CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ TIRUCHY l tuesday l november 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE city EDITION Dharmendra: 8 December 1935 - 24 November 2025 A life lived king-size N a m r ata J o s h i @ Mumbai D harmendra made a soft landing in Hindi cinema singing Mukesh’s “Mujhko is raat ki tanhai mein awaaz na do” in Arjun Hingorani’s Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), a sad, star-crossed love story about the poor and disempowered in Mumbai, who are unabl e t o r i s e ab ove t h e i r circumstances. The film also showcased a facet of Dharmendra’s personality that he came to be identified with for the rest of his life—his unquestionable handsomeness. The audience could not take its eyes off the chaste good looks and trim body he sported as a young street salesman-turned-boxer. A few years down the line, the screen caught fire, metaphorically in O P Ral, han’s Phool Aur Patthar (1966) when Garam-Dharam, as he later came to be called, loomed over a sleeping Meena Kumari and took his shirt off to thoughtfully shield her from the cold. At a time when fitness was not quite the characteristic of a Hindi film hero, Dharmendra rang in a new paradigm of robustness. A legacy carried forward by the likes of Vinod Khanna and Salman Khan, and practically every single contemporary male star. However, there has been a significant difference: Dharmendra’s was not about sculpted, gym-toned, six-pack abs but a rugged, healthy male ideal. His mascu- linity before getting taken over by the action and stunts and loudness in the 80s was also underlined with a quiet tenderness, overwhelming romance and playful humour. Dharmendra remained impervious to the superstardom of his contemporaries, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, but didn’t get celebrated as much for his own. Despite the diversity of roles in over 300 films and 65 years in the film industry dotted with innu, merable hits, being the He-Man ended up defining Dharmendra and confining him as well. But for every action entertainer like Raj Khosla’s Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), and Nasir Hussain’s Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), there was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s hilarious Chupke Chupke, and the same filmmaker’s poignant Satyakam. And of course, there was Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay. Through the 80s, 90s and 2000s, his career began sliding, and his own children and nephew—Sunny, Bobby, Esha and Abhay Deol—took to showbiz. He later retired to his farmhouse in Lonavala. It took Sriram Raghavan to celebrate the Garam-Dharam magic in Johnny Gaddar (2007). And, ironically it’s Raghavan’s , Ikkis, a few weeks away from release, that’d perhaps be his last, and posthumous, performance. From a mar tyr in Haqeeqat to the father of one in the Raghavan film, hopefully it , would be the fitting finale for the multi-layered person and actor Dharmendra was.  P10 He was iconic, a phenomenal actor who brought charm and depth to every role. The manner in which he played diverse roles struck a chord with people — Narendra Modi, prime minister He never forgot his roots. He was a man of the earth and he remained very close to his real self... I didn’t see any change in him with stardom and popularity — Sharmila Tagore, actor Farewell, my friend. I will always remember your golden heart and the moments we shared. Rest in peace, Dharam ji — Rajinikanth, actor Halt ops, give us Level up: PMO to babus on cabinet notes 3-mth window: Maoists to govt s u m i t k u m a r s i n g h @ New Delhi 53 CJI rd On his first day as CJI, Justice Surya Kant set a new norm on mentioning cases for urgent listing, saying they must be made in writing. Oral requests only under extraordinary circumstances Page 9 express read Harassment India raps China on Arunachal India has launched a sharp diplomatic protest against China after an Arunachal Pradesh woman was detained and harassed for nearly 18 hours at the Shanghai Airport when Chinese immigration officials refused to recognise her Indian passport. A strong demarche was issued in Beijing and Delhi on the same day | P9 Masinagudi Tiger mauls tribal woman to death Coimbatore: A 65-year-old tribal woman was killed by a tiger near Masinagudi along the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve on Monday afternoon. The deceased, B Nagiyammal, was grazing goats when she was attacked. Four patrolling teams with 25 members have begun efforts to locate the tiger | P2 Letter to CMs of MP, Maha and Chhattisgarh seeks time for collective call on surrender E J A Z K AIS E R @ Raipur THE Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zonal Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist) has sought time until February 15, 2026, to arrive at a collective decision on surrendering arms and accepting the government’s rehabilitation package. The MMC committee operates in the dense tri-junction forest region of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — a strategically vital corridor used by Maoist cadres to move