Chandigarh, February 8
“Khao peo aish karo, par apni sehat da khyal rakho (eat, drink and make merry but take care of your health).” This was the advice for Punjabi youth from Bollywood’s He-man, Dharmendra.

The yesteryear super star was in the city in connection with Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Wrestling Tournament that is schedule to begin at the PAP Stadium in Jalandhar from tomorrow.

“We (the Punjabis) are lagging behind in every field just because of growing drug addiction among our youth,” said the actor, while raising a concern over the menace.

Giving a wake-up call to the Punjabi youth, Dharmendra cited the example of Haryana, whose sportspersons gave a far better show in the recently held Asian and the Commonwealth Games than their Punjab counterparts.

“Haryana had been a part of Punjab but now they are miles ahead of Punjab in the sporting arena,” said Dharmendra. “Just wake up and do something for Punjab and the country,” he told the youth.

The actor exhorted the youth to take part in sports to remain healthy and fit. Going down the memory lane, Dharmendra shared his experiences of wrestling in ‘akharas’ before going to Mumbai to be an actor. “I used to go to ‘akhara’, located in the outskirts of my native village, everyday. I played hockey and basketball in my school days,” he added. Dharmendra, who has a big fan following, is himself a fan of Sachin Tendulkar. He said he enjoys watching Sachin play big shots. “I love his style of looking up (towards the sky) after hitting a century. And like every Indian, I wish good luck to our cricket team for the forthcoming World Cup,” said the actor.

When asked his preference between cricket and hockey, Dharmendra replied he just loves songs. Tomorrow, the actor will light the torch at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, to commence the three-day tournament. Nearly 300 wrestlers from 20 countries will vie for top honours at the event. “The actor would be conferred with the ‘Rustam-e-Bollywood’ title for his achiev-ements,” said Gurcharan Singh Dhillon, an organiser.