Dharamendra (born Dharmendra Singh Deol) is an Indian film actor, producer and politician. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema.
His starring roles in action films earned him nicknames such as "Action King" and "He-Man". One of his most notable roles was in Sholay (1975).
He has been a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India, representing Bikaner constituency in Rajasthan from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2012, he was honoured India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Dharmendra was born in Nasrali, a village in Ludhiana district, Punjab to Kewal Kishan Singh Deol and Satwant Kaur in Jat family. His ancestral village is Dangon, near Pakhowal, Ludhiana.
He spent his early life in the village of Sahnewal and studied at Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan, Ludhiana, where his father was the village school's headmaster. He did his intermediate from Ramgarhia College, Phagwara in 1952.
When Dharmendra saw an advertisement for a movie in Filmfare by Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt, he went to Malerkotla to get his picture taken, by Jaan Mohammed (John & Sons). He made his debut with Arjun Hingorani's Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere in 1960. He had a supporting role in the film Boy Friend in 1961, and was cast as the romantic interest in several films between 1960-67.
His most successful pairing was with Hema Malini, who went on to become his wife. The couple played together in many films including Seeta Aur Geeta, Sharafat, Naya Zamana, Patthar Aur Payal, Tum Haseen Main Jawaan, Jugnu, Dost, Charas, Maa, Chacha Bhatija, Azaad, and Sholay.
Talking about the personal life of the actor, his first marriage was to Parkash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954. From his first marriage, he has two sons, Sunny and Bobby, successful actors, and two daughters, Vijeeta and Ajeeta. He has four grandsons.
After moving to Mumbai and getting into the film business, Dharmendra wed Hema Malini after converting to Islam to stay married to his previous wife without having to get a divorce, although he later denied any conversion to Islam. He and Malini starred together in a number of movies in the early 1970s including the superhit film, Sholay. The couple has two daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.