between different areas of the Dandakaranya Special Zone. In a signed press release issued in the name of Anant, spokesperson of the MMC Special Zonal Committee, the outfit addressed Chief Ministers of the three states — Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh) and M o h a n Ya d av ( M a d h y a Pradesh) — requesting a halt to anti-Maoist operations. The letter released to the media claimed that the proposal has the approval of Politburo member Sonu Dada and Central Committee members Satish and Chandranna, all of whom have reportedly renounced armed struggle and surrendered. Acknowledging the lack of Maoist leader Anant requested that his message be run on radio to ensure it reaches cadres soon. “Allow us to meet representatives and journalists, so that we can declare a date on laying down arms,” he said secure and rapid communication channels within the underground network, the statement said: “Since we do not have a fast mechanism to contact one another, the requested period till February 15, 2026, is required. This is well within the March 31, 2026, deadline set by the government.” Reacting to the development, Bastar Range Inspector General of Police P Sundarraj said, “The remaining Maoist cadres and their depleted leadership now have no option except to shun violence and join the social mainstream. Such a press note has emerged when the organisation has crumbled... They are now leaderless, directionless and demoralised. As per directives of governments and desire of the native population, troops are committed to bring an end to the left-wing extremism as early as possible.” E X P R E SS N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tenkasi HC impleads Waqf Board, HR&CE The mangled remains of the buses involved in collision in Tenkasi | express Seven passengers, including six women, were killed and around 70 others sustained injuries when two private buses collided head-on at Duraisamiyapuram village, around 15 km from Tenkasi, on Monday morning. According to the Elathur police, a private bus heading from Tenkasi to Kadayanallur and another proceeding in the opposite direction from Madurai towards Tenkasi rammed into each other near Duraisamiya- THE consumption pattern of Indian households has changed dramatically over the past decade with the share of monthly per capita expenditure on food falling below 50% for the first time and a larger portion going to non-food items such as durable goods, a new study reveals. According to the study which , compares data from the Household Consumption Expendi- ture Surveys of 2011-12 and 2023-24, household spending is shifting from basic necessities to asset-building items such as domestic appliances. The findings are part of a working paper released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The paper says the gap in asset ownership between the bottom 40% (B40) and the top 20% (T20) of households is narrowing. Mobile phones have emerged as the primary medium for information, entertainment and communication, with near-universal ownership across both urban and rural areas and all consumption groups. Among B40 rural households, mobile phone ownership rose from 66.5% in 2011-12 to 94.3% in 2023-24, it noted. Television ownership in rural areas, too, increased from sonal views and must be strictly followed by all. “Finalisation of cabinet notes should be monitored regularly to avoid delays. Ministries must focus on value addition rather than routine comments,” the note reads. It emphasises early inter-ministerial consultations and, if required, face-to-face meetings to iron out differences instead of letting files gather dust in endless back-and-forth. The PMO said: “Proposals submitted to Cabinet Committ e e s re l at i n g t o va r i o u s projects/schemes/programmes and policies should, wherever possible, incorporate details of benchmarking with global standards with respect to that proposal.” T he PMO also war ned against the tendency to push files with narrow departmental views, and to keep in mind the overall public interest while conce ptualising a policy proposal. Multiple lifer for 3 ‘Bawaria gang’ members E xp r e s s N ew s Se r v i ce @ Chennai pushed to the edge Residents trying to find a safe spot amid stagnant rain water in a street at Koppu near Tiruchy | M K ASHOK KUMAR puram on ThirumangalamShengottai National Highway, killing six passengers on the spot. Police said one of the buses tried to overtake a vehicle and ended up colliding with the other one on the two-lane road. The deceased were identified as N Vanaraj (67) of TN Puthukudi, his wife V Shanmugathai, V Thenmozhi (55) of Kadayanallur, M Mallika (55) of TN Puthukudi, K Karpagavalli (45) of Vadakku Alangulam, S Muthulakshmi (35) of Panavadalichatram, and S Subbulakshmi (52) of Chokkampatti village. P5 Bulk of household spending goes to durables: Study D I PA K MO N D A L @ New Delhi A senior officer said that currently each secretary optimises for his/her own ministry’s interest rather than the country’s interest. When a major infrastructure project involves five ministries, the Prime Minister often gets five different