| Name | Dharmendra |
| Birth Sign | Sagittarius |
| Birth | 8 December 1935, Sahniwal, Punjab |
| First Film | Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere-1960 |
| Awards | |
| Family | Wife: Hema Malini, Son-Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Daughter- Esha Deol |
| Height | 5' 8 |
Dharmendra remained a top Hindi film star for three decades creating an
influential image as a markedly North Indian (Punjabi) macho man devoted
to his mother and committed to upholding the honour of his family or
the village.
He was born Dharam Singh Deol in Phagwara, Punjab and was fascinated with films right from childhood, often travelling miles to frequent the touring cinema. (He remembers going to see Dillagi (1949) starring Suraiya at least 40 times!). He was married at the age of 19 and took up a job with an American Drilling Company boring tubewells. Fortunately for him, he was noticed in a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Bombay to become an actor. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani for Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere (1960), his first film as hero for Rs 51 as signing amount and a daily breakfast that was to contain strictly of tea, two toasts and butter but no jam! Ironically, after all the struggle he went unrecognized at the premiere of the film and sneaked back home on a train.
However strong, supporting romantic lead roles in women oriented films like Anpadh (1962) with Mala Sinha, Bandini (1963) and Soorat Aur Seerat (1963), both with Nutan brought Dharmendra to the fore. A liaison with Meena Kumari saw the two of them starring together in a series of films.
Phool Aur Patthar (1966) finally made Dharmendra into a star. As the ruffian Shaka, Dharmendra combined muscles and sensitivity to give Shaka a human touch. And when he whipped off his shirt in the film, for the first time Hindi filmmakers woke up to the need to cater to female sexuality. In one of the most sensuous scenes in Hindi films, Dharmendra leans over a sleeping Meena Kumari only to finally cover her up.
Most of Dharmendra's earlier films were soft romantic films, many of which presented a secularized Hindustani version of Bengali literary stereotypes, starting with Bimal Roy's Bandini and continuing with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 60s socials - Anupama (1966), Manjhli Didi (1967) and Satyakam (1969). He mainly played the nice, romantic, handsome hero and was in fact voted as one of the five most good-looking men in the world in the 1960s.
Satyakam saw Dharmendra giving perhaps his greatest ever performance as an idealist seeing his dreams crumble after Indian Independence. It was a sensitive, nuanced performance of an honest, committed man who perseveres with his philosophy of total truth even when it brings about his downfall and one that was straight from the heart. The scene in which he is dying where he just had to emote with his eyes as his estranged father berates him, represent some of the the finest moments in Dharmendra's acting career.
The 1970s saw Dharmendra take to the action genre like a fish to water. (The seeds of this were seen earlier in films like Aankhein (1968), a James Bond style thriller following the success of Phool Aur Patthar) He was prefect as the pistol packing hero threatening the villain - No one could tell the villain, "Kaminey, Main Tera Khoon Pee Jaoonga!" more convincingly than 'Garam Dharam!' Films like Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Jugnu (1973), Kahani Kismet Ki (1973), Yaadon ki Baraat (1973) and Sholay (1975) swept the box-office largely due to Dharmendra's brawn show!
Sholay (1975) and Chupke Chupke (1975) revealed another facet of Dharmendra - his flair for comedy. Even though the former was a large scale action drama, Dharmendra's comic scenes with Hema Malini - feeling her up on the pretext of teaching her how to fire a gun or speaking to her as the 'voice of God' or of course his 'soo-cide' scene with her aunt, him atop a water tank and threatening to jump if she didn't marry her niece to him - were among the many highlights of the film. And Chupke Chupke saw him single-handedly carry Hrishida's whacky comedy of a botany professor who impersonates a driver to spend some precious time with his wife at her brother-in-law's place! It is a masterful performance with razor sharp comic timing.
Dharmendra also formed a hugely successful pairing with Hema Malini, the two of them doing a string of hit films together - Naya Zamana (1971), Raja Jani (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Jugnu, Dost (1974) and Sholay among others. They fell in love and Hema became his second wife. Dharmendra and Hema went on to have children as well but so strong was her morally upright image that she was able to go through the marriage without being slandered by press or public which in fact more than accepted the union.
The 'Garam Dharam' act was perfected in the 1980s by Hindi filmmakers as Dharmendra was cast as the invincible hero bearing colloquial names like Veeru Dada, Hathoda Singh or Sherdil who was locked in mortal combat with the villain. But his films were largely undistinguished and of poor quality even if a couple did score at the box-office. (Aag hi Aag (1987), Hukumat (1987))
In fact, among Dharmendra's later films in the 1980s and 90s, his work with director J.P. Dutta stands out - Ghulami (1985), Yateem (1988), Batwara (1989), Hathyar (1989) and Kshatriya(1992). The films barring Hathyar were mainly set in feudal Rajasthan featuring conflicts among the Jats and the Thakur Zamindars with Dharmendra usually playing a powerful charismatic leader who unites the people against the oppressive thakurs.
