Dharmendra Singh Deol (
Hindi:
धर्मेंद्र सिंह देओल,
Punjabi:
ਧਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ, born 8 December 1935 in Nasrali, Ludhiana (India)|Punjab, better known as
Dharmendra, is an award-winning
Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime achievement Award at the 2007
IIFA Awards.
[1]
He is often referred to as the "He-Man" as well as the "Action King"
of Hindi cinema having starred in numerous action films and is
considered a living legend. He is father of actors
Sunny Deol,
Bobby Deol and
Esha Deol.
At the peak of his film career he was considered the most handsome
actor in Bollywood and a matinée idol. He was the main lead of the
all-time blockbuster film,
Sholay (1975) and also went on to star in numerous successful
Bollywood
films cutting across five decades. Dharmendra has thus established
himself as one of the most prominent figures in the history of hindi
cinema.
[2]
In 2012, he was honoured with the
Padma Bhushan by the
Government of India.
[3] He was also a member of the 14th
Lok Sabha of India, representing
Bikaner constituency in
Rajasthan from
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Film career
Dharmendra won the
Filmfare new talent award and came to Mumbai from Punjab looking for work.
[6] Starting with Arjun Hingorani's
Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960),
[7][8] he worked in several romantic black and white films in the early 1960s, hitting solo hero stardom with the blockbuster,
Phool Aur Patthar
(1966). At the start of his career, he was usually cast as a romantic
hero and later in the period from 1974 onwards as an action hero.
[9] He starred with several leading actresses at the beginning of his career. He worked with
Nutan in
Soorat Aur Seerat (1962) and
Bandini (1963),
Mala Sinha in
Anpadh (1962) and
Pooja Ke Phool (1964),
Saira Banu in
Shaadi (1962) and
Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964) and with
Meena Kumari in
Main Bhi Ladki Hoon (1964),
Kaajal (1965),
Poornima (1965) and
Phool Aur Paththar (1966).
Phool Aur Paththar became the highest grossing film of 1966 and Dharmendra received his first Filmfare nomination for Best Actor.
[10] He formed a very successful pairing with actresses like
Meena Kumari,
Saira Banu,
Sharmila Tagore,
Mumtaz,
Asha Parekh,
Rekha,
Zeenat Aman and
Hema Malini. His most successful pairing was with
Hema Malini, who went on to become his future wife.
[7] They formed a hit pair delivering phenomenal hits like,
Raja Jani,
Seeta Aur Geeta,
Sharafat,
Tum Haseen Main Jawaan,
Jugnu,
Dost,
Charas,
Maa,
Chacha Bhatija,
Azaad,
and Sholay. The critically acclaimed 1980 film, The Burning Train also saw the Dharam-Hema chemistry in full flight.
His most notable acting performance was
Satyakam with
Hrishikesh Mukherjee[11] and
Sholay, where he appeared as the inimitable Veeru.
[9] Sholay went on to become the biggest hit in the history of
Hindi cinema and is listed by
Indiatimes as one of the
"Top 25 must see Bollywood films of all time".
[12] In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards awarded
Sholay
with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of 50
Years. Dharmendra went on to star in numerous successful Bollywood
films in the 1970s and 80s like
Pratigya,
Dharam Veer,
Charas,
Azaad,
Katilon Ke Kaatil,
Ghazab,
Bhagawat,
Dharam Aur Kanoon,
Hukumat,
Raaj Tilak,
Watan Ke Rakhwale,
Aag Hi Aag,
Ghulami,
Hathyar and
Loha.
He has worked with various directors, each having different styles in their film-making, like
Bimal Roy and Mohan Kumar in drama films,
Yash Chopra and Raghunath Jhalani in romance films,
Raj Khosla,
Ramesh Sippy, Arjun Hingorani,
Anil Sharma and
Rajkumar Santoshi in action films and
Hrishikesh Mukherjee,
Basu Chatterjee and
Rajkumar Kohli in comedy films.
