Veteran East Punjab distributor Dharam Paul Arora passed away last night (February 19) in a hospital in Jalandhar. He was 85 years old and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. He used to be a partner with Vakil Singh and Narinder Singh Walia in Paramount Films which distributed hundreds of films. The concern, which was started in the 1960s, distributed many films of Raj Kapoor, Manmohan Desai, Dharmendra and Sunil Dutt, besides other producers.
Dharam Paul was extremely passionate about films and film business. Despite not distributing any films in the last many years, he used to keep track of the latest films and their box-office collections. He used to be at the forefront whenever any trade person needed any help. After their distribution firm stopped releasing films, the concern started exhibition business in a limited way.
Dharam Paul contracted coronavirus in November last year, after which complications became the norm despite the fact that he had recovered from the virus. He had been hospitalised a couple of times after testing negative for COVID-19.