Dharamendra (HeMan of Indian Cinema)

 Dharmendra Biography

Dharamendra was voted as one of the top five handsome men in the world in the sixties. He was also known as the ‘he-man’ of Hindi cinema. He was the action hero, he was the romantic hero and one of the top actors of his time until politics came knocking.

Basics on Dharamendra
Dharamendra Kewal Krishen Deol was born on the 8th December 1935 in Punjab, India. He was born into an Arya Samaj Jatt family. His father was Kewal Krishen Deol, a school headmaster and his mother Satwant Kaur Deol, was a Sikh.

He married Prakash Kaur in 1954 and has two sons Sunny and Bobby, both of whom are actors and two daughters Ajeeta and Vijeta. At the time of his marriage he was working with an American Drilling Company.

In 1980 he converted to Islam to marry actress Hema Malini as his first wife refused to grant him divorce. His legal name after changing religion is Delawar Khan. He has two daughters with Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana. His daughter Esha Deol is an actress.

He was also involved with Meena Kumari with whom he worked in Phool Aur Pathar and many other movies.

The Filmfare spot the talent contest proved to be lucky for him as he was discovered and signed up by Arjun Hingorani in the sixties and there was no looking back as he became one of the most prominent faces in Bollywood for five decades, a fact that was recognized in 1997 when he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal life

Dharmendra maintained two relationships at same time . His first marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954. His second marriage took place with actress Hema Malini. They are said to have fallen in love on the set of Sholay (1975) although they had made films together before. He married Hema while he was still married to his first wife Prakash Kaur. According to some reports, he converted to Islam before marrying her
From his first marriage, he has two sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol who are also successful actors, and two daughters named Vijeeta and Ajeeta. From his second marriage to Hema Malini, Dharmendra has two daughters Esha Deol, who is an actress and Ahana Deol. Dharmendra was also romantically involved with his Phool Aur Patthar co-star Meena Kumari.
Dharmendra has gone on record saying he does not believe that the Mumbai film industry is a place suitable for girls. He was unperturbed by his sons Sunny and Bobby joining the industry, but was vocal about his displeasure regarding his daughter Esha's choice of profession

Filmfare Awards

Winner

• 1991 – Filmfare Award For Best Film/Producer for Ghayal
• 1997 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.