Dharmendra
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| Dharam Singh Deol | |
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| Constituency | Bikaner |
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| Born | December 8, 1935 Sahnewal, Punjab, British India |
| Political party | BJP |
| Spouse | Parkash Kaur, Hema Malini |
| Children | Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Esha Deol, Ahana Deol |
| Residence | Mumbai |
| Occupation | Actor, Politician |
| As of September 14, 2006 Source: [1] |
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Dharam Singh Deol (Hindi:धर्मेन्द्र सिंह देओल), (Punjabi:ਧਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ), born 8 December 1935 in Phagwara, Punjab, better known as Dharmendra, is a legendary Indian Bollywood film star.
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[edit] Early life
He belongs to a Jat Sikh punjabi family. His father, Kewal Kishen Singh Deol and Sikh mother Satwant Kaur. At the peak of his film career he was considered a matinée idol. [2] Currently he is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He is considered as the biggest Bollywood superstar after Amitabh Bachchan due to the fact that in Bollywood's box-office's career gross, he is second only to Amitabh Bachchan [3]. He represents the Bikaner constituency of Rajasthan and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party. He was recently awarded the Lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Hindi cinema.
He rose to fame as an Indian actor who appeared in more than 200 Hindi films since the early 1960s. He married Prakash Deol and later actress Hema Malini. He is the father of actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol from Prakash Kaur Deol and father of actress Esha Deol and Ahana Deol from Hema Malini. His brother Ajit Singh Deol is a former director. He is the uncle of actor Abhay Deol, who is the son of his younger brother Ajit Deol. His father was Kewal Kishen Singh Deol, a school headmaster in Punjab. [4].
[edit] Career
Dharmendra Deol is the most successful filmstar of Bollywood along with Amitabh Bachchan. His full Name is Dharam Singh Deol.[5] He has starred in a large number of hit films in Bollywood and is considered a living legend. Dharmendra was first noticed in a Filmfare spot-the-talent contest and came to Mumbai to become an actor. He was signed by Arjun Hingorani for the film Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere (1960).
At the start of his career he was usually cast as a romantic hero. He starred with several big leading ladies at the beginning of his career. With Nutan in Soorat aur Seerat-1962 and Bandini-1963, Mala Sinha in Anpadh-1962 and Pooja Ke Phool-1964, Saira Banu in Shaadi-1962 and Aayi Milan Ki Bela-1964 and one of the most influential persons with whom he was associated, Meena Kumari in Main Bhi Ladki Hoon-1964, Kaajal-1965, Poornima-1965 and Phool Aur Paththar-1966 etc.
His most successful pairing was with Hema Malini with whom he has acted in as many as 27 movies. Most of these movies were hits which in turn propelled producers to cast them in romantic films in the 70s. This despite the fact that it was the era of Amitabh Bachchan who starred in action movies.
His first major hit film was Phool Aur Paththar. Dharmendra starred in many comedy films, most notably Chupke Chupke, a masterpiece from Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Before Chupke Chupke Dharmendra had worked in Satyakam with Hrishikesh Mukherjee. As action movies became more popular, he took on action hero roles throughout the 1970s. Perhaps the most memorable of these was his role in the 1975 blockbuster film Sholay, where he was teamed with Amitabh Bachchan. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he continued to appear in many more films playing leading roles or supporting roles. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, no other actor in Hindi Cinema can claim to be equally good in comedy and action.
Dharmendra also has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of hits in Bollywood. He has acted in over 50 films which have gone on to be golden jubilee hits. In addition, he also has acted with the directors who varied with different styles in their film-making. Below given is a list of noted directors under categories with whom he has worked.
Drama: Bimal Roy, Mohan Kumar
Romance: Yash Chopra, Raghunath Jhalani
Action: Raj Khosla, Ramesh Sippy, Arjun Hingorani, Anil Sharma, Rajkumar Santoshi(as Producer - Ghayal(1990), Barsaat(1995))
Comedy: Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterji, Rajkumar Kohli
He also has the distinction of appearing in quite a few films opposite leading ladies who starred opposite his son Sunny Deol. Notable amongst those are Sridevi (Naaka Bandi), Jaya Prada (Elaan-E-Jung), Dimple Kapadia (Shehzaade), Amrita Singh (Sachai Ki Taaqat), Kimi Katkar (Humlaa) and Poonam Dhillon (Sone Pe Suhaaga). No other father-son duo would have worked with so many leading ladies in the Indian film industry.
