The masculine beauty phenomenon on the silver screen Dharmendra, appeared in over 300 films, but to truly highlight his acting prowess, I would like to begin with Satyakam and Phool aur Patthar.
Satyakam is an art film indeed a classic based on the mythological tale of Jabal Satyakam. In contrast, Phool aur Patthar was a formula film that possibly featured the first display of physique on screen. The “body show” trend began here, though the subsequent displays of physique featured gym-sculpted bodies devoid of true masculinity.
The dialogue writer for Satyakam was Rajendra Singh Bedi. One line spoken by Satyakam’s grandfather (Ashok Kumar) remains memorable to this day: “One should not have pride in speaking the truth… one must have the courage to speak the truth.” The film opens with a story:
Satyakam approached Guru Gautam and said: Lord, accept me as your disciple.
Guru Gautam asked: What is your lineage?
Satyakam replied: I asked my mother. She said she had served many and thus bore me. Therefore, she does not know your father’s name. But my name is Jabala, so yours is Jabal Satyakam.
Gautam kissed Satyakam’s head and said: You are the noblest Brahmin, for you possess the courage to speak the truth.
The film’s protagonist, Satyapriya Acharya, is an uncompromising idealist. An engineer from a family steeped in generations of devotion to truth, righteousness, and pure conduct, his father renounced the family to become a monk, and his childhood was spent in the company of his sage-like grandfather. Satyapriya’s insistence on truth and purity of conduct borders on obsession. He fights the corrupt system alone.
A contractor demands that Engineer Satyapriya Acharya sign blueprints he did not create. Upon refusal, the contractor offers a blank check, which Satyapriya rejects as a bribe.
“You call this a bribe?”
“Yes!”
“Like Lord Krishna, it has 108 names, Acharya Sahib. In Delhi, they call it commission. In Bihar… in Bengal, they happily call it money for paan. What they call this beauty in Tamil and Telugu, I don’t know. Since you’re a monument to honesty, for your convenience, I’ll call it an honorarium. Here you go.”
(Satyapriya Acharya tears up the check)
“Rai Sahib, I don’t know what it’s called in Tamil and Telugu either, but in every language, this is the answer.”
Another confrontation with a different contractor occurs, and our hero stands firm on the side of truth with characteristic defiance. After he leaves, the contractor tells his accountant-like aide: “Every man has his price.”
Satyapriya Acharya develops cancer and, fighting the world and even himself, bids farewell to this world. Dharmendra Ji inhabited the role of Satyapriya at an unimaginable pinnacle of acting excellence. His performance in this single film elevates him to stand alongside even Dilip Sahab. I have watched this film seven times.
The film that achieved immense popularity through the on screen chemistry between Dharmendra and Meena Kumari was Phool aur Patthar. Shaka (Dharmendra Ji) is a criminal. Circumstances made him one but he possesses remarkable humanity and compassion. He has respect for women, the capacity to stand by them, and to fall in love. Dharmendra inhabited this role of a moral criminal with tremendous intensity.
Counted among the world’s most handsome men, Dharmendra left his mark in serious, contemplative roles on one hand, while proving his comic timing prowess on the other.
