The recent leaked video of veteran actor Dharmendra from Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital has sparked widespread outrage. Be it his family or Bollywood celebs, many have bashed the clip being circulated on social media.
The clip, which captured an intimate moment between the ailing star and his sons, Sunny and Bobby Deol, has sparked a deeper debate: Has voyeurism overtaken basic humanity?
In a viral video from the hospital, Dharmendra can be seen on his hospital bed while his sons Bobby and Sunny are emotional. Sunny’s sons, Karan Deol and Rajveer Deol are also visible in this clip. Dharam paaji’s first wife Prakash Kaur is sitting beside him.
According to HT, the hospital employee who recorded this private moment of the Deol family and shared it on social media has been arrested. Another report by News 18, however, says that no arrests have been made so far. We are yet to confirm which is true.
Celebrities have responded strongly. Amitabh Bachchan, one of Dharmendra’s oldest colleagues, expressed his displeasure with the incident.
Taking to X, Amitabh wrote, “T 5564 - no ethics .. Koi bhi achaar-niti nahi.”
The Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) has lodged a formal police complaint against certain paparazzi and online media platforms for what it described as "inhuman" and "unethical" behavior in their coverage of veteran actor Dharmendra’s recent health condition. In a letter addressed to the Senior Inspector of Juhu Police Station, IFTDA President Ashoke Pandit stated that some paparazzi and digital media accounts “breached privacy”.
IFTDA has urged the police to take strict legal action against those responsible and called for a strong precedent to prevent similar incidents in the future.
A part of the letter read “I, Ashoke Pandit, Hon. President of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), wish to lodge a formal complaint against certain unverified and scrupulous paparazzi and online media handlers who have crossed all limits of decency and ethics in the recent coverage related to the illness of Padma Bhushan Shri Dharmendra Ji, one of the most respected legends of Indian cinema.”
The letter further stated, “It has come to our attention that certain paparazzi and digital media accounts have breached privacy by entering the premises of Shri Dharmendra Ji’s residence and recorded footage and images of his family members without consent. These visuals have been circulated publicly for sensationalism and profit, without any concern for legality, decency, or emotional distress caused to the family.”
As Dharmendra’s family deals with this breach of trust, society must confront a crucial truth: empathy must outweigh entertainment. Fame does not cancel the right to privacy. And as consumers of media, we must learn to draw the line between interest and intrusion.
Until we collectively reject such content, incidents like this will continue — not because they were leaked, but because we clicked.
