Dharmendra and Shatrughan Sinha — last seen in KC Bokadia’s 1998 film Zulm O Situm — will appear together on screen after 20 years in Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se.

Early August, the veteran actors were on the sets and Dharamji confessed that shooting the scenes was nostalgic. Dharmendra said: “We have been close ever since Dost, our first film together (1974). His (Shatrughan’s) birthday is on December 9 and mine is a day earlier. He would bring gifts for my birthday and I jokingly flung them at him saying, ‘Take it back’. We are like family. Shatru is like a younger brother to me. His wife Poonam played my younger sister in Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), her second film.”

The reunion on the Yamla… sequel turned into a treat for the crew as they saw the chemistry between the stars.

Dharmendra said Yamla Pagla Deewana was born out of a desire to make a comedy but while shooting for the sequel, he realised that it was not turning out to be as expected.

Dharmendra came on screen with sons, Sunny and Bobby, for the first time in 2006 with the family drama Apne. They followed it up with Yamla Pagla Deewana in 2011, which was a huge hit but its sequel did not do well at the box office.

“Apne had made people cry so I told someone that next time I’ll make you laugh. We didn’t even have a script or anything ready then. We made Yamla Pagla Deewana one. But there’s this beemari of franchise and sequel. We don’t understand business,” Dharmendra told PTI. “We had to make a sequel but it was taking time, things were not falling into place and then even the screenplay wasn’t good. I knew while doing the film that it’s rubbish and had told the crew that I’m not enjoying shooting it. One knows whether it’s going right or not.”

But the 82-year-old hopes the audience enjoys the third part. “I heard this story several times and I liked it. I really enjoyed listening to the script and we all have tried to make it as nice as possible. Hope the audience enjoys it now.”

The 82-year-old actor is excited to see how the audience reacts to some of the cameos in the film, including Salman Khan, Rekha, Shatrughan and Sonakshi Sinha. Without giving away much about Shotgun’s appearance, Dharmendra said: “He’s playing a judge and I’m a lawyer. It’s interesting because he must do his duty as well as maintain our relationship. I can’t reveal more because it will give the story out.”

Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se releases on August 31.