We did seven movies together — Devar (1966), Anupama (1966), Satyakam (1969), Chupke Chupke (1975) and others — over the years, each special in its own way. We hardly spoke during our first movie, Devar. It took our second movie together, Anupama, to break the ice. We shared the same birth date, December 8. Though I knew he was critical, I wish he had stayed back so we could have wished each other. Every time I saw Chupke Chupke, I would message him and say how much I loved him in it. It was not his usual He-Man role, and I feel he should have won awards for it.

Among all our films together, Satyakam was the most challenging because it was a serious social drama. Dharam revered Hrishida [Hrishikesh Mukherjee, director] and his work. During the shoot, Hrishida would tell Dharam not to think of himself as a star with an expensive car waiting outside the set, but as an honest and a poor man. I always found him listening and following the instructions of his directors closely, and never having any airs.