Prem Sagar, son of legendary filmmaker Ramanand Sagar, has revealed why he chose Dharmendra for the 1968 film ‘Aankhen’. Prem recalled that when he cast Dharmendra for the film, he was a newcomer. He had done only one film till then. However, Prem revealed an interesting story and shared that the size of Dharmendra’s hands made him perfect for this role.
In an interview with Lehren, Prem said, “We chose Dharmendra for Aankhen because his hands were very big. At that time when we chose him, Dharmendra was nothing. No one knew him. Till then he had done only ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’. But because he could hold a gun, he was selected for the role. Can you imagine that he was selected because of his hands?
Dharmendra and Mala Sinha starrer ‘Aankhen’ was made under the direction of Ramanand Sagar and was released in 1968. Dharmendra was recently seen in Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’. Despite playing a small role, Dharmendra attracted everyone’s attention with his acting and onscreen chemistry with Shabana Azmi. However, during the promotion of the film, Dharmendra had openly talked about the fact that he never got his ‘right’ in the industry.
He told Times Now, “Our family is not in marketing. We have always believed that work speaks for itself. Sunny has been in two of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Have you ever heard him talking about his achievements? You might not have heard. My younger son Bobby (Deol) is also doing well. But my family never got what we deserved. We have no problem. The love of our fans inspires us to move forward. That’s enough. We don’t want the industry to accept us.”
