Dharmendra | |
|---|---|
 Dharmendra in 2023 | |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 13 May 2004 – 16 May 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Rameshwar Lal Dudi |
| Succeeded by | Arjun Ram Meghwal |
| Constituency | Bikaner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol 8 December 1935 Sahnewal, Punjab, British India (present-day Punjab, India) |
| Nationality | British Indian (1935–1947) Indian (1947–present) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 6; (including Sunny, Bobby and Esha) |
| Relatives | See Deol family |
| Alma mater | Ramgarhia College, Phagwara Panjab University, Chandigarh |
| Occupation |
|
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2012) |
| Signature |  |
Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935) is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Nicknamed the "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra is widely regarded to be amongst the most handsome Indian actors of his time.[1][2][3][4][5] In 2012, he received the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, from the Government of India.[6] Dharmendra has worked in over 300 films in a career spanning over six decades.[7][8] He is considered one of the most successful actors in the history of Hindi cinema.[9][10]
After making his debut in a small film, Dharmendra first gained popularity in the mid-1960s for films, such as Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Kaajal, Phool Aur Patthar among others.[11] He then achieved greater stardom in later years, dubbed India's Garam Dharam for several of his on-screen roles in Hindi films. He consistently starred in top grossing Hindi films since the late 1960s to 1980s, including Ankhen, Shikar, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Jeevan Mrityu, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Seeta Aur Geeta, Raja Jani, Jugnu, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Dost, Sholay, Pratiggya, Charas, Dharam Veer, Chacha Bhatija, Azaad, Ram Balram, Kaatilon Ke Kaatil, Ghulami, Hukumat, Aag Hi Aag, Elaan-E-Jung and Tahalka,[12][13][14] as well as some of his most acclaimed performances, include Anpadh, Bandini, Haqeeqat, Anupama, Mamta, Majhli Didi, Satyakam, Samadhi, Resham Ki Dori, Chupke Chupke, Dillagi and The Burning Train.[15][16]
Beginning in the late 1990s, he appeared in character roles in several successful and acclaimed films, such as Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Life in a... Metro, Apne, Johnny Gaddaar, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.[17][18][19]
In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to Bollywood. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India, representing the Bikaner constituency in Rajasthan from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[20]
Dharmendra was born as Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol[21] in Sahnewal, a village in Ludhiana district, Punjab, British India on 8 December 1935. He was born to Kewal Krishan[21] and Satwant Kaur[22] into a Punjabi Jat family.[23][24][25][26] His ancestral village is Dangon, near Pakhowal Tehsil Raikot, Ludhiana.[27][25]
He spent his early life in the village of Sahnewal and studied at Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan, Ludhiana, where his father was the village school headmaster.[28] He did his matriculation in Phagwara in 1952.[29] In those days, schools of Punjab came under Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Dharmendra's first marriage was to Parkash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954, before he had entered films.[30] He had two sons from this marriage, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, both successful film actors; and two daughters, Vijeeta and Ajeeta. His nephew Abhay Deol is also an actor.[31]
After moving to Bombay and entering the film business, Dharmendra married Hema Malini, which was mired in controversy at that time. Rumours began to circulate about Dharmendra and Hema Malini converting to Islam for this marriage.[32][33] He and Malini starred together in a number of movies in the early 1970s, including Sholay.[34][35] The couple has two daughters, Esha Deol (an actress, born in 1981) and Ahana Deol (an assistant director, born in 1985).
His grandson, Bobby Deol's son, is also named "Dharam", after him.[36]
In 2019, Dharmendra's grandson, Sunny Deol's elder son, Karan Deol, made his debut as an actor with Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, which was directed by Sunny Deol.[37] In 2023, Sunny Deol's younger son, Rajveer Deol, made his debut as an actor with Dono, directed by Avnish R. Barjatya, Sooraj R. Barjatya's son.
