Birthday special to celebrate the impactful career of a legendary star
This week sees Dharmendra turn a year older and celebrate his 87th birthday on December 8.
The legendary actor made his film debut 62 years ago with 1960 classic Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere and has starred in over 300 films since then. Still going strong, he will next be seen in forthcoming film Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, with Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.
Although he is best known for an impressive body of work that includes all-time classics like record-breaking curry western Sholay, and for being part of a famous family that includes Hema Malini, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol, the cinema great also made the Bollywood hero sexier with two iconic film scenes in 1966.
Both improvised movie moments early in his career changed Indian cinema forever. To mark the actor, described by Madhuri Dixit as the most handsome man she has ever seen on screen, turning a year older, Eastern Eye looked at how Dharmendra made a transformative move, which is still felt today, nearly 60 years after it happened.
The archetypal Hindi film hero from the early days of cinema were the well-polished, clean-cut, the boy next door types you could bring home to meet the parents. Even when these heroes played grey-shaded characters, they had vulnerability and not that explosive sex-appeal that would ignite any kind of passion, from the 1920s through till the 1950s.
In the 1940s, square-jawed movie icon Ashok Kumar would introduce a slight danger element by playing anti-heroes and Shammi Kapoor gave Bollywood a hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll swagger with his Elvis Presley inspired look, and personality. Meanwhile, the leading ladies were breaking conservative boundaries, with figure hugging outfits, sensual dance numbers, and western-inspired looks.
Although well groomed, something was still missing from the Hindi film hero. Also, there were still very strict censor laws that had banned kissing and any kind of on-screen passion.
Conservative constraints couldn’t stop a new generation from being inspired and drawn towards the bright lights of Hindi cinema. This included a young man named Dharam Singh Deol, who was growing up in the rugged surroundings of a small village and would travel long distances to watch movies. He would win a national talent contest, with the prize being a starring role in a movie. Although that movie was never made, he made his debut with Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), and it was immediately apparent the more muscular actor was different to other leading men.
The good-looking newcomer made his presence felt in the first half of the 1960s, but was overshadowed by the older matinee idols, so very little was expected when he signed up to star in Phool Aur Patthar (1966), headlined by established actress Meena Kumari.
Phool aur Patthar poster
He played a career criminal who rescues a kind-hearted widow, in the story of opposites having a positive effect on one another, but it was two scenes in quick succession that changed everything. While going home, his intoxicated character, Shaka, spots an elderly woman asleep on the roadside late at night. He takes off his shirt and puts it over her as a blanket.
“I had said to the director, why don’t I take off my shirt and put it over the beggar on the street, to show how much of a good man he is inside (despite being intoxicated and a career criminal). How much love he has inside him. The director said you have made my scene. Then after playing with a dog on the street, he enters the bedroom bare-bodied, where the widow is sleeping. He puts a blanket on her and goes to sleep on the balcony alone,” recalled Dharmendra.
Although it is tame by today’s standard, that moment of him taking off his shirt on the street and then entering a bedroom bare bodied was breathtakingly brave for that era. The improvised scenes of him taking off his shirt and revealing a chiselled physique sent shockwaves through Hindi cinema. No frontline male star previously had the courage or muscular body to do that. For the first time, a half-naked man was seen on a commercial movie poster. It was such a big moment that a bare-bodied Dharmendra made it onto the movie poster.
Dharmendra now
The movie received a wonderful reception at the premiere, especially from female audiences, and director OP Ralhan was so happy he kissed his leading man on the cheek in front of everyone. The blockbuster hit became the highest grossing movie of 1966, largely thanks to females flocking to see the topless star on the big screen. This not only made the Hindi film hero sexier, but made producers realise they had to cater to females, who often made up more than half of audiences.
“People would call me Shaka for four to five years after the film released. He became a big craze. People started calling me names like He-man. Some said gharam Dharam and hot. I didn’t know about these things and didn’t take it seriously. I had come from a village, so part of me thought they are not serious.”
The handsome actor showed he had a body to back up his good looks and became a craze. He introduced the kind of raw, real ruggedness that had been missing. There was now an alternative option to the well-manicured, clean-cut idols that had dominated Hindi cinema for decades. His hotness also didn’t go unnoticed by leading ladies. Sharmila Tagore recalled. “Dharmendra was very hot and was a pal. Dharmendra was really sweet and respectful.”
That ruggedness would define the 1970s, with heroes having stubble, unkept hair, and showing off more of their body, like the hairy chest. But only Dharmendra had the body and sex appeal to regularly appear shirtless in films like Dharam Veer, and often in tiny shorts to show off his muscular legs.
Dharam Veer
Heroes also knew they couldn’t get away with being overweight and became more conscious of staying in shape, thanks to Dharmendra. But it wouldn’t be until the late 1980s that leading men caught up with him in terms of muscles, with actors like Salman Khan, who described Dharmendra as the most beautiful looking man, showing off a gym honed body. Super model turned actor Arjun Rampal, who described him as the most handsome man, would follow in his footsteps in terms of physique.
