Dharmendra, who has played a wide range of roles in Bollywood, was the reigning monarch of Hindi cinema in the 1970s and 1980s. Also, he was one of the highest-paid actors of his age, winning countless hearts throughout his career.
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Also known as the ‘Action King,’ he has spent decades in the film industry and has given Indian cinema some of its finest films. He has starred in films such as Phool Aur Patthar,Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, Insaaf Kaun Karega, Apne, and others, since his debut in 1960. Let’s look at some lesser-known facts about him.
9 Lesser-known facts about veteran actor Dharmendra
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Here are 9 about veteran actor Dharmendra, you might not know!
1. Reportedly, Dharam Paaji hated going to school as a kid. In addition, he used to request his mother not to send him to school, apparently because his father, who was a school teacher, used to scold him more than the other children. LOL!
2. Dharmendra always dreamed of becoming an actor, and his mother was his biggest supporter. Young Dharmendra sent an application to Filmfare’s new talent hunt along with his pictures, as he was an aspiring actor.
3. While Dharmendra bagged the prestigious National New Talent award, the actor was promised that he would get to work in a movie. Hence, he was called from Punjab to Mumbai, but unfortunately, the movie was never made.
4. Dharmendra and Hema Malini, the all-time hit Jodi of Bollywood, have acted together in 28 films. The duo first met on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawan in 1970 and eventually fell in love.
5. As per an IMDb report, Dharam paaji used to pay Rs 20 to light boys to purposely disturb the couple on the sets of Sholay. This was during the shooting of the iconic scene where he was teaching Hema how to use a revolver, allowing him to keep hugging her as the scene required.
6. Since Dharmendra was already married to Prakash Kaur and had four kids, Hema initially turned down his marriage proposal. However, Dharmendra secretly converted to Islam and changed his name to Dilawar Khan, since a second marriage was legal as per Islamic laws. The whole marriage was kept a secret affair and it was revealed much later.
7. Before falling for the Dream Girl of Bollywood, Dharam paaji was linked to other leading ladies of his time, namely Meena Kumari and Saira Banu. It is believed that Meena Kumari played a big role in shaping his acting career back in the 60s.
8. The ‘He-Man of Bollywood’ continues to be the only Bollywood actor who has delivered seven clean hits at the box office in a single year, a feat he achieved in 1987.
9. In 2012, Dharmendra received the Padma Bhushan Award, the Best Contribution to Indian Cinema award in 2004, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, for his contributions to Hindi cinema.
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