Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra never gets deterred by challenging roles. He is known for movies that have high-octane action sequences. Be it packing some punches in Sholay or delivering some harsh blows in Sultaan, Dharmendra delivered his best. But do you know that the now 87-year-old even willingly engaged in fighting scenes with wild animals? Yes. In numerous films, Dharmendra engaged in physical fights with big cats like tigers and cheetahs. Not just that, the actor refused to use a body double for such dangerous feats. Here’s how Dharmendra escaped the jaws of a cheetah while shooting for the 1979 film Kartavya.
Coming at a face-off with wild beasts was not a new feat for Dharmendra. Earlier, he was seen in a terrific fight scene with a tiger in the 1968 film Aankhen. Additionally, in the 1976 action drama, Maa, Dharmendra proved to be a braveheart, by wrestling with a tiger yet again. But the one in Kartavya surpassed his previous actions.
Directed by Mohan Segal, Dharmendra played the role of a forest ranger in Kartavya. The makers decided to include a film scene where Dramendra would be fighting a cheetah. Naturally, the makers got concerned over the actor’s safety. Although the Bollywood star was advised by the director to use a body double to perform the action scene with the cheetah, he insisted on doing it himself.
A cheetah was brought to the film sets and kept in a cage. Reportedly, seeing the bright lights and camera there, the animal got irritated and scared. It started growling in panic from within the enclosure. There was also an animal trainer present on the sets, to control the animal and prevent any unwanted injury, in case the cheetah went berserk.
As soon as the director called for action, the cheetah’s cage was opened, following which the wild animal darted toward Dharmendra in attack mode. Without losing his cool at the tense moment, Dharmendra grabbed the cheetah’s neck by his arms, refusing to let go. Almost immediately, the animal trainer intervened and brought the situation under control. The entire film crew was left terrified after this. As per reports, to conceal the information from the public, Mohan Sehgal silenced the matter by paying a fine.
Kartavya went on to become a super hit in the theatres. The film also starred Rekha, Nirupa Roy, Aruna Irani, Utpal Dutt and Vinod Mehra in important roles.
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