When teenage Esha Deol talked about convincing Dharmendra to let her act: ‘He is like girls have to sit at home only’

Esha Deol made an appearance on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal as a teenager. She revealed that Dharmendra was ‘very possessive’ about her and her sister Ahana Deol.

Esha Deol and her younger sister Ahana Deol appeared on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal as teenagers, along with their mother Hema Malini. While Esha was 17 at the time, Ahana was 14.

Esha Deol and Hema Malini on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal.

During her appearance on Simi Garewal’s talk show, Esha was asked about her plans to enter Bollywood. “I am interested but it all depends on what my father has to say about it,” she said.

Hema revealed that she tried talking to Dharmendra about it once but he shot down the idea. “I did once, but he said, ‘No, not at all.’ Right from their birth, he used to say dance and all is okay but not films,” she said.

Esha said that she would try to convince Dharmendra ‘slowly’. “He doesn’t get angry but he is very possessive about us. He is like girls have to sit at home only, Punjabi type of things. We are not allowed to go out that often but mumma is there, so we manage to go for sports and all. We had to go for state-levels outside Mumbai,” she said.

“He is really concerned about whatever we do and all that. Very protective. He doesn’t like us wearing sleeveless tops and short pants. Whenever he comes home, we sit in trousers or in a salwar kameez,” she added.

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Esha made her Bollywood debut in 2002 with Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe and won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance. She has acted in films such as Yuva, Dhoom, Dus, No Entry and Shaadi No 1.

In July, Esha made her debut as a producer with a short film titled Ek Duaa, directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. She also starred in it as a woman who struggles to ensure equal rights and love for her daughter. The film released on Voot Select.