At the peak of his career, he was voted amongst the ten most handsome men in the world. He was also known for his exercising, which gave him a physique his contemporaries could only dream of. In fact, after Phool Aur Paththar was declared a hit, he established himself as the 'He-Man' of the Hindi film industry. He is considered as an inspiration to the macho men of today Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. In one of her recent interviews, Priety Zinta has been quoted as saying that he is her favourite actor. She has gone on to recommend him to play her father's role in Har Pall(2008).
He has also experimented with film production; he launched both of his sons in films: Sunny Deol in Betaab (1983) and Bobby Deol in Barsaat (1995) as well as his nephew Abhay Deol in Socha Na Tha (2005).
After a few years hiatus from acting since the early 2000s, he is reappearing in films as a character actor. His 2007 films Metro and Apne were both successful at the box office. In the latter, he appears with both his sons, Sunny and Bobby for the first time. His other recent release was Johnny Gaddaar, where he played a villainous role.
He has also periodically done films in his native tongue of Punjabi, starring in Do Sher (1974), Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974), Teri Meri Ik Jindri (1975), Putt Jattan De (1982) and Qurbani Jatt Di (1990).
[edit] Personal life
Dharmendra married twice and has maintained both his wives. His first marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954.[1] His second marriage was to the Bollywood actress Hema Malini. They are said to have fallen in love on the sets of Sholay (1975) although they have made many films together before and after Sholay. From his first marriage he has one daughter who is settled in California and two sons who are also successful actors: Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. From his second wife Hema Malini, he has two daughters who are also actresses: Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. His nephew Abhay Deol is also an actor. Dharmendra has gone on record saying he did not believe the Mumbai film industry was a place suitable for girls. He was unperturbed by his sons Sunny and Bobby joining the industry, he was vocal about his displeasure regarding his daughter Esha's choice of profession. [1] It is rumoured that he converted to Islam in order to legitimize his second marriage.
He has recently become active in politics. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from Bikaner in Rajasthan, on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. During his election campaign, he made an ironic remark that he should be elected Dictator Perpetuus to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticized.
[edit] Awards and recognitions
- In 1997, Dharmendra won a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema over many years. While receiving the award from Dilip Kumar and his wife, Dharmendra grew emotional and remarked that he never received any Filmfare award in the "Best Actor" category despite having worked in so many successful films -- nearly a hundred popular movies. He was glad that his contributions had finally been recognized. Speaking on the occasion Dilip Kumar commenting on the legendary handsome facial features of Dharmendra had said,"Whenever I get to meet with God Almighty I will set before him my only complaint-why did You not make me as handsome as Dharmendra?"
- He has acted as a leading man in over 250 movies which is second only to Jeetendra
- From 1969 to 1971, he starred in several hits like Aadmi Aur Insaan,Pyar Hi Pyar, Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Yakeen, Kab Kyon Aur Kahan, Tum Haseen Main Jawan, Jeevan Mrityu, Sharafat, Naya Zamana and Mera Gaon Mera Desh. These movies helped him in sustaining his foothold in the industry.
- In the mid seventies, he was voted as one of the most handsome men in the world, a feat only repeated by Salman Khan (from Bollywood) in 1997.
- He is a recipient of the prestigious Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian entertainment industry. [6]
- In 2003, Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards [7]
- In 2004, he was honoured for Best Contribution to Indian Cinema. [8]
- In 2005, Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
- In 2007, Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). [9]
- In 2007, IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award
- Lifetime Achievement award by DBR Entertainment. [10] [11]
- The Punjabi newspaper Quami Ekta honoured him for his contributions to the Indian cinema. [12]
- In 2008, "Actor Par Excellence" at the Max Stardust Awards [13]
- In 2008, Lifetime Achievement Award at the the 10th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image International Film (M.A.M.I) [14]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] 1960s
[edit] 1970s
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[edit] 1980s
[edit] 1990s
[edit] 2000s
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[edit] References
- ^ a b Delawar Khan. People. BBC Asian Network. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
