On November 24 last year, veteran superstar Dharmendra breathed his last. The He-Man of Bollywood passed away at the age of 89, weeks before his 90th birthday, at his Mumbai residence. The news of his demise left millions of hearts broken. So when his final film Ikkis arrived in theatres yesterday on January 1, 2026, several fans rushed to their nearest cinema halls to witness Dharam Paaji shine one last time on the silver screen. Well, this is exactly what Dharmendra requested of his fans in one of his last interviews before passing away.
In a viral clip from Dharmendra’s appearance on entrepreneur and philanthropist Usha Kakade’s podcast, one of his last interviews, the veteran superstar had a request for everybody listening. Dharam Paaji shared, “Meri ek film aa rahi hai, Ikkis. Woh zaroor dekhiyega. Humaare Sriram (Raghavan) bohot achhe director hain. Inhone woh Johnny Gaddaar banayi thi. Yeh border ki picture hai. Lekin bohot touching bhi hai. Achhi, achhi, achhi film hai.”
During this interview, Dharam Paaji also shared his opinion on how the film industry has changed over time, since the beginning of his acting career. The actor stated, “Jitna badlaav is zamane mein aaya hai, log kehte hain filmon ki wajah se aaya hai. Hum dekhte hain zamana badalta jaa raha hai, woh filmon se bhi aage ho raha hai. Matlab bohot si aisi cheezin jo hum filmon mein maa-baap ke saath baithkar nahi dekh sakte hain. Aaj kal, they make it very true picture and they are very good actors, all of them, they play very natural.”
Sriram Raghavan’s Ikkis follows the story of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal and his martyrdom during the 1971 India Pakistan War. In the film, Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda has played the role of Arun, whereas Dharmendra has portrayed the character of Arun’s father, Brigadier Madan Lal Khetarpal (Retd.). Ikkis is also a special release as it marks Akshay Kumar’s niece Simar Bhatia’s Bollywood debut.
