, a bedroom scene involved the husband lying under the sheet alone, while the wife called from the kitchen, ‘Aho, ataa uthata ka, chaha thand hotoy (Wake up dear, the tea is getting cold).’

“And so, the day was saved for Bhosle Dada, myself, and for one of my most admired actors, Dharmendra ji. I wore your kurta, Dharmendra ji, and thus, we share a connection,” Dabholkar concluded in the now viral post.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was among the few directors who cast Dharmendra against his usual ‘He-man’ image. Notable collaborations between Dharmendra and Mukherjee include films like “Satyakam”, “Anupama”, “Chupke Chupke”, and “Chaitali”.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)