Dharmendra and sons rescued Samir Karnik

What could have turned out to be a heavy loss exercise, thanks to inclement weather, was rescued by quick re-thinking and relocation by director Samir Karnik, his enterprising leading man Dharmendra and his two sons Sunny and Bobby.

Explaining the touch-and-go situation in Patiala, Karnik says, “40 chorus dancers were supposed to fly in from Mumbai to Patiala earlier this week for two song and dance sequences. But because of the fog in Patiala the dancers couldn"t land."

Karnik was in a state of panic. Not shooting would mean a loss of nearly Rs.10 lakh. It was the spirited Dharmendra who stepped in and suggested that they shoot scenes in nearby Doraha instead of the scheduled songs in Patiala.

Says Karnik, “We quickly moved to Doraha where Dharamji, Sunny and Bobby shot scenes round-the-clock. Would you believe, Dharamji at his age shot night scenes till 4.30 am and was still up and about at breakfast time? How does he do it?"

For those who thought the popularity of the Deol family was on the wane should take an immediate trip to Patiala where Punjab"s puttar Dharmendra and his two sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol are currently shooting.

At any given time, there are close to 500 people waiting outside the luxury hotel Baradari Place, which has been taken over by the unit of Samir Karnik"s Yamala Pagla Deewana.

The fans, who have descended from far-off places in Punjab at Patiala are a surprisingly meek and well-behaved.

Explains director Karnik. “Dharamji"s fans have no reason to be aggressive. He"s amazingly open and responsive to them. He does whatever they want. If he wants pictures he immediately poses without bothering about his profile. The whole Patiala has become pals with Dharamji."