[13]
He also has the distinction of appearing in quite a few films opposite
actresses who have also starred opposite his son Sunny Deol. Notable
amongst those are
Sridevi in
Naaka Bandi,
Jaya Prada in
Elaan-E-Jung,
Dimple Kapadia in
Shehzaade,
Amrita Singh in
Sachai Ki Taaqat,
Kimi Katkar in
Humlaa and
Poonam Dhillon in
Sone Pe Suhaaga.
[14]
He has also periodically done films in his native tongue of
Punjabi, starring in
Do Sher (1974),
Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974),
Teri Meri Ik Jindri (1975),
Putt Jattan De (1982) and
Qurbani Jatt Di
(1990). Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he continued to appear in many
more films playing leading roles or supporting roles. In 1997, he
received the
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. While receiving the award from
Dilip Kumar and his wife
Saira Banu,
Dharmendra became emotional and remarked that he never received any
Filmfare award in the Best Actor category despite having worked in so
many successful films and nearly a hundred popular movies. He was glad
that his contributions had finally been recognized.
[15]
Speaking on the occasion Dilip Kumar commented, "Whenever I get to meet
with God Almighty I will set before Him my only complaint-why did You
not make me as handsome as Dharmendra?".
[16]
He has experimented with film production; he launched both of his sons in films:
Sunny Deol in
Betaab (1983) and
Bobby Deol in
Barsaat (1995) as well as his nephew
Abhay Deol in
Socha Na Tha (2005).
[17] In one of her interviews, actress
Preity Zinta has been quoted as saying that Dharmendra is her favourite actor. She went on to recommend him to play her father's role in
Har Pal (2008).
[18]
After a few years hiatus from acting since the early 2000s, he is reappearing in films as a character actor. His 2007 films
Life in a... Metro and
Apne
were both critically and commercially successful at the box office. In
the latter, he appears with both his sons, Sunny and Bobby for the
first time.
[19] His other release was
Johnny Gaddaar, where he played a villainous role. His latest film
Yamla Pagla Deewana co-starring his sons Sunny and Bobby was released on January 14, 2011.
[20]
[edit] Television
In 2011, Dharmendra replaced
Sajid Khan as the male judge of the third series of popular reality show
India's Got Talent.
[21] On 29 July 2011,
India's Got Talent aired on
Colors with Dharmendra as the new judge and surpassed the opening ratings of the previous two seasons.
[22]
Early life
He was born in a sikh Jaat family
Punjab state to Kewal Kishan Deol
[4] and Satwant Kaur. He spent his early life in
Phagwara,
Kapurthala. His father was a school headmaster in the village of Lalton
Ludhiana, where the family later moved.
[5]
Political
All India Jat Mahasabha Centenary Celebrations 2007, Seen in the image are Dharmendra,
Dara Singh and
Kamal Patel
Dharmendra has also been active in politics. He was elected as a Member of the Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from
Bikaner in
Rajasthan, on a
Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. During his election campaign, he made an ironic remark that he should be elected
Dictator Perpetuus[23] to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticized.
[24]
Dharmendra rarely attended the Parliament when the house was in
session, preferring to spend the time shooting for movies or doing
farm-work at his farm house.
[2] Producer
In 1983 Deol set up a production company known as
Vijayta Films. Its first film was
Betaab. The film was released in 1983, starring his son
Sunny Deol as the lead actor in his debut movie. The film was blockbuster. In 1990 he produced the action flick
Ghayal starring his son
Sunny Deol. The film won seven
Filmfare Awards, including the
Best Movie Award. It also won
National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. He also launched his younger son
Bobby Deol's in 1995 through
Barsaat and his nephew
Abhay Deol in 2005 through
Socha Na Tha.
[26 Personal life
Dharmendra maintained two relationships at the same time. His first
marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954. His second
marriage was with actress
Hema Malini. It is believed that they fell in love on the sets of film
Sholay (1975) although they had made films together before.
[27] He married Hema while he was still married to his first wife Prakash Kaur.
[28][29][30]
From his first marriage, he has two sons,
Sunny Deol and
Bobby Deol both successful actors, and two daughters, Vijeeta and Ajeeta. From his second marriage to
Hema Malini, Dharmendra has two daughters
Esha Deol, who is an actress and
Ahana Deol.
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.
[29]
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