Dharmendra, iconic Bollywood actor and Indian cinema’s ‘He-Man,’ dies at 89

By SHEIKH SAALIQ NEW DELHI AP Dharmendra one of Indian cinema s the majority popular stars whose versatile performances made him a defining screen presence of s and s Bollywood films died Monday He was Related Articles Bacon Sedgwick have -year screen reunion in The Best You Can Wicked For Good is even more popular than the first soaring to a million global debut Edgerton makes thoughtful Train Dreams an inviting ride Daniel Craig gets religion in latest Knives Out mystery Ariana Grande pop s Glinda s bubble in Wicked For Good The actor who would have turned on Dec had been in and out of a hospital in the financial capital Mumbai over the past limited weeks A senior police official who had spoken to Dharmendra s clinician established the death on condition of anonymity Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences saying the actor s death marks the end of an era in Indian cinema He was an iconic film personality a phenomenal actor who brought charm and depth to every role he played The manner in which he played diverse roles struck a chord with countless people Modi stated on social media platform X Often called Bollywood s He-Man Dharmendra combined the old-school heroism of an action star with the tenderness of a romantic lead making him one of India s majority of iconic actors Though largest part of his fame came from roles in which he embodied the archetype of a larger-than-life hero upright patriotic and fearless his charming performances in romantic hits equally made him popular with the masses Dharmendra s performance in Sholay Bollywood s take on the Spaghetti Western and regarded as one of India s greatest films earned him enduring popularity His roles in other Hindi-language hits from the romantic comedy Chupke Chupke to the action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh made him one of the the greater part recognizable film faces from that era His role in Bollywood classic Sholay where he played an affable character alongside Amitabh Bachchan his co-actor in the film cemented his status as a superstar The duo s on-screen partnership also became one of Bollywood s bulk iconic pairings His on-screen chemistry with actress Hema Malini whom he later married became one of Bollywood s the majority popular collaborations as the pair acted together in more than two dozen films But their union was rooted in controversy Dharmendra had married Prakash Kaur before his film debut and went on to have four children with her including two who would follow in his acting footsteps Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol Despite his marriage to Malini in he reportedly never divorced Kaur and continued to live with her According to local media reports he briefly converted to Islam before marrying Malini as Indian law disallows Hindus to marry twice especially if their spouse is alive Dharmendra and Malini had two daughters including Bollywood actor Esha Deol His nephew Abhay Deol also joined the industry Later in his career Dharmendra moved to more character-driven roles frequently portraying paternal figures in the s and s in a career that continued through He was last seen in war biopic film Ikkis I never thought I would come this far he explained in a interview with Indian news website Rediff Born Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol in India s northern state of Punjab in he grew up in a farming family and moved to Mumbai in the late s making his Bollywood debut in Over a career spanning six decades he acted in more than films In Dharmendra was awarded the Padma Bhushan India s third-highest civilian honor in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema He also briefly turned to politics serving as a Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker in Parliament from to though his political stint was short-lived Dharmendra is survived by his wives children and grandchildren