The one role that Dharmendra wanted to play before he passed away was that of the septuagenarian lover from The Bridges of Madison County , the 1995 American film based on the 1992 bestselling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller.
Clint Eastwood starred opposite Meryl Streep in this autumnal love story and also directed this timeless romance.
Now, director Sriram Raghavan who directed Dharmendra in his farewell film, Ikkis, reveals that the veteran actor was keen on playing Clint Eastwood’s role.
“Dharamji kept telling me, ‘Let’s do The Bridges Of Madison Country’. I had my Clint Eastwood in Dharamji. But who would play Meryl Streep?” Sriram wonders as he prepares to release Ikkis on December 25.
“It is not a cameo. Dharamji has a full-fledged role. In spite of his age , Dharamji was the life and breath on the sets. We felt much older than him. His enthusiasm was infectious. He would come on the sets with his lines fully memorized. He treated Bachchan Saab’s grandson Agastya like his own grandson. He had so much love to give. So much more he wanted to do. Destiny had other plans.”
Being Dharamji’s final release, Ikkis has acquired an added poignancy. “It is the story of a young soldier who dies at 21. We lost Dharamji while shooting . Luckily, I was able to show him 70 percent of the film. But I wish he watched the entire film.”
