‘I’m not greedy like Dharmendra’: This actor openly criticised action superstar, helped him in his struggle, started career in same year, yet did only…, he is…

Dharmendra with Manoj Kumar

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Dharmendra is known as the first superstar of Bollywood. The late action superstar has an unbeatable record for 50 years. The epitome of stardom he witnessed was a dream of his contemporaries, and is still admired as an unachievable dream by the present actors. Dharmendra started his career in 1960, and in the next 4 years, he started giving out multiple hits in a single year. When the He-Man of Bollywood was on a spree of churning hits and blockbusters, his contemporary criticised him, and we on to call him “Greedy.” This actor, who is also a talented filmmaker, started his career with Dharmendra, but unlike the action superstar, he did only a few films. 

The actor who called Dharmendra ‘greedy’ was…

Manoj Kumar, popularly known as ‘Bharat Kumar’, once called Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor ‘greedy’. In a candid chat with Subhash K Jha, Manoj reflected on his take on stardom and why he’s confined to only directing and leading 30-odd films. Explaining his philosophy, Manoj said, “I am not a greedy film person, even as an actor. While my contemporaries Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor acted in nearly 300 films each, I’ve hardly done 35 films in my entire career.” 

When Manoj Kumar helped ‘struggling’ Dharmendra

In another chat, Dharmendra’s elder son, Sunny Deol, recalled how Manoj uncle helped Papa when he was struggling in Bollywood. “Papa was struggling, as compared to Manoj’s uncle. One day, Uncle was buying clothes for himself, and Papa accompanied him. Uncle chose some shirts for Papa, gave them to him, and said in Punjabi, “Eh kuch kaameez tere lai (These are a few shirts for you).” Sunny acknowledged Manoj’s gesture and said, “Main aisa pyaar dhundta hoon, but aaj kal hai nahi.”

Also read: Dharmendra’s hush-hush funeral was his wish? Hema Malini REVEALS superstar’s final days were ‘cruel, hurtful’: ‘He never wanted to be seen…’

Manoj Kumar’s demise: An end of an era 

Months before Dhamendra, Manoj Kumar passed away on April 4, 2025, at 87. Reportedly, Manoj died due to chronic heart-related complications, with decompensated liver cirrhosis listed as a secondary cause.

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