Happy birthday Dharmendra: When Hema Malini had called his mother ‘warm and kind-hearted’, his dad a ‘jovial person’

On actor Dharmendra’s 85th birthday, here’s what Hema Malini had said about his parents - Satwant Kaur and Keval Kishan Singh Deol.

Actors Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s marriage in 1980 was a much talked-about event. No mention of the power couple of Bollywood goes without a mention of their love story and subsequent marriage.

Dharmendra and Hema Malini have completed 40 years of married life.

The marriage was controversial; Dharmendra was a married man with children. Hema was a young and beautiful star, full of promise. Yet theirs is a relationship that has survived the test of time -- they have two daughters. Esha and Ahana. Both women are happily married with families and children of their own.

While Hema has occasionally spoken about their relationship, Dharmendra has mostly been tight-lipped about it. On his 85th birthday, here’s what Hema had said about his parents and how they treated her.

In an article on Rediff.com, Hema had said how she always found her mother-in-law Satwant Kaur a ‘kind-hearted’ woman. Recalling the time when his mother had come to see her, Hema had said: “Dharamji’s mother Satwant Kaur was equally warm and kind-hearted. I remember how she came to meet me once at a dubbing studio in Juhu, after I had conceived Esha. She hadn’t informed anyone in the house. I touched her feet, she hugged me and said, ‘Beta, khush raho hamesha (Be happy always).’ I was happy that they were happy with me.”

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Dharmendra’s father Kewal Kishan Singh Deol was a ‘jovial’ person by disposition. Hema had continued, “He would drop by and meet my father or brother for chai. Instead of shaking hands he would arm-wrestle them, and after defeating them he would jokingly say, ‘Tum log ghee-makkhan-lassi khao, idli aur sambhar se taqat nahi aati (Have butter, lassi, ghee. Idli and sambhar won’t make you strong). My father would join in the laughter. He (Dharmendra’s father) was a very jovial person.”

And what about Prakash Kaur? The article mentions how Hema and Prakash had met on several occasions at social gatherings but once Dharmendra and she got married, their paths never crossed. Hema has always maintained that she never wanted to disturb his family life. “I didn’t want to disturb anyone. I am happy with whatever Dharamji did for me and my daughters. He played the role of a father, like any father would do. I guess I am happy with that.”

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