Dharmendra has successfully launched both his sons Sunny (Betaab (1983)) and Bobby (Barsaat (1995)) as leading men and today his daughter from Hema Malini, Esha Deol, is on the verge of becoming a successfull actress. Though he shockingly won no major awards throughout his entire career, Dharmendra was awarded the Filmfare Life Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.
He was born Dharam Singh Deol in Phagwara, Punjab and was fascinated with films right from childhood, often travelling miles to frequent the touring cinema. (He remembers going to see Dillagi (1949) starring Suraiya at least 40 times!). He was married at the age of 19 and took up a job with an American Drilling Company boring tubewells. Fortunately for him, he was noticed in a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Bombay to become an actor. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani for Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere (1960), his first film as hero for Rs 51 as signing amount and a daily breakfast that was to contain strictly of tea, two toasts and butter but no jam! Ironically, after all the struggle he went unrecognized at the premiere of the film and sneaked back home on a train.
However strong, supporting romantic lead roles in women oriented films like Anpadh (1962) with Mala Sinha, Bandini (1963) and Soorat Aur Seerat (1963), both with Nutan brought Dharmendra to the fore. A liaison with Meena Kumari saw the two of them starring together in a series of films.
Phool Aur Patthar (1966) finally made Dharmendra into a star. As the ruffian Shaka, Dharmendra combined muscles and sensitivity to give Shaka a human touch. And when he whipped off his shirt in the film, for the first time Hindi filmmakers woke up to the need to cater to female sexuality. In one of the most sensuous scenes in Hindi films, Dharmendra leans over a sleeping Meena Kumari only to finally cover her up.
Most of Dharmendra's earlier films were soft romantic films, many of which presented a secularized Hindustani version of Bengali literary stereotypes, starting with Bimal Roy's Bandini and continuing with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 60s socials - Anupama (1966), Manjhli Didi (1967) and Satyakam (1969). He mainly played the nice, romantic, handsome hero and was in fact voted as one of the five most good-looking men in the world in the 1960s.
Satyakam saw Dharmendra giving perhaps his greatest ever performance as an idealist seeing his dreams crumble after Indian Independence. It was a sensitive, nuanced performance of an honest, committed man who perseveres with his philosophy of total truth even when it brings about his downfall and one that was straight from the heart. The scene in which he is dying where he just had to emote with his eyes as his estranged father berates him, represent some of the the finest moments in Dharmendra's acting career.
The 1970s saw Dharmendra take to the action genre like a fish to water. (The seeds of this were seen earlier in films like Aankhein (1968), a James Bond style thriller following the success of Phool Aur Patthar) He was prefect as the pistol packing hero threatening the villain - No one could tell the villain, "Kaminey, Main Tera Khoon Pee Jaoonga!" more convincingly than 'Garam Dharam!' Films like Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Jugnu (1973), Kahani Kismet Ki (1973), Yaadon ki Baraat (1973) and Sholay (1975) swept the box-office largely due to Dharmendra's brawn show!
Sholay (1975) and Chupke Chupke (1975) revealed another facet of Dharmendra - his flair for comedy. Even though the former was a large scale action drama, Dharmendra's comic scenes with Hema Malini - feeling her up on the pretext of teaching her how to fire a gun or speaking to her as the 'voice of God' or of course his 'soo-cide' scene with her aunt, him atop a water tank and threatening to jump if she didn't marry her niece to him - were among the many highlights of the film. And Chupke Chupke saw him single-handedly carry Hrishida's whacky comedy of a botany professor who impersonates a driver to spend some precious time with his wife at her brother-in-law's place! It is a masterful performance with razor sharp comic timing.
Dharmendra also formed a hugely successful pairing with Hema Malini, the two of them doing a string of hit films together - Naya Zamana (1971), Raja Jani (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Jugnu, Dost (1974) and Sholay among others. They fell in love and Hema became his second wife. Dharmendra and Hema went on to have children as well but so strong was her morally upright image that she was able to go through the marriage without being slandered by press or public which in fact more than accepted the union.
The 'Garam Dharam' act was perfected in the 1980s by Hindi filmmakers as Dharmendra was cast as the invincible hero bearing colloquial names like Veeru Dada, Hathoda Singh or Sherdil who was locked in mortal combat with the villain. But his films were largely undistinguished and of poor quality even if a couple did score at the box-office. (Aag hi Aag (1987), Hukumat (1987))
In fact, among Dharmendra's later films in the 1980s and 90s, his work with director J.P. Dutta stands out - Ghulami (1985), Yateem (1988), Batwara (1989), Hathyar (1989) and Kshatriya(1992). The films barring Hathyar were mainly set in feudal Rajasthan featuring conflicts among the Jats and the Thakur Zamindars with Dharmendra usually playing a powerful charismatic leader who unites the people against the oppressive thakurs.