Dharmendra has a farmhouse in Lonavala. His family resides in Juhu, Mumbai.[38]
In 2023, he expressed that Bollywood neglected his family and never appreciated his family's contribution to cinema.[39]
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Dharmendra was the winner of Filmfare magazine's nationally organised new talent award and went to Mumbai from Punjab to work in the movie. However, it was never made. He later made his film debut in 1960 with Arjun Hingorani's romantic drama Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere.[40][41] The film largely went unnoticed and as a result, did not perform that well at the box office.[12] From 1961 to 1963, he saw box office successes in Ramesh Saigal's Shola Aur Shabnam (1961), Mohan Kumar's Anpadh (1962) and Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963), which won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.[42][43][44]
His breakthrough came in 1964 when he co-starred alongside Rajendra Kumar and Saira Banu in Ayee Milan Ki Bela.[45] It went on to become a superhit at the box office,[46] and despite playing the antagonist, Dharmendra got noticed by audience. The same year, he starred in Chetan Anand's acclaimed war-drama Haqeeqat.[47] Haqeeqat too emerged a commercial success with one of its song "Ab Tumhare Hawaale Watan Saathiyon" sung by Mohammed Rafi becoming an instant hit, and being played every year during Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations in India.[48][49][50] In 1965, he had five releases, out of which Neela Aakash and Kaajal proved to be hits.[51] Kaajal also starred Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Padmini in the lead.[52]
In 1966, Dharmendra reunited with Kumari for O. P. Ralhan's Phool Aur Patthar.[53] The film topped the box office chart in 1966, becoming a blockbuster and making him a saleable star.[54][55] He received his first nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category for the film. The success of Phool Aur Patthar was followed by hits in Mamta, Devar, Anupama and Aaye Din Bahar Ke.[56] He was also given a souvenir at the 14th National Film Awards in recognition of his performance in Anupama.[57] In 1967, he worked in critically acclaimed films - Dulhan Ek Raat Ki opposite Nutan and Majhli Didi, Chandan Ka Palna, both opposite Kumari.[58][59] Dharmendra hit the big league in 1968 with Atma Ram's mystery thriller Shikar and Ramanand Sagar's spy thriller Ankhen. Both the films opened to extremely positive audience response and emerged blockbusters at the box office with the latter being the top grosser of that year.[12][60]
1969 saw the rise of superstar Rajesh Khanna, who stormed the nation with blockbusters in Aradhana and Do Raaste.[61] With his rise, the stardom of actors like Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt began to fade.[62] During this period, Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar were the only actors who remained unaffected by Khanna's popularity. The same year, Dharmendra had a superhit in Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke and received immense acclaim for his portrayal of a righteous man in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Satyakam.[63] He delivered three major successes in 1970 with Jeevan Mrityu, Tum Haseen Main Jawaan, Sharafat and played a supporting role in Raj Kapoor's magnum opus Mera Naam Joker.[64] Although the film was commercially unsuccessful at the time of release,[65] it attained cult status in later years, with many critics hailing it as one of the best Indian films of all time.[66] [55]
In 1971, Dharmendra starred in Raj Khosla's action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh.[67] The film went on to become a massive blockbuster at the box office. Dharmendra portrayed the image of a physical macho star with Phool Aur Patthar, but the rubber stamping of the image came with Mera Gaon Mera Desh. This film also changed the direction of Hindi cinema, as prior to its release large-budget films were mainly romantic dramas shot in the Kashmir valleys with popular music. The large success of this film made the industry shift to action. The film was a prelude to Dharmendra starrer Sholay which had a very uncanny resemblance to Mera Gaon Mera Desh.[12] Dharmendra received his second nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category for his performance in the film.[68] The flow of hits continued in the following year with a blockbuster in Seeta Aur Geeta opposite Hema Malini and superhits in Raja Jani again with Malini and Samadhi alongside Asha Parekh.[69] The mass hysteria created by Mera Gaon Mera Desh in 1971, followed by back-to-back hits with Seeta Aur Geeta, Raja Jani and Samadhi in 1972 took him to number 1 position, thus making him a "Superstar".[55][70][71] The year 1973 proved to be a milestone in his career.[12] His first release which was A. Bhimsingh's Loafer opposite Mumtaz proved to be a major hit with its songs, including "Aaj Mausam Bada Be-Imaan", "Main Tere Ishq Mein" and "Koi Shehri Babu" becoming instant hits.[72][73] The success of Loafer was followed by the mystery thriller Jheel Ke Us Paar and action drama Jugnu. While Jheel Ke Us Paar was a hit, the latter emerged a huge blockbuster and took 2nd spot at the box office that year.[13] Due to its huge success, Jugnu was also remade in Tamil and Telugu as Guru (1980).[74] His next two releases were - Ravikant Nagaich's spy thriller Keemat and Adurthi Subba Rao's light-hearted drama film Jwaar Bhata.