Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar: Bollywood stars who consider Dharmendra their ultimate inspiration

Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra share a wonderful friendship in Bollywood; their friendship began from the time they shot 'Sholay' in 1975. Amitabh frequently shares how warm, kind, and down-to-earth Dharmendra is. According to Amitabh, Dharmendra was much more than a co-star, as he was a very kind and gracious person. The two men have mutual respect for one another, which has lasted for decades and attests to the genuine brotherhood that was common during the golden era of Hindi films.

Superstar Salman Khan has been candid about expressing that Dharmendra is one of his favorite idols. He has said as much on numerous occasions, including while on the television show 'The Big Picture' with host and actor Ranveer Singh. Salman adores Dharmendra's simplicity, humility, and gracefulness of character on screen. Salman is known for keeping fit and being charming and has aptly given Dharmendra some credit for keeping him fit and keeping a balance emotionally as an actor. Everyone knows about Salman and Dharmendra's off-screen friendship, which is based on admiration and similar attributes that we all pride ourselves in...discipline and dedication.

Akshay Kumar, known as a super hardworking actor, really looks up to Dharmendra for being good at all sorts of roles. Dharmendra nailed everything from love stories to action flicks, and Akshay Kumar has tried to do the same thing in his career. He’s often mentioned how much he respects Dharmendra’s knack for doing both big commercial movies and films with a real message. Plus, he thinks Dharmendra is a total gentleman and a great example of being humble and classy.

Abhay Deol's admiration for Dharmendra is at once both professional and personal, as he is his uncle. Dharmendra has mentored Abhay throughout his life. In a touching Instagram story from 2020, Abhay wrote, “See, my uncle, whom I call Dad, was an outsider who entered the film industry... I have gone that extra mile in my career to find my own way, something I copy from Dad. For me he was the inspiration.” Abhay has also discussed how he emulated Dharmendra's honesty in his roles and the natural manner in which he approached acting, as he actively sought out senior unconventional roles. The younger Deol continues to honor and express the same sincerity and commitment that Dharmendra expressed throughout his career.

Jaya Bachchan's love for Dharmendra really shined through in her old movie, 'Guddi' (1971). She played a schoolgirl who was totally in love with the superstar. The movie showed just how wild people were about Dharmendra back then. Jaya has always been open about how much she admires him. She even said her love for him went further than just the movie. In an episode of 'Koffee With Karan,' she shared, I should've played Basanti because I just loved Dharmendra! The first time I saw him, I got so nervous I didn't know what to do. He was just so good-looking; he was perfect. He had on white pants and shoes and looked like a Greek god.