Dharmendra

BIOGRAPHY :

Dharmendra Keval Krishna Deol,(born 8 December 1935 in Sahnewal, Punjab), better known as Dharmendra, is an Indian Bollywood film star. At the peak of his film career he was considered a matinee idol, and was among the 10 most handsome men in the world at that time. Currently he is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Bikaner constituency of Rajasthan and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party.

He is married to Prakash Deol as well as actress Hema Malini, father to actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol and father of actress Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. He is the uncle of actor Abhay Deol.

He rose to fame as an Indian actor who appeared in more than 200 Hindi films since the early 1960s. Dharmendra is considered the most successful star of Bollywood along with Amitabh Bachchan. He has been starred in maximum number of hit films in Bollywood and considered a living legend.

He was born in Phagwara, Punjab and was fascinated with films right from childhood, often travelling miles to frequent the touring cinema. (He remembers going to see Dillagi (1949) starring Suraiya at least 40 times!). He was married at the age of 19 and took up a job with an American Drilling Company boring tubewells.

Fortunately for him, he was noticed in a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Bombay to become an actor. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani for Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere (1960), his first film as hero for Rs 51 as signing amount and a daily breakfast that was to contain strictly of tea, two toasts and butter but no jam! Ironically, after all the struggle he went unrecognized at the premiere of the film and sneaked back home on a train.

However strong, supporting romantic lead roles in women oriented films like Anpadh (1962) with Mala Sinha, Bandini (1963) and Soorat Aur Seerat (1963), both with Nutan brought Dharmendra to the fore. A liaison with Meena Kumari saw the two of them starring together in a series of films.

His first major hit film was "Phool Aur Paththar". Phool Aur Patthar (1966) finally made Dharmendra into a star. As the ruffian Shaka, Dharmendra combined muscles and sensitivity to give Shaka a human touch. And when he whipped off his shirt in the film, for the first time Hindi filmmakers woke up to the need to cater to female sexuality. In one of the most sensuous scenes in Hindi films, Dharmendra leans over a sleeping Meena Kumari only to finally cover her up.

Most of Dharmendra's earlier films were soft romantic films, many of which presented a secularized Hindustani version of Bengali literary stereotypes, starting with Bimal Roy's Bandini and continuing with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 60s socials - Anupama (1966), Manjhli Didi (1967) and Satyakam (1969). He mainly played the nice, romantic, handsome hero and was in fact voted as one of the five most good-looking men in the world in the 1960s.

Satyakam saw Dharmendra giving perhaps his greatest ever performance as an idealist seeing his dreams crumble after Indian Independence. It was a sensitive, nuanced performance of an honest, committed man who perseveres with his philosophy of total truth even when it brings about his downfall and one that was straight from the heart. The scene in which he is dying where he just had to emote with his eyes as his estranged father berates him, represent some of the the finest moments in Dharmendra's acting career.

The 1970s saw Dharmendra take to the action genre like a fish to water. (The seeds of this were seen earlier in films like Aankhein (1968), a James Bond style thriller following the success of Phool Aur Patthar) He was prefect as the pistol packing hero threatening the villain - No one could tell the villain, "Kaminey, Main Tera Khoon Pee Jaoonga!" more convincingly than 'Garam Dharam!' Films like Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Jugnu (1973), Kahani Kismet Ki (1973), Yaadon ki Baraat (1973) and Sholay (1975) swept the box-office largely due to Dharmendra's brawn show!

Sholay (1975) and Chupke Chupke (1975) revealed another facet of Dharmendra - his flair for comedy. Even though the former was a large scale action drama, Dharmendra's comic scenes with Hema Malini - feeling her up on the pretext of teaching her how to fire a gun or speaking to her as the 'voice of God' or of course his 'soo-cide' scene with her aunt, him atop a water tank and threatening to jump if she didn't marry her niece to him - were among the many highlights of the film. And Chupke Chupke saw him single-handedly carry Hrishida's whacky comedy of a botany professor who impersonates a driver to spend some precious time with his wife at her brother-in-law's place! It is a masterful performance with razor sharp comic timing.

Dharmendra also formed a hugely successful pairing with Hema Malini, the two of them doing a string of hit films together - Naya Zamana (1971), Raja Jani (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Jugnu, Dost (1974) and Sholay among others. They fell in love and Hema became his second wife. Dharmendra and Hema went on to have children as well but so strong was her morally upright image that she was able to go through the marriage without being slandered by press or public which in fact more than accepted the union.

The 'Garam Dharam' act was perfected in the 1980s by Hindi filmmakers as Dharmendra was cast as the invincible hero bearing colloquial names like Veeru Dada, Hathoda Singh or Sherdil who was locked in mortal combat with the villain. But his films were largely undistinguished and of poor quality even if a couple did score at the box-office. (Aag hi Aag (1987), Hukumat (1987))

In fact, among Dharmendra's later films in the 1980s and 90s, his work with director J.P. Dutta stands out - Ghulami (1985), Yateem (1988), Batwara (1989), Hathyar (1989) and Kshatriya(1992). The films barring Hathyar were mainly set in feudal Rajasthan featuring conflicts among the Jats and the Thakur Zamindars with Dharmendra usually playing a powerful charismatic leader who unites the people against the oppressive thakurs.

He has also experimented with film production; he launched both of his sons in films: Sunny Deol in "Betaab" (1983) and Bobby Deol in "Barsaat" (1995). His recent release was "Apne" where he appeared opposite his sons Sunny and Bobby together for the first time.

Dharmendra married twice. His first marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19. He didn't divorce his first wife when he married his second wife, actress Hema Malini. The nikahnama of his marriage to Hema Malini says that he is Delawar Khan being united to Ayesha Bi. They are said to have fallen in love on the sets of "Sholay" (1975) although they have made many films together before and after "Sholay".

His two sons by his first wife, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, are also successful actors. He has two daughters, starlet Esha Deol and Ahana Deol, by Hema Malini. His nephew Abhay Deol is also an actor.Dharmendra has gone on record saying he did not believe the Mumbai film industry was a place suitable for girls. Where as Dharmendra was unperturbed by his sons Sunny and Bobby joining the industry, he was vocal about his displeasure regarding his daughter Esha's choice of profession.

He has recently become active in politics with his wife Hema Malini. He won a position as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from Bikaner in Rajasthan, on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. During his election campaign, he made an ironic remark that he should be elected Dictator Perpetuus to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticized.

Despite showcasing their background as proud Punjabi Jatts, members of the Deol family have publicy claimed that they belong to the Arya Samaj Hindu faith. There is further confusion as to Dharmendra's religion due to his marriage to Hema Malini in 1979, when he allegedly converted to Islam in order to legally marry her.



HIS MOVIES WITH THE SUPER STAR RAJESH KHANNA:

1) Khamoshi - 1970- (Guest Appearance)
2) Rajput - 1982
3) Dharam Aur Kanoon - 1984

APPEARNING HIMSELF :
1) Guddi - 1971
2) Aaina - 1974
3) Naseeb -1981