On Dharmendra’s 90th birthday, remembering Raiders of the Sacred Stone, or Shalimar, as the Hindi version is called, which released in 1978

Alongside the world’s most wanted criminals and thieves, Dharmendra is after the Shalimar diamond, worth 135 crores. This is a jist of the 1978 movie Shalimar, whose English version was called Raiders of the Sacred Stone. Written and directed by Krishna Shah, it also starred Zeenat Aman, Shammi Kapoor, Prem Nath, O. P. Ralhan, Sir Rex Harrison, John Saxon, and Sylvia Miles.

This was the only Hindi movie which had Harrison, John, and Sylvia in it—Harrison had been part of classic Hollywood movies such as My Fair Lady (1964) and Doctor Dolittle (1967), and John had acted beside Bruce Lee in the greatest martial arts movie of all time, Enter the Dragon (1972). In the Hindi version, Harrison’s voice was dubbed by Kader Khan. Some reports say that if adjusted to current inflation rates, Shalimar is the most expensive movie ever made in India.

The plot is about the world’s greatest jewel thief, Sir John Locksley, who wants to pass on his most precious possession, the Shalimar ruby, to a deserving successor. He invites the best rival jewel thieves to his island estate. The catch? If you fail to steal it during your attempt, you die.

Without a doubt, the most memorable and catchy song from the film was the title track, Mera Pyar... Shalimar, by Asha Bhosle and R. D. Burman, but they weren’t the only gems in this movie—Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, and Usha Uthup were also part of the blockbuster music ensemble.

The cast of Shalimar |

Forgotten Dharmendra classics

With the passage of time, several other Dharmendra movies aren’t spoken about, like the ones below. In Aankhen (1968), a spy thriller film, Dharmendra must save India from terrorist attacks fresh after independence; he also fought a tiger. The movie also starred Mala Sinha, Mehmood, and Lalita Pawar. In Kartavya (1979), Dharmendra had a scene fighting a cheetah, for which he refused to use a body double. The movie was about a forest officer who takes on poachers. It is said that the cheetah, as soon as it was released, attacked Dharmendra, who managed to stop it, and the animal trainer also intervened at the same time. The film also starred Rekha, Vinod Mehra, and Utpal Dutt. In Aatank (1996), Dharmendra starred alongside Hema Malini, Nafisa Ali, Ravi Kishen, Disco Shanti, Keshto Mukherjee, and Amjad Khan... and a killer shark which he fights with.