Dharmendra’s demise has left the film fraternity mourning the loss of one of its most charismatic and beloved icons. Known for his majestic screen presence and an equally vibrant personal life, the veteran actor was also open about his long-standing relationship with alcohol. Dharmendra had spoken about being an excessive drinker and how he once decided to quit. He also revealed he was sober for 8 years. Looking back at his years of excessive alcohol consumption, Dharmendra confessed during an interview with Lehren Retro in 2007, “I used to drink heavily, but I have realised that it doesn’t go with me. If you want to look the same and keep your stamina, your thinking, because it does affect… it’s the worst thing. Today, I wish I had not touched alcohol. If I hadn’t touched it, I would have been a different Dharmendra. I would have concentrated much more and in a much better way, which I couldn’t,” he said. The actor had described this decision as ‘transformative’.
He explained that while he had always lived joyfully without ever intending harm, sobriety introduced him to a deeper, more grounded sense of happiness. “Now, when I have left drinking, I feel like I enjoy more than what I used to do. Pike sharab khud se door ho gaye thay, chhod ke ise apne paas aa gaye hain,” he shared.For the actor, alcohol had gradually become something that concealed rather than strengthened him. “It is the biggest strength which I was covering with artificial things and all that. I have quit drinking since the last eight years.” He admitted he had made several attempts in the past, staying sober for months at a stretch before falling back into old patterns. “This kept going on,” he noted.The moment of true resolve arrived during a flight to Los Angeles, when he tested his own willpower. “I told myself that I would not touch it on the plane. I took it as a test for myself on that plane to LA. The same determination came that I had when I wanted to become an actor—‘I want to become an actor, why can’t you be without drinks?’ And God helps those who help themselves,” he recalled.