[75][76] Both the films received critical as well as commercial acclaim.[12] Towards the end of year, Dharmendra played the lead in Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Blackmail and Kahani Kismat Ki.[77][78][79] Yaadon Ki Baaraat, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim-Javed is widely identified as the first masala film of Indian cinema and proved to be another blockbuster for the actor as well as the second best selling Bollywood album of 1970s.[80][12][81] On the other hand, Vijay Anand's romantic thriller Blackmail was an unsuccessful venture critically and commercially, but reception later improved, with many calling it one of Anand's most underrated works.[82] The song "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas" filmed on Dharmendra and Raakhee was a chartbuster and remains popular till date.[83] His final release of the year, Arjun Hingorani's actioner Kahani Kismat Ki continued his dream run and emerged a superhit at the box office.[84] In 1974, Dharmendra added one more blockbuster in his kitty with Dost.[85] His other notable releases of the year - Patthar Aur Payal and Resham Ki Dori too proved to be profitable ventures, with him receiving his fourth and final nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category for his performance in the latter.[86][87]
The 1975 Emergency had angered the public, and this helped films featuring the lead character revolting against corruption and establishment become successes. The shift from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-starrers changed the box office. The year saw the rise of another superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, but Dharmendra remained rock-steady and continued to deliver huge hits.[88]
In 1975, Dharmendra appeared alongside Bachchan in two films. The first was Mukherjee's light-hearted comedy Chupke Chupke.[89] It received positive response from critics and went on to become a hit at the box office.[90][91] The second was Ramesh Sippy's actioner Sholay.[92] It released on 15 August 1975, Indian Independence Day, in Bombay. Due to lackluster reviews and a lack of effective visual marketing tools, it saw poor financial returns in its first two weeks. However, from the third week onward, viewership picked up owing to positive word of mouth.[93] During the initial slow period, the director and writer considered re-shooting some scenes so that Amitabh Bachchan's character would not die. When business picked up, they abandoned this idea.[94] After additionally releasing a soundtrack containing dialogue snippets,[95] Sholay soon became an "overnight sensation".[96] The film was then released in other distribution zones such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, and Hyderabad on 11 October 1975.[97] It became the highest-grossing Hindi language film of 1975, and film ranking website Box Office India has given the film a verdict of All Time Blockbuster.[98] Sholay went on to earn a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees[a] across India,[96] and was the first film in India to celebrate a silver jubilee[b] at over 100 theatres.[96] It was shown continuously at Bombay's Minerva theatre for over five years and also ran in Kolkata's Jyoti Cinema for 103 weeks.[99][100] Sholay was the Indian film with the longest theatrical run until Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) broke its record of 286 weeks in 2001.[101][102] Towards the end of year, he delivered another blockbuster in Dulal Guha's Pratiggya.[103] Along with its strong action scenes it also had a significant comic track in the form of "slapstick" comedy which led to the film being referred as a "masterpiece in comedy".[104][105] In 1976, Dharmendra reunited with Sagar for the action thriller Charas.[106] Set against the backdrop of the expulsion of Indian community from Uganda by its dictator Idi Amin in 1972, it emerged a superhit at the box office.[107] He also delivered a semi-hit in Maa.[108] The year 1977 proved to be a big one for Dharmendra with a historic blockbuster in Dharam Veer, a superhit in Chacha Bhatija and two successes in Dream Girl and Khel Khilari Ka.[109] In the United Kingdom, Dharam Veer had 23 shows in 5 cities. Driven by the success of Rafi's songs, the film took a record initial of £50,000 in the UK, equivalent to ₹438,140 (US$50,001.71).[110] In addition, the film sold 32 million tickets in the Soviet Union.[111]
Post-1977, the quality of Dharmendra's films dropped, but his initial draw remained intact and continued to drive films to success till the early 90s.[12]
In 1978, he had a hit in Azaad and a moderate success in Phandebaaz.[112] He also starred in Indo-US Production Shalimar which was the most expensive film ever made in India at that time.[113][114] Shalimar did not perform well commercially, but its soundtrack composed by R. D. Burman was successful with popular songs, including "Hum Bewafaa Hargiz Na The" sung by Kishore Kumar, "Mera Pyaar Shalimar" and "One Two Cha Cha" sung by Asha Bhosle and Usha Uthup, respectively.[115] The soundtrack was later featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[116] Dharmendra concluded the decade with a hit in Mohan Sehgal's action drama Kartavya which was a remake of Kannada blockbuster Gandhada Gudi (1973).[117] He also appeared in Dil Kaa Heera which ended up as an average grosser.[118]
