Saira Banu recalls the time when Dharmendra intruded their home to becoming family, writes, "He was my dear Yousuf Sahib’s Dharam, he became Ghar ka Aadmi...'

Saira Banu recalls the time when Dharmendra intruded their home to becoming family, writes, "He was my dear Yousuf Sahib’s Dharam, he became Ghar ka Aadmi...'

Saira Banu’s tribute to Dharmendra reads like a farewell wrapped in memory, affection and the kind of warmth that only decades of shared history can create. When she posted old throwback photos with him on Instagram, she wasn’t just remembering a co-star. She was mourning someone who was woven into her life because of the bond he shared with her late husband, Dilip Kumar.

She expressed that emotion in her caption, writing,
"The demise of Dharam ji feels as though a chapter of our shared cinematic and personal history has gently closed its pages, leaving behind a warmth that is rare to find in today’s hurried times. For me, the loss is not merely of a colleague, but he was my dear Yousuf Sahib’s ‘Dharam’."
That opening line itself places Dharmendra not in the category of colleagues, but in the intimate circle of people who meant something to her home. She then journeys back to the story Dharmendra repeated his whole life, a story that revealed his innocence long before he became a superstar.

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She wrote,
"I often return to the story he narrated countless times, with the innocence and wonder of a man who never lost his humility. In 1952, a young boy from Ludhiana touched to the core by the film Shaheed set out for Bombay with only one dream: to meet the actor who had made an impact in his mind.

His heart thumped with reverence as he made his way to Pali Hill in Bandra, for that was where Dilip Sahib lived. With the courage only youth can claim, he entered the home without anyone stopping him. And there he found Yousuf Sahib, fast asleep on the sofa, the afternoon sun falling softly across his face. Dharam stood frozen in awe until Yousuf Sahib stirred awake, and the poor boy, frightened by his own boldness, ran out of the house with the swiftness of a startled deer. It became one of his favourite memories to recount, always with a shy smile."

It is one of those rare Bollywood origin stories that feels almost cinematic. The boy who would later become one of Hindi cinema’s most beloved stars once entered the home of his idol unannounced, froze, panicked, and ran — a story he retold like a treasured keepsake.

Six years passed before life brought them face-to-face again. This time, Dharmendra wasn’t a star-struck teenager but a young man trying to find his footing in the industry.
"Six years later, destiny brought them together again, this time through the Filmfare Talent Hunt. The meeting was arranged by Farida, Sahib’s younger sister, who worked with Femina, and it was here that young Dharmendra met the man he idolized, not as a distant star, but as an elder brother whose eyes held warmth, wisdom, and a rare gentleness.

Yousuf Sahib spoke to him in that affectionate blend of English, Punjabi, and Urdu that only he could make sound like poetry. It was a chilly evening, and before parting, he took off his own sweater and draped it around the young aspirant’s shoulders. That simple gesture, rooted in pure affection, became the first thread of a lifelong bond."
That sweater moment is where their relationship began. In Saira Banu’s telling, it was the quiet, unshowy affection of Dilip Kumar that won Dharmendra’s loyalty for life.
She continues,
"From that day forward, Dharam was ghar ka aadmi. He could walk into our home at any hour midnight or dawn and he would always be received with love. There were times when superstardom weighed heavily upon him, when the glare of fame felt harsher than its glow. In those moments, it was to Yousuf Sahib that he would turn. And Yousuf Sahib would guide him, steady him, and remind him of the values that shaped him."

This is the side of Dharmendra most people never saw. The man known on-screen for swagger and charm was, in private, someone who needed reassurance, someone who carried anxieties like anyone else.
She brings up a deeply personal memory to show exactly that.
"I remember vividly the night he came past midnight carrying Sunny’s photographs from Betaab. He was anxious, like a young father seeking reassurance, and told us with great earnestness that the girl considered for the film was Amrita Singh. His voice carried both excitement and hesitation.

Also Read: When Dharmendra revealed Sunny Deol would feel hurt whenever he drank alcohol, said, “He doesn’t smoke or drink, learned from my mistakes"

Yousuf Sahib listened with that endearing attentiveness of his and spoke to him with such affection that Dharam left reassured, lighter, and smiling. It was in such moments that I saw how deeply he looked up to Yousuf Sahib not as an icon, but as a guardian of his spirit."
It’s a precious peek into the off-screen lives of film families — a midnight visit, a father nervous about his son’s career, an elder reassuring him in the quiet of their home.

She then reflects on their very limited on-screen collaboration, writing,
"Though fate allowed them to appear together in only one film Paari their real companionship was lived far away from lights, cameras, and screens. In Dharam’s home, among the precious photographs he kept of his parents and his sons, there stood one of Yousuf Sahib such was his love."

Then comes a line full of humour and tenderness:
"He would often tease me, saying with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, ‘Saira, main toh Yousuf Sahib ke pyaar mein aapka muqabla karta hoon!’ And I would laugh, knowing that beneath the jest lay an affection so steadfast it could never be replicated."

In the final stretch of her tribute, she turns the tone toward farewell.
"Today, as I bid farewell to this noble, gentle soul, I am reminded of the towering humility he carried within him, the loyalty he offered to those he loved, and the vastness of his heart so large that it embraced not just people, but life itself, with gratitude and grace."

And she closes with a blessing:
"May the angels receive him with the warmth he so generously offered to others. May his onward journey be blessed, luminous, and wrapped in divine mercy. And may he rest in the eternal peace he so richly deserves."