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Dharmendra Singh Deol
All India Jat Mahasabha Centenary Celebrations 2007, Seen in the image are Dharmendra, Dara Singh and Kamal Patel
MP
Constituency	Bikaner
Born	December 8, 1935 (1935-12-08) (age 73) Punjab, India
Birth name	Dharamendra Singh Deol
Political party	BJP
Spouse	Parkash Kaur (1954 - present) Hema Malini (1980 - present)
Children	Sunny Deol (Ajay Singh Deol), Bobby Deol (Vijay Singh Deol), Ajeeta Deol, Vijeta Deol, Esha Deol, Ahana Deol
Residence	Mumbai, India
Occupation	actor,producer, politician
As of September 14, 2006 Source: [1]

Dharamendra Singh Deol (Hindi: धर्मेन्द्र सिंह देओल), (Punjabi: ਧਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ), born 8 December 1935 in Punjab, better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Indian Bollywood film star who has appeared in more than 200 Hindi films. In 1997 he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema. He is also the father of actors Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Esha Deol.

Early life

He was born in Punjab state to a Jatt Sikh father, Kewal Kishen Singh Deol, and mother, Satwant Kaur. His father was a school headmaster in Punjab.^{citation needed}

Career

Dharmendra was first noticed in a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Mumbai to become an actor. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani for the film Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere (1960).¹ His first major hit film was Phool Aur Paththar. Due to a scene in which he took off his shirt, Dharmendra became known as the "He-Man" of Bollywood.² At the start of his career he was usually cast as a romantic hero and later as action movies became more popular, he took on action hero roles. Perhaps the most memorable of these was his role in the 1975 blockbuster film Sholay, where he was teamed with Amitabh Bachchan. He starred with several prominent leading ladies at the beginning of his career, including Nutan and Meena Kumari. Dharmendra also starred in many comedy films, most notably Chupke Chupke. Before Chupke Chupke Dharmendra had worked in Satyakam with Hrishikesh Mukherjee, which he produced as well.³ At the peak of his career, he was voted amongst the seven most handsome men in the world. After Phool Aur Paththar was declared a hit, he became known as the 'He-Man' of the Hindi film industry. In one of her recent interviews, Preity Zinta has been quoted as saying that he is her favourite actor.^{citation needed} Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he continued to appear in many more films playing leading roles or supporting roles. His 2007 films Metro and Apne were both successful at the box office. In the latter, he appears with both his sons, Sunny and Bobby for the first time. His other recent release was Johnny Gaddaar, where he played a villainous role. 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). Over 60 of his films have gone on to be golden jubilee hits.^{citation needed}

In addition to his acting credits, Dharmendra has also produced several films. 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).

Personal life

Dharmendra married twice and has maintained both his wives. His first marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954.⁴⁵ His second marriage was to the Bollywood actress Hema Malini. They are said^who? to have fallen in love on the set of Sholay (1975) although they had made films together before. From his first marriage he has two daughters, Vijeta and Ajeeta, who are settled in California and two sons who are also successful actors: Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. From his second wife Hema Malini whom he married on 2 May 1980,⁶ he has two daughters: Esha Deol, who is an actress, and Ahana Deol. He is also the uncle of actor Abhay Deol, who is the son of his younger brother Ajit Deol. According to author Hanif Zaveri's 2005 book Mehmood, a Man of Many Moods, Dharmendra was also romantically involved with his Phool Aur Patthar co-star Meena Kumari.⁷

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.⁴

He has recently become active in politics. He was elected as a Member of 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 Perpetuus⁸ to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticized.^{citation needed}

Awards and recognitions

• In 1997, Dharmendra won a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema over many years. While receiving the award from Dilip Kumar and his wife Sayra Banu, Dharmendra grew emotional and remarked that he never received any Filmfare award in the "Best Actor" category despite having worked in so many successful films – nearly a hundred popular movies. He was glad that his contributions had finally been recognized. 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?"^{citation needed}
• In the mid seventies, he was voted as one of the most handsome men in the world, a feat only repeated by Salman Khan (from Bollywood) in 1997.^{citation needed}
• He is a recipient of the prestigious Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian entertainment industry.⁹
• In 2003 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards.¹⁰
• In 2004, he was honoured for Best Contribution to Indian Cinema.¹¹
• In 2005, he received the Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• In 2007, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF).
• In 2007, he received an IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award.
• He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by DBR Entertainment.¹²
• The Punjabi newspaper Quami Ekta honoured him for his contributions to the Indian cinema.¹²
• In 2008, he was named "Actor Par Excellence" at the Max Stardust Awards.¹³
• In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image International Film (M.A.M.I).¹⁴

Filmography

References

1. ^ "Dharmendra". Upperstall.com. Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
2. ^ Karmalkar, Deepa (2008-12-08). "Dharmendra: 'I live in people's hearts...'". Screen. Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
3. ^ Dharmendra Profile Rediff.com.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Delawar Khan". People. BBC Asian Network. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
5. ^ Sumbly, Vimal; Bains, Loveleen (2002-02-04). "Dharmendra walks down memory lane". The Tribune. Retrieved on 23 December 2008.
6. ^ "Dharmendra or "Dilawar Khan?"". Milli Gazette (2004-06-30). Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
7. ^ Zaveri, Hanif (2005). Mehmood, a Man of Many Moods. Popular Prakashan. pp. 81-84. ISBN 8179912132. 
8. ^ "Dharmendra wants to be dictator". Times of India (2004-04-17). Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
9. ^ Rangaraj, R (2007-03-14). "FICCI-Frames award for Kamal Haasan". Channai Online. Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
10. ^ "Devdas sweeps movie awards", The Statesman (2003-03-29). Retrieved on 2 January 2009. 
11. ^ "Hrithik, Urmila win top honours at Zee awards", The Express (2004-02-27). Retrieved on 2 January 2009. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "'Garam Dharam' still a hit with fans in US, Canada". The Hindu (2007-07-06). Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
13. ^ "Winners of Max Stardust Awards 2008". IndiaFM (2008-01-26). Retrieved on 2 January 2009.
14. ^ "Dharmendra, Rishi Kapoor win at 10th M.A.M.I event". IBOS (2008-03-14). Retrieved on 2 January 2009.

External links

• Dharmendra at the Internet Movie Database
• Lokh Sabha member's homepage at the Parliament of India website