In 1980, he reunited with Bachchan and Vijay Anand for Ram Balram.[119] It became a hit at the box office and was the third highest-grossing film of 1980.[120] His other releases of the year were - The Burning Train and Alibaba Aur 40 Chor.[121][122] The Burning Train did average business, but received positive response from critics for the performances of the cast, action sequences and music. Today, it is widely regarded as a cult classic.[123] Alibaba Aur 40 Chor was a hit in India and a blockbuster in overseas. In the Soviet Union, it was the fifth top-grossing domestic film of 1980, and the 32nd highest-grossing domestic film of all time, with 52.8 million box office admissions.[124] This was equivalent to approximately 13.2 million Rbls[125] ($20.5 million,[126] ₹161.13 million).[127] Worldwide, the film grossed $28.13 million (₹221.13 million). This is equivalent to $104 million (₹7.7 billion) adjusted for inflation in 2023. In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 21 million tickets in India[128][129] and 52.8 million tickets in the Soviet Union,[124] for an estimated total of 74 million tickets sold worldwide. Before the end of year, Dharmendra also made a brief appearance in B.R. Chopra's blockbuster revenge drama Insaaf Ka Tarazu.[130]
In 1981, he scored a superhit with Kaatilon Ke Kaatil which was among the top-grossing films of the year, but his other two releases - Krodhi and Aas Paas were box office failures.[131] This changed in 1982 as delivered couple of successes in the year with Teesri Ankh, Ghazab, Baghavat, Samraat, Rajput, Main Intequam Loonga and Badle Ki Aag.[132][133] The success streak continued in 1983 with a superhit in Naukar Biwi Ka and hits in Jaanidost, Qayamat, but his big-budget period drama Razia Sultan flopped miserably at the box office and is only remembered for the song "Aye Dil-E-Nadaan", a solo by Lata Mangeshkar.[134][135]
Dharmendra saw a brief setback from 1984 to 1986 with his films, including Sunny, Sitamgar and Sultanat proving to be critical and commercial disasters. During this period his successful films, included Jeene Nahi Doonga (1984) with Shatrughan Sinha, Dharm Aur Kanoon (1984) alongside Rajesh Khanna and Jagir (1984), Baazi (1984), Ghulami (1985), all co-starring Mithun Chakraborty.[136][112] In the Soviet Union, Jagir was the top-grossing Indian film of 1984, with 38 million admissions at the Soviet box office.[137]
Dharmendra made a huge comeback in 1987 by delivering 8 successful films in the year.[138] He delivered solid hits in Hukumat, Aag Hi Aag, Loha, Insaniyat Ke Dushman and four other successful films with Watan Ke Rakhwale, Insaaf Ki Pukar, Dadagiri and Jaan Hatheli Pe.[55][139] After delivering an average grosser with Khatron Ke Khiladi in 1988, he had another massive hit with Anil Sharma's actioner Elaan-E-Jung in 1989.[140] Following two unsuccessful years, he reunited with Sharma for Tahalka which proved to be the last major successful film for him in a lead role as his later films like Policewala Gunda (1995) and Mafia (1996) only did average business and rest others, including multi-starrers like Kshatriya (1993), Maidan-E-Jung (1995) and Return of Jewel Thief (1996) received dull response at the ticket counters.[140][141][142][143][144][145]
In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. While accepting the award from Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu, Dharmendra became emotional and remarked that he had never won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor despite having worked in so many successful films and nearly a hundred popular films.[146] Speaking on this 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?".[147]
Since the late 1990s, Dharmendra has appeared in character roles. His first film in a character role was Sohail Khan's Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998). The film received positive reviews from critics and became a superhit at the box office,[148] but his next two releases Kaise Kahoon Ke... Pyaar Hai (2003) and Kis Kis Ki Kismat (2004) proved to be huge flops.[149][150]
After this he went on a brief hiatus and returned with 3 films in 2007. These were - Anurag Basu's Life in a... Metro, Anil Sharma's Apne and Sriram Raghavan's Johnny Gaddaar.[151][152] Both, Life in a... Metro and Apne proved to be critical and commercial successes.[153][154] Johnny Gaddaar, despite failing at the box office, received praise from critics and attained cult status in later years.[155][156] In 2011, Dharmendra starred in Yamla Pagla Deewana and Tell Me O Kkhuda. Tell Me O Kkhuda was a box office disaster,[157] but Yamla Pagla Deewana did well and emerged a hit.[158] He then appeared in sequels to Yamla Pagla Deewana, Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013) and Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se (2018), but unlike the first film, both the sequels received poor audience response.[159]
In 2023, he appeared in Karan Johar's big budget family drama Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and went on to become a hit at the box office.[160][161] Dharmendra is set to appear in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Ikkis (both in 2024).[162][163][164]
His most successful pairing was with Hema Malini, who went on to become his wife.[40] The couple played together in many films including Tum Haseen Main Jawaan, Sharafat, Naya Zamana, Seeta Aur Geeta, Raja Jani, Jugnu, Dost, Patthar Aur Payal, Sholay, Charas, Maa, Chacha Bhatija and Azaad.
