Rajkumar Santoshi regrets missing the opportunity to work with Dharmendra

Mumbai: Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi expressed his regret for not getting a chance to work with the late legendary actor Dharmendra. During his exclusive interaction with IANS, the 'Ghatak' maker shared that he believes Dharam ji is the 'best actor' and 'best human being.'

The director told IANS, "There is one regret in my life. I could have done a film with Dharamji. Because Dharamji, according to me, is an all-time best actor, a best human being."

"He was such a good actor, people don't know much about him, they don't talk much about him. He didn't even promote himself. But the kind of role he played, the kind of success he achieved, the character of every genre- whether it's Manmohan Desai's film, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's film, Vimal Roy's film, he has done amazing work with every director."

Rajkumar Santoshi also confessed that he has even cried, thinking about how he could have missed the chance of working with Dharmendra.

"So I cry a lot sometimes, how did I miss Dharamji? And after being so close, why couldn't I do a film with him?," the 'Damini ' maker concluded.

Dharmendra passed away at 89 on 24 November 2025 at his Juhu residence in Mumbai after a prolonged illness.

Meanwhile, Rajkumar Santoshi recently directed the elder son of the 'He-Man' of Bollywood, Sunny Deol in 'Batwara 1947', which also featured Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, Abhimanyu Singh, Khushi Hajare, Kanikka Kapur, Waseem Rajput, and Isha Sandhir in significant roles.

Set against the backdrop of the 1947 partition of India, the period drama is believed to be inspired by Asghar Wajahat's drama 'Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai'. The popular Punjabi phrase translates to "Visiting Lahore is so fundamental that if you do not come here, it is as if you have not even been born."

Released on 14 August during Independence Day weekend, 'Batwara 1947', received mixed reviews from critics and the audience.

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