Dharmendra and his second wife, Hema Malini, have different cultural backgrounds. Meat-lover Dharmendra is a true-blue Punjabi at heart, while Hema Malini sticks to her South Indian roots even at 76. Talking about her parents' diverse food habits, Esha Deol said in a recent interview that Dharmendra eats vegetarian food whenever he's with Hema Malini.
What's Happening
During a conversation with Times of India, Esha said, "My dad really respects my mom's choices, so whenever he is with her, he is a vegetarian."
Esha further added that whenever they travel somewhere, they see him eat some non-veg food item. "And when he does that, he goes to another room to have it as mom can't handle the smell."
Esha's diet is also highly influenced by her mother's choices. Her staple diet is idli, sambar and dosa-chutney, and she also enjoys eating curd rice. In fact, even her daughters (Radhya and Miraya) have started to enjoy those foods. They ask her cook to make idli, sambar and chutney at least thrice a week.
Esha On Her Family Dynamics
The Deol family dynamics hit headlines again after Prakash Kaur's old comment went viral, where she said any man would have preferred Hema Malini over her.
In her memoir, Hema Malini said she has never visited her husband's original house in Juhu, though her bungalow is only a few metres away.
In the same book, Esha Deol talked about how she reacted when she came to know about her father's two wives.
"So, that was when I understood that my mother had married someone who was already married to another lady and that they also had a family. But frankly speaking, I never felt bad about it. Till today, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. And I give full credit to my parents for not making us ever feel uncomfortable," she said in Hema's biography.
Dharmendra and his first wife, Prakash Kaur, share four children – Sunny, Bobby, Vijeeta, and Ajeeta. Dharmendra married Hema Malini later. They are parents to two daughters, Esha and Ahana.