Abhi na jao…chodkar: The moment Dharmendra brought back the old Bollywood we knew and loved

Abhi Na jao…chodkar, yeh dil abhi bhara nahin.

The whole theatre erupted into applause, cheers and hoots, as an ailing Dharmendra walked over to Shabana Azmi after singing. In that moment, after what seemed like an eternity, Bollywood seemed like its old self again after years of grating repetitive, jaded storytelling. Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani might have starred Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, and no doubt, they were splendid: But, it’s Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi’s story that had soul, a softness and a quiet sense of gentle that hadn’t been present in films for years.

Even though we don’t see them together too often in the film, ironically, their love story looms large over the entire premise. It’s the reason why Rocky and Rani meet. It’s the reason behind Jaya Bachchan’s Dhanlakshmi’s pursed-lips bitterness and cold rage. And yet, we don’t hear much from him throughout the film, till the climax, when he says tearfully: Ghar nahin todte…before passing away.

At the funeral, a quiet Shabana Azmi just says her name, Jamini, the way he used to say it.

That’s the bittersweet emotion about Dharmendra in Rocky Aur Rani. You might not have grown up watching Sholay, or lived through the heyday of the 70’s enough to know the milestones the films he did achieved, or even the sweet Chupke Chupke---you might have caught on to it later, and lived through the 90s, 2000s of Apne, and other films. Maybe you even remember him first as the stern uncle from Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kiya, reprimanding Kajol’s romance with the less-than-reliable Salman Khan in the film.

Then comes Dharmendra in Rocky Aur Rani, bringing back the lost warmth and charm of Bollywood from decades past. The gentle hope of love that never dies: And how, love, might just be a friendship that caught fire, as his relationship with Shabana Azmi showed.

The truth is, years might go by, but this moment will somehow remain. The old Bollywood that we loved and grew up with, is still somewhere there, even if we only see it in flashes. But it exists.

Truly, for the magic these moments bring, abhi na jao chodkar. Dil abhi bhara nahin.