On Monday (November 24), Bollywood's legendary superstar Dharmendra breathed his last. Known for his on-screen looks, swagger and powerhouse performances, Dharmendra was arguably among the biggest Bollywood superstars of the 1970s. If there was a person who gave stiff competition to Amitabh Bachchan's superstardom, it was the veteran from Punjab.
While Dharmendra's box office stamina in Bollywood is well-documented, not many know that he had featured in a Bengali film, approximately 59 years ago. It was first and only film in Bengali, titled Paari (1966). The film was a huge success and the uniqueness of the film was that another Bollywood megastar, the late Dilip Kumar who played a crucial cameo in the film.
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It was a rare multi-starrer featuring Bollywood superstars in that era, although Dilip Kumar wasn't in a full-length role. Apart from being a commercial success, Paari also received rich critical acclaim. Consequently, the film had a Hindi remake with the same superstars reprising their roles.
Dharmendra and Dilip Kumar proved to be a great combo for this project, and the film Anokha Milan (1972) was a commercial success. The film's soundtracks were also hugely popular. Music director Salil Chowdhury, who composed the songs for both the films, also used the tune of one song in a different Malayalam film.
That Malayalam film, Raagam (1975), had the hugely popular song 'Naadanpaatilae Maina', the tune of which was from the song 'Bokul Boner Katha' from Paari. In many ways, Dharmendra's Bengali debut film was a trendsetter and he did a few more films with Dilip Kumar, although that was in Hindi cinema.
