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Hema Malini Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director
and producer, Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer, and a politician, well known for the roles
in Hindi cinema. Making her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar , she went on to appear
in numerous Bollywood films, most notably those with actor and future-husband Dharmendra
and with Rajesh Khanna. Malini was initially promoted as "Dream Girl", and in 1977 starred
in a film of the same name. During this period, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's
leading actresses, noted for both her comic and dramatic roles, her beauty, and her accomplished
classical dancing. Malini is among the most successful female
film stars in the history of Indian cinema. Appearing in over 150 films in a career span
of 40 years, she has starred in a large number of successful films, and her performances
in both commercial and arthouse cinema, were often recognised. During her career, she has
been nominated 11 times for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, of which she won once in
1972. In 2000, she was presented with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In the
same year, she was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour,
by the Government of India. In 2012, the Sir Padampat Singhania University conferred an
Honorary Doctorate on Malini in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. She
also served as the Chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation. She was awarded
the prestigious "SaMaPa Vitasta Award 2006" in Delhi by SaMaPa – "Sopori Academy of
Music And Performing Arts" by Music Legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori for her lifetime contribution
and service to Indian culture and Dance. Of late Malini spends most of her time on
charitable and social ventures, while making occasional appearances in films. She is a
member of India's Bharatiya Janata Party and was nominated member by the party in Rajya
Sabha, the upper House of parliament during 2003–2009.
Early life and family Hema Malini Chakravarty was born into a Tamil
speaking Iyengar Brahmin family in Ammankudi, Tiruchirappalli to V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy
and Jaya Chakravarthy on 16 October 1948. Her mother was a film producer. Malini was
the youngest of the three children and has two brothers. She was not interested in academic
studies but enjoyed history, her favourite subject in school. She was educated at Andhra
Mahila Sabha in Chennai.She studied at DTEA Mandir Marg till class 10 but did not complete
class 10 when she got acting role. Hema fell in love with her co-star Dharmendra
during the filming of Sholay. She eventually married him in 1980. Before they married,
they both converted to Islam, though the conversion was nominal and for convenience only; Hema
remains a strong practising Hindu since Dharmendra was married to Prakash Kaur who refused to
divorce him. Apart from Sholay, the Dharmendra-Hema pair appeared together in films like Seeta
Aur Geeta, Dreamgirl, Charas and The Burning Train. After her marriage she became the step-mother
of Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, both popular actors in Bollywood. She has two daughters
with Dharmendra, Esha Deol (born 1981) and Ahana Deol (born 1985). Her elder daughter
Esha is a well-known actress in Bollywood who married a diamond merchant Bharat Takhtanj,
on 29 June 2012: while her younger daughter Ahana is an aspiring director. who worked
as an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for his film Guzarish (2010). Ahana Deol got
married to Delhi based businessman Vaibhav Vora in Feb, 2014
Hema Malini's niece is actress Madhoo who had starred in films Phool Aur Kaante (1991),
Roja (1992) and Annayya (1993). Film career
Debut: 1960s Hema performed in the song Singara Therukku
Selai sung by Seergazhi Govindrajan and L.R.Eshwari as a supporting actor from the 1963 Tamil
film Idhu Sathiyam starring S.A.Asokan as the hero. Hema was considered for a Tamil
film Venniradai when she was 15 but rejected by director C. V. Sridhar saying that she
was too thin, and the role was awarded instead to J. Jayalalitha. In 1965, she got an opportunity
to portray a danseuse in Pandava Vanavasam, a Telugu film. Later Ananthaswamy, a film
poducer, offered her a role opposite Raj Kapoor in his film Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968) after
Vyjayanthimala refused the film. She was promoted as the dream girl of Bollywood right from
that film. Breakthrough: 1970s
In Johnny Mera Naam (1970), she was cast in a more pivotal role and the film became a
blockbuster. She took challenging roles which most of the heroines of the 1960s refused
to do. She played the role of a young widow in Andaaz (1971) and in Lal Patthar (1971)
she played a character with negative shades. The following year, Hema double-roled with
Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar in Seeta Aur Geeta. Even after many years the film remains
one of the best in her career. The film was a blockbuster and earned her first Filmfare
Best Actress Award. Within four years of making her debut, she established herself as one
of the leading actresses in Bollywood. During the mid 70s, her fans started calling
her "Dream Girl", an allusion to the movie of the same name where she starred opposite
Dharmendra. A majority of her films released during this
period were highly successful; Sanyasi, Dharmatma and Pratigya. Sholay, released in 1975, became
a box-office phenomenon, where she played the role of Basanti, an unforgettable role
of a talkative girl. Malini starred in many movies throughout the
1970s and is perhaps best remembered for her glamour, style, and accomplished classical
dancing. The Dharmendra-Hema pair had back to back hits from the early 70's like Sharafat,
Tum Haseen Main Jawan, Naya Zamana, Raja Jani, Seeta Aur Geeta starring together in 28 movies
in all, eventually marrying him in 1980. The pair continued with box office hit movies
like Patthar Aur Payal, Dost, Charas, Jugnu, Azaad, Dillagi and Dil Kaa Heera. She also
achieved some strong dramatic or comic moments in films like Trishul, Joshila and Khushboo.
