By Asia Samachar | India |
Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra, celebrated for decades as Hindi cinema’s “He-Man”, died on Monday in Mumbai aged 89, marking the end of one of India’s most enduring film careers.
According to family sources and Indian media, the actor had been unwell for about a month before his death at his residence.
Born Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol on December 8, 1935, in the village of Nasrali in Ludhiana district, he grew up in a Panjabi Jat Sikh family, the son of a school headmaster and a homemaker.
His journey from rural Punjab to the heart of Bombay’s film industry began after he won a national talent contest run by Filmfare magazine, propelling a young farmer’s son onto India’s biggest screens.
Over a career spanning more than six decades and 300 films, Dharmendra became one of Bollywood’s most recognisable faces, moving with ease between romance, comedy and high-voltage action.
Roles in films such as Mera Gaon Mera Desh and the landmark 1975 blockbuster Sholay cemented his reputation as a muscular yet emotionally accessible leading man, a blend that earned him the “He-Man” title and a huge fan following across northern India, particularly among Punjabi audiences who saw in him a reflection of their own roots.
Sholay hit the theatres in 1975 to become one of Indian cinema’s greatest cult classics.
Dharmendra also served as a member of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2004 to 2009 and received the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, for his contribution to cinema.
He is survived by his first wife Prakash Kaur, his second wife, actor Hema Malini, and six children, including actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.
Tributes poured in from political leaders, fans and film personalities, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him an “iconic film personality” and colleagues hailing not just his star power but his warmth and generosity.
For many, especially in Punjab, Dharmendra’s death closes a chapter in which a village boy from the fields became one of Indian cinema’s defining legends.
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