Aamir Khan reveals Dharmendra watched Sunny Deol's Lahore 1947 before its release, says "this was one of his favourite scripts..."

Aamir Khan reveals Dharmendra already watched Lahore 1947

Those who knew Dharmendra well continue to share memories of the adored actor in the wake of his death on November 24.

During a session at the 56th International Film Festival of India, Aamir Khan gave a heartfelt tribute by candidly discussing his relationship with the veteran star. His remarks provided a unique, personal look into their friendship, which deepened during Dharmendra's last year.

Aamir revealed that he had spent a great deal of time with Dharmendra over the last twelve months, often visiting him simply because he enjoyed his company. Their conversations, he shared, were something he deeply valued.

What made his recollection even more poignant was the revelation that Dharmendra had watched Lahore 1947, Aamir’s upcoming production, before anyone else in the world had the chance to see it.

“In fact, Lahore 1947, the film we have made with Sunny, I had the good fortune of showing him the film. So he has seen the film,” Aamir said, remembering the moment with visible fondness.

For him, the most comforting part of this memory was knowing how much the script meant to Dharmendra. “It’s not released yet, of course. But I am so glad he got to see the film. Because this was one of his favourite scripts.”

Reflecting further, Aamir shared that he was unable to attend the actor’s prayer meeting held on 27 November—a regret he openly acknowledged. “Today, in fact, I’m not there in Bombay, but today is his prayer meeting, unfortunately. I’m missing it. And I was very close to him because in the last, I would say last one year, I must have met him about 7-8 times. Because I used to really enjoy his company so I used to go and sit with him.”

One of the memories Aamir cherishes most is the day he introduced his son Azad to Dharmendra. “One day I took Azad with me, you know, my son… Azad came with me, and we spent a couple of hours with him, and it was really wonderful,” he said, smiling as he remembered how gentle and warm Dharmendra had been. “You know, Dharamji was not only such a fine actor, but he was a great human being.”

Also Read: Were two prayer meets held for Dharmendra? Did Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana skip prayer meet hosted by first wife Prakash Kaur and sons Sunny, Bobby Deol?

Lahore 1947, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and based on Asghar Wajahat’s renowned play, tells the story of a Muslim family migrating to Lahore during the Partition, only to discover that the Hindu family meant to vacate their new home has not yet left. It’s a narrative rich in emotion, conflict, and history.

With a cast led by Sunny Deol, along with Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Ali Fazal, and Karan Deol, the film was already highly anticipated.