Dharmendra passed away last November, but the void left by the legendary actor continues to be felt, not only within the film industry but also by audiences. His colleagues have continued to remember the warmth, generosity and simplicity that defined him, and now, his longtime colleague and superstar Amitabh Bachchan has opened up about Dharmendra’s hospitality and his remarkably large heart on a recent episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18.

‘Dharmendra had such a massive heart’

Bachchan recalled that Dharmendra’s home was practically a “free-for-all”, where people from his village and elsewhere would walk in freely, almost as though it were their own home. Recounting an incident, he said, “Let me tell you another thing about his house. Their home was a ‘free for all’ whoever came, it was like their own house! I remember one day Dharam ji came home and saw 4-5 men walking up the stairs. So he asked them, ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ They said they had come from the village. Dharmendra assumed that his wife had probably invited them! He himself didn’t even know how many people were coming and going in his house and always welcomed everybody with love and warmth. He had such a massive heart.”

When Dharmendra passed away last year, Amitabh Bachchan had also penned an emotional tribute to his longtime friend and colleague, remembering his “largeness of heart” and his “simplicity.” “Another valiant Giant has left us, left the arena, leaving behind a silence with an unbearable sound.” Lauding Dharmendra for always staying rooted, Amitabh added, “Dharam ji, the epitome of greatness, ever linked not only for his renowned physical presence, but for the largeness of his heart, and its most endearing simplicity. He brought with him the earthiness of the village in Punjab he came from, and remained true to its temperament, unsoiled throughout his glorious career, in a fraternity that witnessed changes every decade. The fraternity underwent changes, not him. His smile, his charm and his warmth, extending to all that came in his vicinity, a rarity in the profession.”

He ended the note writing, “The air about us swings vacant, a vacuum that shall ever remain vacuus.”