Legendary actor Dharmendra who passed away on November 24 at the age of 89, is fondly remembered as the ‘He-Man’ of Bollywood and often is also called ‘Garam Dharam’. The actor known for a long list of versatile roles and the most handsome looks had a career spanning over decades and a huge fan following to boast of. But his personal life has also always been a subject of scrutiny. Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980 when he was already married to Prakash Kaur and had four children, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Ajeita and Vijeta. Meanwhile, he had two daughters with Hema Malini – Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. In an interview, the ‘Dream Girl’ actress was asked if her decision to marry an already married man was tough, here’s what she had said. When asked how they fell in love, Hema Malini said during an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today in 2022, “The very first time I saw him, I had never seen such a handsome man. He was exceptional and good looking. That really impressed me. It didn’t mean I wanted to marry him. It was only later that I started admiring him so much. But it was him who was wooing me. He was also attracted to me.” Belonging from a conservative Tamil family, was it a tough choice for her to marry a married man with children? Responding to it, she said, “There was a time when I had to tell him, ‘you better marry me now’. You cannot go on like this. I knew there would be a little problem but I don’t expect anything else from him. Just love. He’s always there for me so what else do I need. I don’t need property or money or anything else from him. I just need some love. That’s it.” Despite being married to Dharmendra, Hema Malini lived separately. In a chat with Lehren Retro, she had said that nobody wishes for this sort of an unusual arrangement and she would have wished for more time with him. However, she said she has no complaints as Dharmendra was always there for her and their daughters whenever needed. She also said that she did not want to disturb anyone or his life so she always lived separately.