In the late 1970s she acted in female-centric movies like Kinara (1977) and Meera (1979),
directed by Gulzar. Post marriage: 1980–1999
After her marriage she continued to work in films like Kranti, Naseeb, Satte Pe Satta
and Vijay Anand's Rajput. Dharmendra & Hema Malini were paired together after marriage
in Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, Baghavat, Samraat and Razia Sultan. In 1983 she starred in Andha
Kanoon wherein she played the role of a daughter seeking revenge for the death of her parents.
The following year she acted in K. Balachander's Ek Nai Paheli, a remake of his Tamil film
Apoorva Raagangal. She portrayed the role of a classical singer in the film. Her on
screen pairing opposite Rajesh Khanna was very popular as they appeared in a number
of box-office hits such as Andaaz, Bandish, Prem Nagar, Mehbooba and Kudrat.
She was a part of the hit multi-starrers Baghavat and Raaj Tilak both opposite Dharmendra, and
continued to gain success in films focusing on her character like Aandhi Toofan, Durgaa
and Ramkali in 1985, Sitapur Ki Geeta in 1987 saw her doing action oriented roles while
Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986), Rihaee and Jamai Raja (1990), saw her playing more matured
roles. Malini also directed the film Dil Aashna Hai
which was loosely based on a novel that she was reading at that time. She signed the late
actress Divya Bharti and the now superstar Shahrukh Khan in the leading roles. It turned
out to be a commercial failure and her career tapered off as she chose to concentrate more
on her dance commitments and Television serials. Comeback: 2000s
After taking a break from films for a number of years, Hema made a comeback with Baghban
(2003). The film had Amitabh Bachchan playing her husband and also earned her a Filmfare
Best Actress Award nomination. She also played a substantial supporting role in the 2004
film Veer-Zaara. In both films, she played a self-possessed, elderly married woman. In
2011, she directed her second feature film that featured her daughter Esha Deol in the
lead role alongside her husband Dharmendra in Tell Me O Khuda which released on Diwali
of 2011. Political career
Hema Malini and her husband have been involved in politics, as members of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP). She was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of
India, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She campaigned for the BJP candidate,
Vinod Khanna, former Bollywood actor in the 1999 Lok Sabha Elections in Gurdaspur in Punjab.
In 2004, Hema Malini joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In February 2004, she joined the party (BJP) officially. With her film career less hectic,
she has been an active member of the party, attending party meetings and rallies and campaigning
for the party through various elections. In March 2010, she was made general secretary
of the BJP. In February 2011, it was reported that Hema Malini has been recommended by H.N.Ananth
Kumar, party general secretary. Other work
Hema Malini is a trained Bharatanatyam artist. Her daughters are well trained in the same
dance form; the three have performed together at charity dance concerts. Malini is also
trained in Kuchipudi by Vempati Chinna Satyam and Odissi by Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Her
refulgent smile eased her portrayal of a wide range of characters ranging from the fiery
Narasimha to a graceful Rama in Tulasidas's Ramcharitmanas. In 2007, she performed in
Mysore on the eve of Dussera, where she played the roles of Sati, Parvati and Durga. She
had performed at the Khajuraho Dance Festival with her daughters.
In 2003, she played the role of Goddess Durga in television serial Jai Mata Ki, directed
by Puneet Issar and aired on Star Plus. She then starred in the title roles of twin sisters
in the Sahara One serial Kamini Damini. She directed and starred in the television serial
Noopur, in which she played the role of a Bharatanatyam dancer. She owned the editorship
of New Woman, a Hindi woman's magazine. In 2000 she was appointed as the first-ever woman
chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation for three years. She owns a dance
school, Natya Vihar Kalakendra. In 2007, she was signed by Kent RO Systems,
a mineral water purifier system, as its brand ambassador. She is one of the three brand
ambassadors of Pothys, a textile showroom in Chennai (the others being Sudha Ragunathan
and Trisha Krishnan). The first biography of Malini, Diva Unveiled-Hema
Malini, was written by Ram Kamal Mukherjee and first published in 2005.
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