Mumbai — He’s busy in Lonavala, the hill station near Mumbai, at his farm-cum-studio complex, but plans to return to Mumbai in a few days. While his manager tells me that he is busy in a meeting and suggests I call in an hour, the legend himself calls back less than 10 minutes later, addressing me as usual with his endearing “Rajuuu…how have you been?” Here is someone who always speaks from his heart.

I tell him that I have heard that a compilation of his interviews is planned in book form, and he says he has no knowledge of this. “What I am coming up with is a pictorial album of my career, with photographs of all my heroines with me!” he says, and you can feel the warm smile in the voice.

What about films? “I am doing ‘Second Hand Husband’ directed by Smeep Kang for GB Entertainment,” he lets on. “Govinda’s daughter Tina Ahuja and Gippy Grewal are in the lead in this comedy.” Incidentally, right from the beginning, Govinda has openly admitted to being a huge fan of this actor, even attracted to films with titles that were repeated from the senior star’s movies (like “Shola Aur Shabnam,” “Aankhen” and “Loha”) and co-starring with him in many films like “Dadagiri” and others.

While the comic side of his acting persona was appreciated but not explored enough at his peak, Dharmendra has done only comedy since — “Yamla Pagla Deewana” in 2011, followed by its 2013 sequel and the Punjabi film “Double Di Trouble,’ in which he played a dual role after “Yakeen,” “Samadhi,” “Pratiggya,” “Ghazab” and “Jhutha Such” at his peak.

This Subhash Ghai production marked the actor’s debut in his mother-tongue and was a roaring hit in Punjab. Again directed by Kang and released August 2014, it starred Gippy Grewal, Minissha Lamba, Kulraj Randhawa, Gurpreet Ghuggi and Poonam Dhillon. It was based on Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” with a desi twist of father-son doubles.

So enthused is the veteran actor by its success that he is determined to remake it in Hindi for his broader audience base. “I would prefer that to getting it dubbed, because I know people love me so much out there!” he says. “After this, let me do one or two more comedies and then I will do a serious role as well,” he says with a laugh.