MUMBAI: Dharmendra was rejected for Love In Simla opposite Sadhana: ‘I was called for a screen test to be her first hero’

MUMBAI: Actor Dharmendra recently took a trip down memory lane as he
remembered late actor Sadhana on her
80th birth anniversary. Taking to Instagram, Dharmendra recalled giving a
screen test for Love In Simla, to be paired opposite Sadhana as her ‘first
hero’. However, he was rejected.

Dharmendra
shared a black-and-white throwback picture of himself. He channelled his Sholay
character Veeru and wrote, “Gaaoon waalo (people of the village)” and
continued, “Kapil ke show mein Chala gaya tha peet mein bal pad gaye (I
went on The Kapil Sharma Show)…..”

Reacting
to his post, a fan wrote, “Dharam ji, today (Sep 2) is Sadhana ji’s 80th
birth anniversary. Can you please share any beautiful memories of you with
her.”

He
replied, “@sadhanaxshivdasani_fp Sadhana, a lovely person, a versatile
artist. I was called for a screen test to be her first hero in Love In Simla.
But rejected!!! Unfortunately, I could do only one film with her. On her Birth
anniversary……’we will miss you, dear Sadhana’.”

Love In
Simla was a 1960 romantic film starring Joy Mukherjee and Sadhana in the lead
roles. It marked Sadhana’s debut in Hindi films as a lead actor. The film was
directed by RK Nayyar and produced by Joy’s father Sashadhar Mukherjee under
his production house, Filmalaya.

Dharmendra
and Sadhana featured together in only one film, Ishq Par Zor Nahin, throughout
their careers. The film, released in 1970, was a romantic movie directed by
Ramesh Saigal and produced by Suresh Saigal. The film also starred Biswajeet,
Kamini Kaushal, Leela Mishra, Abhi Bhattacharya, Jagdeep, Nadira and Helen.

Last
month, Dharmendra along with Shatrughan Sinha appeared on The Kapil Sharma Show. The duo spoke about a host
of topics including the love life of Dharmendra. As per Indian Express,
Shatrughan had said, “Jitna kaam kiya, kitna naam kiya, kitna handsome,
jitna chah logon mein rahi, apart from all that, usne ek kaam zabardast kiya — ishq
kiya (Apart from all the respect and love he has earned, there’s one thing he’s
done even better: love). He has always remained a one-woman man, at a
time.” Dharmendra responded, “Bahut shararati ho gaya (You’ve become very
naughty).”

Meanwhile,
Dharmendra will be seen in Apne 2 by Anil Sharma. He will reunite with his sons
Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, and feature alongside his grandson Karan Deol for
the first time. He will also feature in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani along
with Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan.