‘It is a Very Emotional Experience For Me’

Months before his demise, the much-missed Dharmendra spoke about what would turn out to be his farewell performance in Ikkis. “It is a very emotional experience for me,” said the late actor. “Doing Ikkis is my way of paying tribute to India’s armed forces. I had played a soldier in Ramanand Sagar’s Lalkar many years ago. I felt so proud to be in uniform.”

Dharamji singled out Agastya Nanda for special praise. “He is a lovely child, and so talented—quite a chip off the old block. I felt he was my own grandson. My relationship with the Bachchans goes back a long way. Infact, Jaya even says she’s a fan of mine and is very fond of my daughter Esha I never got a chance to work with Abhishek. Now I’m working with Agastya in what I thought was his first film.”

When gently told that Agastya had already acted in a film earlier, a surprised Dharamji replied, “Has he? I didn’t know.” Speaking fondly of director Sriram Raghavan, he added, “I worked with Sriram in Johnny Gaddaar and now in Ikkis. He is a very gifted director who knows exactly what he is doing.”