Fast forward to the present and more leading men than ever unveil six-packs, muscles, and a raw sensuality. But it all started with Dharmendra’s improvised scene that made heroes sexier. This not only captivated audiences, but Bollywood’s undisputed queen of the 1970s, Hema Malini, who said: “Dharmendra is definitely the most handsome man I’ve ever met. That is why I married him.”
ARUNDHATI ROY’S forthcoming memoir, Mother Mary Comes To Me, is about the author’s close but fraught relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, whose death in 2022 her daughter has likened to “being hit by a truck”.
Mary Roy, who insisted her children call her “Mrs Roy” in school, belonged to the Syrian Christian community. She does not seem a very nice person.
The Financial Times, which interviewed Arundhati at her home in Delhi, reveals: “In an episode to which the writer makes oblique reference early in the book but withholds until later — because of the pain it caused — she returned from boarding school for the holidays, aged 13, to find that Mrs Roy had had her beloved pet dog, Dido, shot and buried as ‘a kind of honour killing’ after Dido mated with an unknown street dog.”
In 1996, someone tipped me off that a publisher had won an auction by paying £1 million for The God of Small Things by an unknown Indian writer. This was unprecedented for a debut novel. But the buzz among the bidders was that the novel was a possible contender for the Booker Prize.
As I was writing my story at the Daily Telegraph, the night editor, Andrew Hutchinson, leant over and quipped: “Writing about your sister again?” As we know, Arundhati Roy did win the Booker in 1997. I had actually met Arundhati two years previously when she had stuck up for Phoolan Devi, the subject of Shekhar Kapur’s movie, Bandit Queen, based on Mala Sen’s biography.
Phoolan had been repeatedly raped by upper class Thakurs (the men were later lined up in the village of Behmai and executed by Phoolan’s gang in 1981). The film was exploitative, claimed Arundhati, because for Phoolan, it was like being raped again. She wrote a piece in Sunday in Calcutta (now Kolkata), headlined, “The Indian rape trick”.
Mala arranged for me to interview Phoolan who was refusing to talk to Channel 4 which was making a documentary in India on the controversial movie. In public, she supported Arundhati, but behind the scenes did a deal with C4 which paid her £40,000.
The FT interview says Arundhati “left home at 16, putting the length of the subcontinent between her mother in Kerala and herself in New Delhi, where she was admitted as one of the few women students at the School of Planning and Architecture. ‘I left in order to be able to continue to love her, because I knew she would destroy me if I stayed,’ she says.
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The mural has been covered and is being guarded by security
A new mural by street artist Banksy has appeared on the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.
The artwork depicts a judge hitting a protester, with blood splattering their placard.
It comes days after nearly 900 arrests at a London protest against the ban on Palestine Action.
The mural has been covered and is being guarded by security; Banksy confirmed authenticity via Instagram.
Banksy’s latest work at the Royal Courts of Justice
A new mural by the elusive Bristol-based street artist Banksy has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.
The artwork shows a judge in traditional wig and black robe striking a protester lying on the ground, with blood depicted on the protester’s placard. While the mural does not explicitly reference a specific cause or incident, its appearance comes just two days after almost 900 people were arrested during a protest in London against the ban on Palestine Action.
Security and public access
Social media images show that the mural has already been covered with large plastic sheets and two metal barriers. Security officials are guarding the site, which sits beneath a CCTV camera.
Banksy shared a photo of the artwork on Instagram, captioning it: “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.” This is consistent with the artist’s usual method of confirming authenticity.
Location and context
The mural is located on an external wall of the Queen’s Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex. Banksy’s stencilled graffiti often comments on government policy, war, and capitalism.
Previous works in London
Last summer, Banksy launched an animal-themed campaign in London featuring nine works. The series concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift a shutter at the London Zoo. Other notable pieces included piranhas on a police sentry box in the City of London and a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, which was removed less than an hour after unveiling.
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Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria
Artist Shafina Jaffer presents a new chapter of her Global Conference of the Birds series.
The exhibition runs from 7–12 October 2025 at Mall Galleries, London.
Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria, combining spiritual themes with ecological concerns.
Exhibition details
Artist Shafina Jaffer will open her latest exhibition, Whispers Under Wings (Global Conference of the Birds), at the Mall Galleries in London on 7 October 2025. The show will run until 12 October 2025.
This practice-led series reinterprets Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th-century Sufi allegory, Conference of the Birds, reflecting on themes of unity, self-realisation and the idea that the Divine resides within.
Material and meaning
Each work is painted on sustainably sourced bark cloth from the Lake Victoria region, using natural pigments, minerals and dyes. Large panels are formed from the bark of single trees, aligning material ecology with the spiritual narrative.
The series weaves together sacred geometry, Qur’anic verses and depictions of endangered bird species, underscoring the connection between ecological fragility and spiritual awakening.
Previous recognition
Whispers Under Wings follows earlier presentations in London and Dubai, extending the project’s message of peace, unity and environmental care.
A central work from the series — the Simurgh, conceived as a symbol of light (Noor) — was recently acquired by Prince Amyn Aga Khan for the new Ismaili Centre in Houston. A feature on the exhibition also appears in the September edition of Twiga, Air Tanzania’s inflight magazine.
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Each character in the set has been carefully designed to reflect cultural narratives
British-Bangladeshi prop maker Anika Chowdhury has designed a handcrafted glow-in-the-dark chess set celebrating heritage and identity.
The limited-edition set, called Glowborne, launches on Kickstarter in October.
Each piece draws from South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cultural references, re-rooting chess in its origins.
The project blends art, storytelling, and representation, aiming to spark conversations about identity in play.
Reimagining chess through heritage
When Anika Chowdhury sat down to sculpt her first chess piece, she had a bigger vision than simply redesigning a classic game. A British-Bangladeshi prop maker working in the film industry, she grew up loving fantasy and games but rarely saw faces like hers in Western storytelling.
“Chess originated in India, travelled through Arabia and North Africa, and was later Westernised,” she explains. “I wanted to bring those forgotten origins back to the board.”
The result is Glowborne — a limited-edition, glow-in-the-dark fantasy chess set that blends craft, identity and cultural pride.
Anika Chowdhury says she has many ideas to further fuse craft and culture in future projects Glowborne
Crafting Glowborne
Each character in the set has been carefully designed to reflect cultural narratives: Bengali kings and pawns, Indian bishops with bindis, Arab knights, and African queens. Chowdhury sculpted each piece by hand, drawing on her prop-making training at the National Film and Television School.
Once sculpted, the pieces were cast in resin, painted, and finished with South Asian-inspired motifs filled with glow-in-the-dark pigment. “The characters glow both literally and metaphorically,” she says, “as a chance for them to take the stage.”
Cultural pride and visibility
For Chowdhury, the project is about more than gameplay. “Fantasy doesn’t need to fit into the Western mould to tell a great story,” she says. “South Asian, Middle Eastern and African stories are just as powerful, and they can transform something as traditional as chess by reconnecting it with its roots.”
She hopes Glowborne will resonate with South Asian and Eastern African communities as a celebration of identity and belonging. At the same time, she sees it as a bridge for wider audiences — chess enthusiasts, collectors, and design lovers who appreciate craftsmanship and storytelling.
A personal journey
Chowdhury’s career in film and prop-making has influenced her creative process, but Glowborne marks her first independent project. She created it outside her film work, after hours and on weekends.
“At 28, I finally feel like I’ve found my voice,” she reflects. “For a long time I felt pressure to hide my identity, but now I see my culture as a superpower. This project is about using art to express that.”
Looking ahead
Launching this October on Kickstarter as a collector’s edition, Glowborne is only the beginning. Chowdhury says she has many ideas to further fuse craft and culture in future projects. “This is the proof of concept,” she says. “I can’t wait to create more stories that blend heritage, art and play.”
Banksy’s ‘Piranhas’ artwork, painted on a police sentry box, is being stored ahead of display at London Museum.
The piece was originally one of nine works that appeared across London in August 2024.
It will form part of the museum’s new Smithfield site, opening in 2026.
The City of London Corporation donated the artwork as part of its £222m museum relocation project.
Banksy’s police box artwork in storage
A Banksy artwork known as Piranhas has been placed in storage ahead of its future display at the London Museum’s new Smithfield site, scheduled to open in 2026. The piece features spray-painted piranha fish covering the windows of a police sentry box, giving the illusion of an aquarium.
From Ludgate Hill to Guildhall Yard
The police box, which had stood at Ludgate Hill since the 1990s, was swiftly removed by the City of London Corporation after Banksy confirmed authorship. It was initially displayed at Guildhall Yard, where visitors could view it from behind safety barriers. The Corporation has since voted to donate the piece to the London Museum.
Museum’s first contemporary street art
London Museum’s Head of Curatorial, Glyn Davies, said:
“With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art. This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”
Formerly known as the Museum of London, the institution closed its London Wall site in December 2022 as part of its relocation. It rebranded as the London Museum in July 2024, with £222m allocated by the City of London Corporation to support the move. The project is expected to attract two million visitors annually and create more than 1,500 jobs.
Part of Banksy’s animal-themed series
Piranhas was one of nine animal-themed works Banksy created across London in August 2024. The series also featured a rhino on a car, two elephants with interlocked trunks, monkeys swinging from a bridge, a howling wolf on a satellite dish, and a goat painted on a wall. Some of the artworks were later vandalised, removed, or covered up.
Preserving street art for the public
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said:
“Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions. By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”