agendas that pull in different directions. “This needs to end at the outset,” the officer told this newspaper “Departments should not focus only on their limited turf but look at the larger national perspective,” it stated, especially in multi-ministry schemes. To ensure speed and quality, the finalisation of every cabinet note will now be tracked closely. Ministries have been told to incorporate global benchmarking wherever possible so that India’s policies match the best in the world. Officials say repeated logjams and inter-ministry turf wars in recent months have prompted the tough directive from the PMO. With several big-ticket refor ms and infrastructure projects in the pipeline, the government wants to cut red tape and deliver faster results, a source said. MLA murder Seven killed in head-on collision of 2 buses in Tenkasi, 70 injured hill temple row Madurai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday made the HR&CE department and Tamil Nadu Waqf Board as parties to a batch of petitions against the location chosen for lighting Karthigai Deepam on the Thiruparankundram hill | P4 Request to convey message on radio IN a sharp message to the bureaucracy the Prime Minister’s , Office (PMO) has ordered all ministries to stop working in silos, drop blame games and prepare only “high quality” cabinet notes that match Indian policies and projects with global standards. The strongly worded directive, issued last week, asks secretaries to shed “routine bureaucratic mindset” and focus on “value addition” while drafting or commenting on cabinet notes — proposals which ministers submit before the government for approval on major policy decisions. The PMO made it clear that these instructions reflect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s per- onus on pulling together in same direction 49.6% recorded in the 2011-12 survey to 61.1% in 2023-24. Interestingly in urban areas, , television ownership declined from 80.4% to 78.5%, a trend the study attributes to mobile phones replacing TV screens. Refrigerator ownership among both rural and urban households tripled. Ownership of air conditioners/air coolers and washing machines also rose across rural and urban areas, including B40 households. ‘no political interference’ sir enumeration in TN: 10 days left, 50% forms received the publication of electoral rolls, the following will be mentioned clearly: Dead votOf the total 6.41 crores of ers, absentees, permanently voters in Tamil Nadu, 6.16 shifted, duplicate entries, crores (96.22%) have re- and those who fail to receive ceived their Special Inten- the forms. All this informasive Revision (SIR) enumer- tion will be displayed in all ation forms till Monday. rural and urban local bodWhile around 50% of the ies. Besides, the details of completed forms have been draft rolls will be uploaded returned to the booth level to the district websites and officers (BLOs), nearthe CEO website. ly 3.20 crore forms Total manpower have been digitised involved in the SIR so far, Chief Electorexercise is 83,256 peral Officer Archana sonnel. Around Patnaik said on 33,000 volunteers Monday . have also been enAddressing a press gaged. There are 2.45 conference at the Archana Patnaik lakh booth level state secretariat, she agents (BLAs) in TN, said, “The ECI is not consid- the highest in the country. ering extension of the enu- About 68,467 BLOs are workmeration period beyond De- ing in the state, and ECI has cember 4 since it is trying to also given additional BLOs complete the work within recently As of date, 327 BLOs . the scheduled time.” The have completed their enuelectoral registration offic- meration work fully Asked . ers (EROs) cannot remove whether SIR forms will be iseven a single voter from the sued to the shifted voters, the rolls without conducting in- CEO said that if they have quiry or assigning proper shifted their residences withreason. in the constituency, forms The CEO said that during are being issued to them. P5 E X P R E SS N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai In a sensational murder and dacoity case that jolted Tamil Nadu two decades ago, a city court on Monday awarded at least four life sentences to be served consecutively to each of the three convicts of the infamous “Bawaria” gang for the 2005 murder of then AIADMK MLA and former minister K Sudarsanam at Thanakulam near Periyapalayam. Of the four accused tried in the case, one was acquitted. The Chennai Sessions Court had convicted the three on Friday on various charges. The sentence was pronounced on Monday. Delivering the longawaited verdict, XV Additional Sessions Judge L Abraham Lincoln awarded four life sentences to be served one after another for Jagadish (68) alias Gunna of Rajasthan, five life sentences for Rakesh (55) alias Guddu of Haryana, and four life sentences for Ashok (56) alias Laxman of Rajasthan. All three were already lodged in prisons as they were serving their sentence in another case.  P5 hockey for the better & brighter future Amir Ali, whose father is a mechanic, will represent India at the Jr Hockey WC starting in Chennai & Madurai on Friday | P13