Actor Dharmendra has come a long way from the days when he was working with an American drilling company, boring tube wells. Born Dharm Singh Deol, this Punjab da puttar has by now completed more than 50 years in Hindi films.

Dharmendra was always fascinated by films and his dream of working in a Hindi movie came true when he was noticed at a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Mumbai. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani as hero for Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere for a princely sum of Rs 51, and a daily breakfast comprising of tea and two buttered toasts. Ironically, nobody recognized him at the premiere of the film! But that is all history, because Dharam paaji, as we know him today, went on to etch a fantastic innings as Hindi movies' original he-man.

But it was not just with action flicks that he made his mark. He has been recognized as having superb comic timing, and has also made his mark as a sensitive actor. He has worked with all the leading ladies of his time, beginning with Nutan, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore to Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha, to name just a few, and the best of directors as well.

But after Dil Bhi Tera, Dharmendra's career took an upward swing, and he was seen mostly as providing the strong reassuring male presence to the likes of Mala Sinha, Nutan in films like Bandini (1963) and Anpadh (1962). He really shot to fame when he got involved with the legendary Meena Kumari and the two of them starred in a series of films together, with Phool Aur Pathar (1966), their first film together establishing his reputation as the hot-blooded he-man. Incidentally, what Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are doing today, shedding their clothes, he did so many years ago when he appeared shirt-less in this film! He continued doing soft romantic roles and was a part of filmmakers likes Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films of the sixties like Bandini, Anupama (1966), Majhli Didi (1967) and Satyakaam (1969). This last film in question, saw Dharmendra give one of his best performances ever as an idealistic, honest man trying to battle the system. It was a straight-from-the-heart performance and will always be counted as one of his most riveting performances ever. The actor revealed sides of him which were never seen before. It remains probably one of his most nuanced performances to date.

He changed with the winds of change in the Seventies and became an action hero. In fact, he began his career as an action hero with the 1968 starrer Aankhen opposite Mala Sinha. His most memorable dialogue, "Kutte Kameena, Main Tera Khoon Pee Jaaunga" probably has it genesis in the Seventies. It became his signature. Nobody could quite say it like him. This period saw him playing the action hero in films like Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Jugnu (1973), Kahani Kismet Ki (1973), Yaadon ki Baraat (1973) and of course, the evergreen Sholay (1975). The Dharmendra brawn show continued to rule at the box office. In fact, with Sholay and later Chupke Chupke, the actor revealed another facet of his acting. He proved to have a fantastic flair for comedy as well.

No story about Dharmendra is complete without a reference to his Dream Girl, Hema Malini. The two formed one of the most romantic pairs of Hindi films and starred in dozens of films together like Naya Zamana (1971), Raja Jani (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Jugnu, Dost (1974) and Sholay, among others. It is now part of filmdom lore of how the two fell in love and got married, despite Dharmendra already being married and having grown-up kids.

Dharmendra's love affair with the box office turned a little rocky in the Eighties with many of his nondescript action flicks flopping at the box office. But he received a new lease of life with JP Dutta's Ghulami (1985), Yateem (1988), Batwara (1989), Hathyar (1989) and Kshatriya(1992).

Currently, the actor has made a comeback of sorts to films with his recent appearance in films like Metro and Johnny Gaddar. Strangely, he never won any major awards during his hey-days but was recently honoured with a Filmfare Life Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema. He remains one of the most loveable heroes of all times. Happy Birthday Dharam paaji!