Big Brother

Every filmmaker has a moment when cinema first hits them, the larger‑than‑life moments and characters that inspire you to become a better human being, and make you dare to chase the path of filmmaking.

For me, that moment with Hindi cinema came with ‘Sholay’.

It was the early 1980s. Like countless boys of my generation, Jai-Amitabh Bachchan was my hero. Don, Natwarlal, Deewaar, everything was Amitabh. I wanted to walk like him, talk like him, dress like him. My mother, however, loved Dev Anand, and I ended up wearing hand‑me‑downs that looked nothing like Amitabh. Imagine the irony.

But while I consciously tried to become Amitabh, another presence settled quietly into my heart.

Our beloved ‘Veeru’, Dharmendra. I still remember the scene: “Police coming, budhiya going to jail… in jail, chakkī peesing, peesing.” It was my first real introduction to layered comedy, Humour sparked by innocence, timing, and warmth, and it has stayed an inspiration for me even today.

Dharmendra felt different to me. Not merely a hero, but the ‘elder brother’ figure. While Amitabh was my hero, Dharmendra, the more established megastar, felt like his elder brother. The more mature presence standing beside the Angry Young Man. The man who fought, joked, protected, and stayed loyal.