India, Nov. 25 -- Let us take a moment to mourn the passing of one of Hindi film industry's greats. His going has left a terrible void in the industry, and also in me, which can never be filled. The entire industry is distraught today. An open-hearted and emotional man, he will always live in everyone's hearts. I first interacted with him ahead of the making of Seeta aur Geeta (1972). He was a big star at the time, and I had to arm-twist him into playing a smaller role in the film. In a dual role, a much younger artiste Hema Malini was to have the major screen space in the film. She had just started out, having debuted in the Raj Kapoor film Sapnon ka Saudagar (1968), and had played the leading lady in Andaz (1971), opposite Rajesh Khanna and Shammi Kapoor. I had to convince Dharmendra that while he would have his moments in Seeta aur Geeta, was he man enough to let the woman take the upper hand. I also told him, when he would look back, he would feel good about the film. He agreed. Dharmendra was a versatile and colourful man. He was so multifaceted that when I was casting for Sholay (1975), his choice was a toss-up between Gabbar Singh and Thakur. But I convinced him to play the role of the friendly crook Veeru, saying if he played Thakur or Gabbar, "Hema Malini (who played Basanti) nahin milegi aapko." He agreed to play Veeru immediately, and also suggested that we take Amitabh Bachchan to play Jai, not knowing he was already on board. We would meet occasionally, but since artistes worked hard doing multiple shifts those days, socialising was limited. In all the moments we spent, he always came across as a nice and warm human being. Your heart melted in his presence. Be it anger or joy - he expressed both emotions equally with child-like honesty. I think his simplicity stemmed from his rural upbringing in Punjab. His sons - Sunny and Bobby - are also like that, despite being born in privilege. Dharmendra could do things like no one else. He once fell off a horseback during shooting. He did not make a big issue about it; he simply dusted himself and swung into the saddle immediately. It was quite a feat; and he did it all by himself. He refused to work with a double, as long as safety was assured. We used doubles in long shots only. It takes a lot of bravado to do that. Although he did not care for socialising, he always turned up because he knew he needed to be there. He knew it was a part of his job to maintain professional equations and friendships....