Dharmendra

Dharmendra (8 December 1935 – 24 November 2025) was an Indian actor, producer and politician, primarily known for his work in Hindi films. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning 65 years, he worked in over 300 films, holding the record for starring in the highest number of hit films in Hindi cinema.

Born in Nasrali, Punjab, Dharmendra made his debut in 1960 with Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere. He first gained popularity in the mid-1960s, for films such as Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Phool Aur Patthar and Aaye Din Bahar Ke. He achieved greater stardom in later years, being dubbed India's "He-Man" for several of his on-screen roles in Hindi films. He consistently starred in several successful Hindi films from the late-1960s to the 1980s, such as Ankhen, Shikar, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Jeevan Mrityu, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Seeta Aur Geeta, Jugnu, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Dost, Sholay, Pratiggya, Charas, Dharam Veer, Chacha Bhatija, Ghulami, Hukumat, Aag Hi Aag, Elaan-E-Jung and Tahalka. Some of his critically acclaimed performances include Bandini, Haqeeqat, Anupama, Mamta, Devar, Satyakam, Naya Zamana, Samadhi, Black Mail, Resham Ki Dori, Chupke Chupke, Dillagi, The Burning Train, Ghazab and Hathyar.

Beginning in the late 1990s, he appeared in character roles in several successful and acclaimed films, such as Life in a... Metro, Apne, Johnny Gaddaar, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. 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). The patriarch of the Deol family, Dharmendra's private life received much attention, particularly his marriages to Prakash Kaur and actress Hema Malini. For his contributions to the arts, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2012 and was later posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2026.

Early life and education

Dharmendra was born in Nasrali, a village in Ludhiana district, Punjab, British India, on 8 December 1935 as the second child of Kewal Krishan and Satwant Kaur, and was born into 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 between Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol, Dharam Singh Deol and Dharmendra Singh Deol.

He spent his early life in the village of Sahnewal and studied at Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan, Ludhiana district, where his father was the village school headmaster. He did his matriculation in Phagwara in 1952.

Career

1960–1969: Early career and rise to prominence

Dharmendra initially travelled to Mumbai without any clear pathway into the film industry and returned home in Punjab after failing to secure work, taking up employment with a drilling company. He later reapplied himself to acting after seeing an advertisement for the Filmfare magazine talent hunt, for which he returned to Mumbai and was placed second (the winner, Suresh Puri, subsequently faded from public view). Despite this early recognition, he continued to face professional difficulties and reportedly considered leaving Mumbai again until he was persuaded to stay by fellow aspiring actor Manoj Kumar. He later made his film debut in 1960 with Arjun Hingorani's romantic drama Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere. The film largely went unnoticed and as a result, did not perform that well at the box office. He saw his first commercial success in 1961 with Ramesh Saigal's Shola Aur Shabnam and followed it with hits, such as Mohan Kumar's Anpadh (1962) and Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963), which won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

His breakthrough came in 1964 when he co-starred alongside Rajendra Kumar and Saira Banu in another of Mohan Kumar's directional venture Ayee Milan Ki Bela. It went on to become a blockbuster and despite playing the antagonist, Dharmendra was noticed by audience and received a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category. That same year, he played the lead role in Chetan Anand's war-drama Haqeeqat. Based on the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the film proved to be a major critical and commercial success, eventually emerging a superhit with one of its song "Kar Chale Ham Fida", a solo by Mohammed Rafi becoming hugely popular among the masses. In 1965, he had another major success in Ram Maheshwari's romantic drama Kaajal. The film also had Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Padmini in the lead.

In 1966, Dharmendra reunited with Kumari for O. P. Ralhan's Phool Aur Patthar. The film topped the box office chart in 1966, becoming a major blockbuster and making him a saleable star. 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, the same year. He was also given a souvenir at the 14th National Film Awards in recognition of his performance in Anupama. The next year, he worked in commercially unsuccessful, but critically acclaimed films like - Dulhan Ek Raat Ki opposite Nutan and Majhli Didi, Chandan Ka Palna, both opposite Kumari. 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 positive audience response and proved to be blockbusters at the box office with the latter being the top–earning film that year. His other commercially successful releases of 1968 were – T. Prakash Rao's drama film Izzat (in which he played a double role) and Amar Kumar's romantic drama Mere Hamdam Mere Dost. The following year, saw the emergence of superstar Rajesh Khanna, who stormed the nation with back-to-back blockbusters in Aradhana and Do Raaste. With his rise, a number of stars went through career decline. During this phase, Dharmendra and Dev Anand were the only actors who remained unaffected by Khanna's popularity. In 1969, he had a superhit in Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke with two more successes, Pyar Hi Pyar and Yakeen. Dharmendra also received immense acclaim for his portrayal of a righteous man in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's social drama film Satyakam, which is widely considered to be his career-best performance by fans as well as critics and went on to win National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

1970–1977: Superstardom

In 1970, Dharmendra delivered four major successes and formed a hit pair with Hema Malini. His first release was Satyen Bose's crime drama Jeevan Mrityu. An adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo, it proved to be major critical and commercial success, eventually emerging a blockbuster and one of the top earners of 1970. His next two films, Bhappi Sonie's Tum Haseen Main Jawan and Asit Sen's Sharafat, both opposite Malini proved to be superhits at the box office. This was followed by a flop in Ishq Par Zor Nahin alongside Sadhana and a hit in Kab? Kyoon? Aur Kahan? with Babita. His final release of that year was Raj Kapoor's magnum opus Mera Naam Joker (in which he played a supporting role). Although the film was a disaster at the time of release, it attained cult status in later years, with many critics hailing it as one of the best Indian films of all time. In 1971, Dharmendra starred in Raj Khosla's action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh. The film went on to become an All Time Blockbuster and established his image of an action hero. The large success of this film also made the industry shift from romantic to action films. Dharmendra received his second nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category for his performance in Mera Gaon Mera Desh. His success continued in the following year with another massive blockbuster in Seeta Aur Geeta, a superhit in Raja Jani and a hit film, Samadhi to go with the major grossers. 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 Dharmendra to number one position among his contemporaries, thus making him a "superstar".