Dharmendra has successfully launched both his sons Sunny (Betaab (1983)) and Bobby (Barsaat (1995)) as leading men and today his daughter from Hema Malini, Esha Deol, is on the verge of becoming a successfull actress. Though he shockingly won no major awards throughout his entire career, Dharmendra was awarded the Filmfare Life Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.
| 45 Hindi Movies are listed | ||
| Year | Film Name | Cast |
| 2011 | TELL ME O KKHUDA | Esha Deol, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Arjan Bajwa, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sudhanshu Pandey, Dharmendra, Farooq Sheikh, Hema Malini, Deepti Naval, Salman Khan, Johny Lever, Gurbachan, Madhoo, Richa Pallod |
| 2011 | YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA | Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Bobby Deol, Kulraj Randhawa, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Sucheta Khanna, Mukul Dev, Himanshu Malik, Amit Mistri, Digvijay Singh, Krip Suri, Puneet Isaar, Poonam Sinha, Emma Brown, Mahek Chahal, Johnny Lever |
| 2007 | LIFE IN A.. METRO | Shiney Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty, Sharman Joshi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kangna Ranaut, Irfan Khan, Dharmendra, Kay Kay Menon, Gautam Kapoor, Nafisa Ali, Manoj Pahwa, Vicky Ahuja, Pritam Chakraborty, James |
| 2007 | APNE | Aryan Vaid, Bobby Deol, Dharmendra, Katrina Kaif, Shilpa Shetty, Sunny Deol, Victor Banerjee, Kiron Kher, Jawed Sheikh, Divya Dutta |
| 2007 | JOHNNY GADDAAR | Zakir Hussain, Dharmendra, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Khalsekar |
| 2004 | KIS KIS KI KISMAT | Dharmendra, Mallika Sherawat, Rati Agnihotri,Siddarth Makkar |
| 2004 | HUM KAUN HAI | Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia, Dharmendra, Moushumi Chatterjee, Hansika Motwani, Master Amman |
| 1999 | HUM TUM PE MARTE HAIN | Govinda, Urmila Matondkar, Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia |
| 1997 | DHARMA KARMA | Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Kamal Sahanah, Ayesha Jhulka |
| 1997 | LOHA | Govinda, Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty |
| 1996 | MAFIA | Dharmendra, Aditya Panscholi, Jay Metha |
| 1994 | POLICEWALA GUNDA | Dharmendra, Reena Roy, Jai Metha, Mamta Kulkarni |
| 1993 | MAIDAN-E-JUNG | Dharmendra, Akshay Kumar, Karishma Kapoor |
| 1992 | ZULM KI HUKUMAT | Dharmendra, Govinda, Shakti Kapoor |
| 1992 | HUMLAA | Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri , Dharmendra |
| 1992 | KHULEAAM | Chunky Pandey, Neelam Kothari, Dharmendra |
| 1991 | FARISHTE | Sridevi, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna |
| 1990 | KAUN KARE KURBANDI | Dharmendra, Govinda, Anita Raaj |
| 1989 | SACHAI KI TAQAT | Ashok Kumar, Dharmendra, Govinda |
| 1989 | SHEHZAADE | Dharmendra, Hema Malini |
| 1989 | HATHYAR | Sanjay Dutt, Dharmendra, Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh, Sangeeta Bijlani, Paresh Rawal |
| 1989 | BATWARA | Dimple Kapadia, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Kulbhushan Kharbanda |
| 1988 | KHATRON KE KHILADI | Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Dharmendra |
| 1987 | DADAGIRI | Dharmendra, Govinda |
| 1987 | AAG HI AAG | Neelam Kothari, (intr.) Chunky Pandey, Dharmendra |
| 1987 | MARD KI ZABAAN | Dharmendra, Jackie Shroff, Poonam Dhillon |
| 1986 | SULTANAT | Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla |
| 1986 | ELAN-E-JUNG | Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia |
| 1984 | RAJ TILAK | Kamal Hassan, Dharmendra, Sunil Dutt, Hema Malini |
| 1983 | RAZIA SULTAN | Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi |
| 1983 | JAANI DOST | Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Praveen Babi, Sridevi |
| 1981 | AAS PAAS | Dharmendra, Hema Malini |
| 1981 | KRODHI | Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini |
| 1981 | RAJPUT | Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini |
| 1980 | THE BURNING TRAIN | Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna |
| 1977 | DREAM GIRL | Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Asrani |
| 1977 | KINAARA | Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Dharmendra |
| 1977 | SWAMI | Manoj Kumar, Hema Malini, Dharmendra |
| 1976 | MAA | Dharmendra, Hema Malini |
| 1975 | SHOLAY | Dharmendra (Veeru), Sanjeev Kumar (Thakur), Hema Malini |
| 1974 | DOST | Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha |
| 1973 | JUGNU | Dharmendra, Hema Malini |
| 1972 | SEETA AUR GEETA | Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Dharmendra |
| 1971 | NAYA ZAMAANA | Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Pran |
| 1970 | TUM HASEEN MAIN JAWAN | Dharmendra, Hema Malini |
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