Indian media has reported that Bollywood’s famous actor Dharmendra has died. He is 89 years old. He is undergoing treatment at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. India Today reported the death, citing his team.
However, Dharmendra’s wife Hema Malini and his daughter Esha Deol later said on social media that the news of his death was fake. Dharmendra is responding to treatment.
Known as the ‘He-Man’ of Bollywood, this actor has an extraordinary film career spanning more than six decades. The news of his death has cast a deep shadow of grief over the Indian film industry. Numerous fans are grieving. Everyone is paying their last respects to Dharmendra on the internet. His wife Hema Malini, two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol, Ameesha Patel, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and many others went to the hospital to see him.
The news, citing sources close to the family, said that Dharmendra was admitted to the hospital more than a week ago due to breathing problems. According to Indian media reports, his breathing had increased since Monday morning. The actor was put on life support.
On Monday night, the family informed that Dharmendra’s physical condition was stable and there was nothing to worry about. He was kept in the hospital for routine checkups and medical observation. Dharmendra’s team said, ‘He has become a little weak due to old age, he is taking rest on the advice of the doctor. Do not be confused by the rumors spread on social media.’ Dharmendra’s manager said, ‘He is now in the ICU. The news of life support is wrong. His physical condition is stable.’
Dharmendra’s wife and actress Hema Malini said, ‘His physical condition is better than before. We wish him a speedy recovery.’ However, in the end, the fears of the fans came true.
Dharmendra was born on December 8, 1935, in the village of Nasrali in Punjab. His real name is Dharamsingh Deol. Although his acting career began in 1960, Dharmendra’s path was not easy before. The struggle that a simple village boy had to endure to become a star is more dramatic than cinema.
Despite being born into a poor farming family, he had a strong attraction to cinema from a young age. To take care of his family’s responsibilities, Dharmendra took a job as a clerk in the Indian Railways at a young age. He was only 19 years old at the time. At that time, he was first married to Prakash Kaur. The monthly salary was only Rs 125. But Dharmendra understood that his heart was not set on a railway job. He knew that his purpose in life was somewhere else – in cinema, in the light and in front of the camera.
In 1960, he won the Filmfare Talent Competition and went to Mumbai. From there, history began. Dharmendra got his first opportunity in director Arjun Hingorani’s film ‘Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere’ (1960). He received a fee of only Rs 51. From there, the journey of a legend began. ‘Phool Aur Patthar’ (1966) turned Dharmendra into an action hero of Bollywood in an instant. In the next two decades, he became an irresistible face of Hindi cinema. ‘Sholay’, ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Jadugar’, ‘Dharam Veer’, ‘Dost’, ‘Anpar’, ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’—he seems to have reinvented himself in every film.
A big chapter in Dharmendra’s life revolves around Hema Malini. The couple got married in 1980, which is one of the most talked about events in Bollywood. They have worked together in more than 30 films. ‘Sita Aur Geeta’, ‘Dreamgirl’, ‘Sharif Badmash’, ‘Jugnu’, ‘Dost’ are still popular today. Dharmendra’s two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol from his first wife Prakash Kaur’s family—both are well-known faces in Bollywood. Hema Malini’s family has two daughters—Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.