He has worked with various directors, each with a different style of film-making.[165] His longest collaboration was with director Arjun Hingorani from 1960 to 1991. Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere was the debut film of Dharmendra as an actor and Arjun's first directorial venture with Dharmendra as the lead hero.[166][167] They worked together in Kab? Kyoon? Aur Kahan?, Kahani Kismat Ki, Khel Khilari Ka, Katilon Ke Kaatil and Kaun Kare Kurbanie where Arjun Hingorani was the producer and the director, and Sultanat and Karishma Kudrat Kaa, produced by Arjun Hingorani. He worked with director Pramod Chakravorty in Naya Zamana, Jugnu, Dream Girl and Azaad. Anil Sharma worked with him in many films including Hukumat, Elaan-E-Jung, Farishtay, Tahalka and Apne.
He has periodically made films in his native tongue of Punjabi, starring in Kankan De Ohle (1970), Do Sher (1974), Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974), Teri Meri Ik Jindri (1975), Putt Jattan De (1982) and Qurbani Jatt Di (1990). He returned to Punjabi cinema after a long gap in the 2014 film Double Di Trouble.[168][169]
Dharmendra served as a Member of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Bharatiya Janata Party representing Bikaner in Rajasthan from 2004 to 2009. During his election campaign in 2004, he made an offensive remark that he should be elected dictator perpetuo to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticised.[170] He rarely attended Parliament when the house was in session, preferring to spend time shooting movies or working at his farmhouse, for which he was also widely criticised.[171]
In 2011, Dharmendra replaced Sajid Khan as the male judge of the third series of popular reality show India's Got Talent.[172] On 29 July 2011, the show aired on Colors TV with Dharmendra as the new judge and surpassed the opening ratings of the previous two seasons.[173]
In 2023, he appeared in his first television acting role as Salim Chisti in the historical series Taj: Divided by Blood which aired on ZEE5.[174]
In 1983, Dharmendra set up a production company known as Vijayta Films. In its maiden venture Betaab, released in 1983, Vijayta Films launched Dharmendra's elder son Sunny Deol as the lead actor.[175] The movie was the second highest-grossing movie of the year. In 1990 he produced the action film Ghayal, also starring Sunny. The film won seven Filmfare Awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film.[176][177][178] It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Dharmendra then launched the career of his younger son, Bobby, in 1995 with Barsaat, which was again a superhit at the box office.[179][180][181]
He was the presenter for his films like Satyakam (1969) and Kab Kyun Aur Kahan (1970).
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Dharmendra is widely regarded as one of the most influential of Indian cinema.[182][183] He was considered one of the most handsome men in the world during his early career[184] and is widely known as the "He-Man" of Bollywood. In 2022, he was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.[185] Rediff.com placed him 10th in its "Top 10 Bollywood Actors of All Time" list.[186]
His most notable acting performances include Satyakam with Hrishikesh Mukherjee,[187] and Sholay, which is listed by Indiatimes as one of the "top 25 must see Bollywood films of all time". In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards awarded Sholay the special distinction of Filmfare Best Film of 50 years.[188]
When Dilip Kumar was giving Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award to Dharmendra, he 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?".[189] One of the most successful actors of 1970s and 1980s, Dharmendra appeared in Box Office India's "Top Actors" list eighteen times from 1968 to 1984 and 1987. He topped the list four times (1972-1975).[55]
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Main article: Dharmendra filmography |
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Main article: Civilian award |
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Main article: National Film Awards |
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Main article: Filmfare Awards |
| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Best Supporting Actor | Ayee Milan Ki Bela | Nominated |
| 1967 | Best Actor | Phool Aur Patthar | Nominated |
| 1972 | Mera Gaon Mera Desh | Nominated | |
| 1974 | Yaadon Ki Baaraat | Nominated | |
| 1975 | Resham Ki Dori | Nominated | |
| 1984 | Best Comedian | Naukar Biwi Ka | Nominated |
| Best Film | Betaab | Nominated | |
| 1991 | Best Film | Ghayal | Won |
| 1997 | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |
