The village boy who dreamed of movie magic: Dharmendra’s love for Punjab, farming and Frontier Mail

New Delhi: As a young man growing up with matinee dreams in his eyes, Dharmendra would often climb up the railway bridge in his village Sahnewal and pray to Frontier Mail train to take him to Mumbai.

His prayers were finally answered and he became one of the top stars of his era, but the village and fields he left behind always stayed in his memory.

In an episode of Asian Paints programme Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai in 2013, Dharmendra said even when he is in Mumbai, his soul lives in Punjab. He also visited the footbridge at the village railway station.

"It is a special bridge. After playing, we would come to this bridge and spend hours. I love this railway station as it became the medium... Frontier Mail would leave from here around 11 pm in the night. I would be restless to hear it leave at my home and would pray, 'Frontier Mail mata, please take me to Bombay.' May be the god and the Frontier Mail heard my prayers," Dharmendra recalled in the programme.

The Frontier Mail, which was renamed the Golden Temple Mail in 1996, is one of India’s most historic and storied trains, first introduced in 1928 to connect Bombay’s Ballard Pier with Peshawar during the pre-Independence era.

After Partition, its route was shortened to Amritsar, but its legacy as a symbol of long-distance travel and aspiration endured. Today, it runs daily between Mumbai and Amritsar as a superfast mail express covering nearly 1,900 km.

When not working in movies, Dharmendra would return to his farming roots at his Lonavala farmhouse, resting on the manjhi (khaat) in the shade of a tree or gleefully sharing the success he had in growing vegetables of all kinds.

Many of his videos would begin with Dharmendra addressing his fans as "Doston".

In one of the videos that he shared on Instagram, Dharmenda said, "I am addicted to movies but also to farming. It is so much fun. You should also try."

Dharmendra was born in Nasrali to school teacher Kewal Krishan Deol and homemaker Satwant Kaut. When he was just two, his father was transferred to Lalton and then to Sahnewal where he grew up. His ancestral family, however, belonged to Dangon village.

"Those who are born in a village are lucky. There is no artificialness, you become strong by just climbing trees. We would often jump to the village pond from a height... I learned swimming without telling anyone at home but they would recognise it just with the smell of our clothes," Dharmendra told Vinay Pathak, who used to host the Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai programme.

While in Mumbai, Dharmendra signed Bimal Roy's Bandini but it was hard to sustain in the city and he took a job in a drilling company for Rs 200.

He also formed a friendship with fellow struggler Manoj Kumar and they would often wait for an opportunity outside Ranjit Studios.

In his biography, Dharmendra: Not Just a He-Man, Rajiv M Vijayakar remembers how Dharmendra almost left Mumbai just before movies beckoned.

The actor sent a letter to Manoj Kumar and said he was returning to his town by Frontier Mail.

"Kumar rushed to Matunga and found that his friend had packed his bags. He fought with him, argued endlessly, but Dharmendra was adamant. He had got a job in Dhaka Colony, New Delhi, and was afraid that nothing would happen in Mumbai. 'I will lose my job!' he told Kumar. 'And anyway, you don’t have much money either!'

"Kumar was equally stubborn. 'Nothing doing!' he told Dharmendra. "Wait for two months—I will look after all your expenses!" Dharmendra relented eventually."

In later interviews, Dharmendra often credited Kumar for convincing him to stay back when he had lost all hope.