Hema Malini Opens Up About How Her Father Yelled At Dharmendra About The Pair's Relationship
Hema Malini, the ethereal “Dream Girl” of Bollywood, celebrated her 75th birthday yesterday. Hema Malini and the Bollywood “heartthrob” Dharmendra got married in 1980. The love story of the “dream Girl” and the “He-Man” of was nothing short of a perfect romantic Bollywood drama. Hema’s parents did not approve their daughter’s decision to marry Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur and had four children.
An excerpt from Hema Malini’s biography, Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl, sheds some light on the behind the scenes of the “controversial” marriage of the 1980s. The book reveals that Hema Malini’s Father, who was strongly against his daughter”s liking for Dharmendra, “yelled” at Dharmendra as he barged in to their home. According to the book, Hema Malini’s father, V. S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy yelled at Dharmendra, “why don’t you get out of my daughter’s life? You are a married man. You cannot marry my daughter”. But the actor ended up entering the actress’s room “begging” her not to commit the “mistake” of marrying Jeetendra, as per The Indian Express.
Jeetendra Kumar often appeared opposite to Hema Malini. According to The Indian Express, Hema Malini’s mother, Jaya Chakravarthy, had a prominent hold on her daughter’s life back then. She was not fond of Dharmendra like her husband but liked Jeetendra. She convinced her daughter to meet Jeetendra’s parents. The incident happened in 1974. Hema Malini and Jeetendra reached the verge of getting married. Both the stars family went to Madras for the pair’s wedding. The news of the marriage was kept as a secret, but somehow a magazine got the whiff of the wedding taking place. Following this was the “iconic Bollywood face-off” of the bride’s father and boyfriend.
After Dharmendra “begged” Hema Malini not to marry Jeetendra, she came out of her room and asked for some time for herself from Jeetendra’s family, but the actor’s family gave her an “ultimatum” and left the venue. In Beyond the Dream Girl, Ram Kamal Mukherjee, who is a close friend of Jeetendra, opened up about his conversation with Jeetendra during that time. According to Mr. Mukherjee, Jeetendra did not want to marry Hema Malini. Jeetendra said, “I don’t want to marry Hema. I am not in love with her. She is not in love with me. But my family wants it, so I might as well. And she is such a good girl.”
The star pair did not get married in that venue or in the same year. The report said Dharmendra got insecure in their relationship and started “imposing restriction on his ladylove”. According to the book, Hema Malini started feeling “suffocated” with the amount of “possessiveness” of Dharmendra and started doing movies with Jeetendra against Dharmendra’s “wish”. Dharmendra promised to mend things with the Sholay actress, and they got married in 1980.
Hema Malini and Dharmendra live separately now but maintain a cordial relationship with each other. She said she was happy with her life and a proud mother for bringing up her two daughters, Esha and Ahana, well. On Monday, Hema Malini celebrated her 75th birthday with a bash. Dharmendra and Jeetendra were also present at the party.
