Take a walk down memory lane and revisit the super charming love story of dashing Dharmendra and timeless beauty, Hema Malini.
She was Indian cinema's 'Dream girl', and he was the original He-Man of Bollywood. What happened when the two met? Nothing less than a sizzling love story is bound to flourish when two people with drop-dead gorgeous looks come together. The yesteryear superstars, Hema Malini and Dharmendra, fell in love with each other in the year 1970, on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawan. That time, Dharmendra was already married to Prakash Kaur, and had two sons, Sunny and Bobby. But, that did not stop him from falling in love with Hema and wooing her. At that time, Hema also had turned down several other marriage proposals from actors like Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra.
Initially, Hema did not reciprocate to Dharmendra, as at that time she was not keen on getting involved with a married man. Hema Malini's biography says that she got attracted to Dharmendra because he was strong and silent like her mother. The actress finds her husband very romantic. and says he still looks at her the way he did in their first meeting.
In an interview, Hema Malini said that it was the song, Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana, wherein she fell for Dharmendra. She also revealed that it was his cute dance moves in the song, which made her fall in love with him immediately. It was rumoured, while shooting a particular scene in Sholay; Dharamendra lured the light boys with money to disturb the lights on the set. The continuous retakes gave him many chances to hold Hema Malini several times.
Neither age nor time has affected their love and affection for each other. They dated for 5 years before marriage happened.
Hema Malini’s father, just like any other father, was strictly opposed to their marriage, as he did not want his daughter to marry an already married man. Going by the media reports, Hema and Dharmendra, were so much in love with each other that they went against the will of their families .
Dharmendra’s first wife, Prakash Kaur, did not want a divorce. So Before marriage, they both converted to Islam and tied the knot in 1980.
Their Nikahnama stated, "Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn (44 years) accepted Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty (29 years) as his wife on 21 August 1979 at a mehr of Rs 111,000 in the presence of two legal witnesses." The nikah, was kept as a secret, and later the couple also got married in Iyengar style since Hema Malini is an Iyengar.