Akshay Kumar: Dharmendra ji was the hero every boy wanted to be

Mumbai, Nov 24 Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on Monday paid an emotional tribute to veteran actor Dharmendra, with whom he worked in the 1995 film “Maidan-E-Jung”, remembering him as the man every young boy once dreamt of becoming.

Sharing his grief, Akshay said Dharmendra was the industry’s “original He-Man” whose larger-than-life presence shaped generations of actors and moviegoers.

Posting a picture with the late star on Instagram, he wrote: “Growing up, Dharmendra ji was the hero every boy wanted to be...our industry's original He-Man. Thank you for inspiring generations. You'll live on through your films and the love you spread. Om Shanti.”

Maidan-E-Jung was directed by K.C. Bokadia. It features an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, Jaya Prada, Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor, Mukesh Khanna, Amrish Puri and Gulshan Grover. This film marks the last on screen appearance of Manoj Kumar, who retired from acting after its release and died in April 2025.

Veteran Bollywood star Dharmendra, aged 89, passed away on Monday morning.

The octogenarian on November 12 had got discharged from Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and was said to be in a stable condition and recovering well at home.

At that time Dr. Rajiv Sharma from the hospital told IANS that the legendary star has gone home “fully satisfied” after receiving the required treatment.

The star was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and sources close to IANS on November 10 had said that Dharmendra is critical and on life support.

On October 31, the actor, as per sources close to IANS, was kept under strict medical observation by top doctors at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.

The superstar would have turned 90 on December 8.

Talking about Akshay, he was recently seen in Jolly LLB 3 directed by Subhash Kapoor. It is the third installment in the Jolly LLB series and the sequel to Jolly LLB 2. The film also stars Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla, with Amrita Rao and Huma Qureshi all reprising their roles from the previous films.

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