Dharmendra

Dharmendra was born on 8 December 1935 in Nasrali, a village in Ludhiana district, Punjab Province, British India, the second child of Kewal Krishan and Satwant Kaur, in a Punjabi Hindu Jat family. He had an elder sister, Harminder Kaur, and a younger brother, Ajit Singh Deol. His ancestral village is Dangon in Ludhiana district. His full name at birth is disputed: his affidavit and The New York Times give Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol, while the BBC reported that his father named him Dharam Singh Deol. He spent his early years in Sahnewal.

He studied at the Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan in Ludhiana district, where his father was the village school headmaster, and completed his matriculation in Phagwara in 1952. Wikipedia lists his education as Ramgarhia College, Phagwara.

After an unsuccessful first attempt in Mumbai he returned to Punjab and worked for a drilling company, then came back after entering the Filmfare magazine talent hunt, where he placed second. Encouraged to stay by fellow aspiring actor Manoj Kumar, he debuted in Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), found his first success with Shola Aur Shabnam (1961) and appeared in Anpadh (1962) and Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963).

Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964) was his breakthrough and earned him a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination, and Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964) gave him a major lead. Phool Aur Patthar (1966) was the year's top box office hit and brought his first Filmfare Best Actor nomination. Through the 1970s he was among the biggest stars in India, with Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Seeta Aur Geeta, Jugnu, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Sholay, Chupke Chupke, Pratiggya, Charas, Dharam Veer and many more. He topped Box Office India's Top Actors list from 1972 to 1975, and he is the only actor to have had seven successful films in one year twice, in 1973 and 1987.

His acclaimed dramatic work includes Anupama, Mamta, Devar, Satyakam, Naya Zamana, Samadhi, Black Mail and Resham Ki Dori, while The Burning Train, Ghazab and Hathyar kept him in demand into the 1980s. In the 1990s he made many low-budget action films for single-screen audiences, a phase critics later described as pragmatic though it affected his image.

From 1998 he moved into character roles, with Life in a... Metro, Apne and Johnny Gaddaar (all 2007), the Yamla Pagla Deewana films, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024). His last film, Ikkis, was released on 1 January 2026.

As a producer he founded Vijayta Films in 1983, launching Sunny Deol in Betaab (1983), producing Ghayal (1990) and Barsaat (1995), and launching Abhay Deol in Socha Na Tha (2005). He judged India's Got Talent in 2011 and acted in the series Taj: Divided by Blood (2023). He was a BJP Member of Parliament for Bikaner, Rajasthan, from 2004 to 2009.

He married Prakash Kaur in an arranged marriage on 11 June 1954, when he was 18. They had two sons, actors Sunny Deol (born 1957) and Bobby Deol (born 1969), and two daughters, Vijayta (born 1962) and Ajeeta (born 1966). In 1980 he married actress Hema Malini, his co-star in Sholay and other films, which was controversial because he was already married. They had two daughters, Esha Deol (born 1981) and Ahana Deol (born 1985). He spent most of his time with Prakash Kaur, regularly visiting Hema Malini and their daughters.

In his final years he lived at his farmhouse in Lonavala, while his family lived in Juhu, Mumbai. His relatives in the film world include his nephew Abhay Deol, son of his late brother Ajit Deol, his cousin Guddu Dhanoa, and his cousin, Punjabi actor Veerendra. He gave up alcohol in 2010 after what he called a health scare.

When rumours resurfaced during his 2004 campaign that he and Hema Malini had converted to Islam to marry, he stated that he remained a Hindu and that his family were Arya Samaji. A lover of poetry, particularly Mirza Ghalib, he began writing verse in 2001 during a long hospital stay for a back ailment, and his Punjabi poem Aj Bhi Ji Karda Hai Pind Apne Nu Jaanwa (I Still Yearn To Return To My Village) features in his last film, Ikkis. In 2023 he said Bollywood had neglected his family and never appreciated the Deol family's contribution to Indian cinema.

Dharmendra is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema and as Bollywood's original He-Man. The BBC described his female fanbase as being in the tens of millions. Rediff.com ranked him 10th among the top Bollywood actors of all time in 2019, and Outlook India included him in its 75 Best Bollywood Actors in 2022. After his death The New York Times called him one of India's most versatile stars, and Variety remembered him as one of Indian cinema's most beloved and enduring stars. Despite his popularity he never won a competitive acting award, which essayist Mukul Kesavan attributed to his roles in heroine-centred films and multi-star ensembles. Sholay, among his best known films, was named Filmfare's Best Film of 50 Years in 2005. Colleagues from Dilip Kumar to Salman Khan, Zeenat Aman and Madhuri Dixit spoke of his looks and his humility.

Padma Vibhushan (2026, posthumous) and Padma Bhushan (2012) from the Government of India. Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1997) and Filmfare Award for Best Film as producer of Ghayal (1991). National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Ghayal (1990). Filmfare nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Ayee Milan Ki Bela) and Best Actor (Phool Aur Patthar, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Resham Ki Dori). Lifetime achievement honours from the Zee Cine Awards (2005), IIFA (2007), the Pune International Film Festival (2007) and the MAMI festival (2008), among many others.

Selected films: Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), Bandini (1963), Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), Haqeeqat (1964), Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Anupama (1966), Satyakam (1969), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Sholay (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Dharam Veer (1977), The Burning Train (1980), Hukumat (1987), Life in a... Metro (2007), Apne (2007), Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024) and Ikkis (2026). As producer: Betaab (1983), Ghayal (1990), Barsaat (1995), Socha Na Tha (2005). Television: judge on India's Got Talent series 3 (2011) and Salim Chisti in Taj: Divided by Blood (2023).

His 1980 marriage to Hema Malini while still married to Prakash Kaur caused controversy at the time. During his 2004 election campaign he was severely criticised for remarking that he should be elected dictator to teach the etiquette democracy requires, and as an MP he was criticised for rarely attending Parliament. On 11 November 2025 false reports of his death spread widely while he was in hospital; Hema Malini and Esha Deol publicly rejected them as irresponsible.

Dharmendra was hospitalised at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on 31 October 2025 with breathing difficulties and discharged within hours, then admitted again on 10 November 2025 with respiratory issues. He died at his residence in Mumbai on 24 November 2025, aged 89, following age-related illness, two weeks before his 90th birthday. His last rites were held the same day at the Pawan Hans crematorium in Vile Parle, Mumbai, attended by his family and many film-industry colleagues. Tributes came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and many others, and he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2026.