AZerbaijani loVeS dharMendra
Actor Dharmendra has found a great admirer in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic. An Azerbaijani television journalistfilmmaker, Namig Gurban (50) has made a 47-minute biographic documentary titled Dharmendra: A Messenger of Love. It was screened in Baku on 27 December.
“It is my tribute to my childhood hero,” Gurban told The Sunday Guardian. Unfortunately the 82-yearold actor could not attend the presentation due to his health. But he interacted with the audience through video conferencing. In the documentary, he tells Gurban, “People must take care of each other, help each other. That’s why we come into this world.”
The event was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and India. Indian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Sanjay Rana said that “Azerbaijan and India have very close and friendly relations. This film will serve as a bridge that connects India and Azerbaijan.”The chronological documentary talks about Dharmendra Singh Deol’s life, work and wisdom. The documentary is available in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian languages. The process to translate it into Hindi and Arabic is near complete.
“Since my childhood, I have had a great love and respect for this handsome actor, who enriched world cinema with his roles. I met him in India and discovered the previously unknown to me facets of his work,” says Gurban. It was at the age of 13 that he saw Dharmendra for the first time on the big screen. “His battle scenes and funny jokes charmed me. He became my hero number one from that day.” A Belarus-based handicraft trader Amrit Jeet Singh worked as a translator and coordinator for this project.