An ICU-like set up was arranged for Dharmendra at his residence during his final days, actor Mukesh Khanna said in a tribute to the late Bollywood actor, recalling his last meeting with the Bollywood veteran.

“I had gone to their home just five or six days ago, right after he (Dharmendra) was brought back from the hospital. They had set up an ICU-like arrangement inside the house itself. I knew I wouldn’t be able to meet him properly, but I still felt it was important to go,” Khanna said in a video on his YouTube channel.

He recalled working with Dharmendra in the 1992 film Tahalka and the latter’s son Bobby Deol in the romantic actioner Barsaat (1995). Khanna highlighted Dharmendra’s humility and his positive outlook towards life in the video.

“I told them (Dharmendra’s family), ‘He is very strong. He will come out of this... he will get through this problem.’ But in the end, whatever God wills is what happens. People were shocked because everyone believed he was strong enough to recover. His body gave up, but the soul moves on. And he had a beautiful soul,” Khanna shared.

Dharmendra breathed his last in Mumbai on 24 November. He was 89.

Dharmendra is survived by his wife Hema Malini, sons Bonny Deol and Sunny Deol, and daughters Esha Deol, Ahana Deol and Vijeta Deol.

The actor’s final film Ikkis will release posthumously on 25 December.