Dharamendra Singh Deol (Punjabi: ਧਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ), born 8 December 1935 in Punjab, better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Indian Bollywood film star who has appeared in more than 200 Hindi-language films. In 1997 he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema. He is also the father of actors Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Esha Deol.

Early life

He was born in Sahnewal in the Ludhiana district of Punjab state to Kewal Krishna Deol(jatt sikh), and Satwant Kaur. His father was a school headmaster in the village of Lalton where the family later moved.

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. His second marriage was to the Bollywood actress Hema Malini. The couple are said to have fallen in love on the set of Sholay (1975) although they had made films together before.

From his first marriage he has two sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol who are also successful actors, and two daughters named Vijeyta and Ajita. From his second wife Hema Malini, whom he married on 2 May 1980, he has two daughters: Esha Deol, who is an actress, and Ahana Deol. He is also the uncle of actor Abhay Deol, who is the son of his younger brother Ajit Deol. According to author Hanif Zaveri's 2005 book Mehmood, a Man of Many Moods, Dharmendra was also romantically involved with his Phool Aur Patthar co-star Meena Kumari.

Dharmendra has gone on record saying he does not believe that the Mumbai film industry is a place suitable for girls. He was unperturbed by his sons Sunny and Bobby joining the industry, but was vocal about his displeasure regarding his daughter Esha's choice of profession.

Trivia

* He is the only actor to have starred with almost all the Kapoor members. He did not star with Kareena Kapoor and Prithviraj Kapoor.

Political career

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.[citation needed] Dharmendra has rarely attended the Parliament when the house was in session, preferring to spend the time shooting for movies or doing farming at his farm house. He has also not participated in any debates or raised any queries. Along with actor Govinda, Dharmendra has been criticised for ignoring his duties as a Member of Parliament.

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 Saira Banu, Dharmendra became emotional and remarked that he never received any Filmfare award in the "Best Actor" category despite having worked in so many successful films and nearly a hundred popular movies. He was glad that his contributions had finally been recognized. Speaking on the occasion Dilip Kumar commented ,"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?"

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.

* In 2003 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards.
* In 2004, he was honoured for Best Contribution to Indian Cinema.
* In 2005, he received the Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement.
* In 2007, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF).
* In 2007, he received an IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award.
* He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by DBR Entertainment.
* The Punjabi newspaper Quami Ekta honoured him for his contributions to the Indian cinema.
* In 2008, he was named "Actor Par Excellence" at the Max Stardust Awards.
* In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image International Film (M.A.M.I).