Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra, Hindi cinema's famed 'he-man', died at 89 at his Mumbai home Monday afternoon, weeks before his 90th birthday, news agency IANS said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a nation's tributes, posting on X that his 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. Dharmendraji was equally admired for his simplicity, humility and warmth," the PM said.
"In this sad hour, my thoughts are with his family, friends and innumerable fans...".
The actor died 12 days after being discharged from the city's Breach Candy Hospital; he was admitted after complaining of breathlessness and was placed on life support.
He was later released so he could be treated at home.
Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2012, Dharmendra is survived by his wife, actor-politician Hema Malini, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party's three-time Lok Sabha MP from Mathura, and six children, including Sunny Deol, 68, Bobby Deol, 56, and Esha Deol, 44, all of whom are also actors.
READ | Farewell, Dharmendra: The Man Who Changed Indian Cinema's 'Dharam'
The actor had a stellar career on the silver screen, including winning multiple lifetime achievement awards and, in the '70s, even being voted one of the world's handsomest men.
In the '70s, Dharmendra was regarded as one of the handsomest men in the world (File).
The actor even had a brief stint as a politician.
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the build-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha election and was fielded from Rajasthan's Bikaner seat, which had then been won twice consecutively by the Congress.
The BJP banked on Dharmendra's still-immense cinematic capital and backed him - with high-profile campaign appearances from leaders like LK Advani - and the actor delivered in spades, defeating Chaudhary Lal Dudi by nearly 60,000 votes and almost six per cent of the vote share.
But politics, as he soon found out, was not his cup of tea.
His time as an MP will, sadly, be remembered more for criticism and controversy, and for scheduling conflicts that often saw him engaged in filming movies when the House was in session.
His lower-than-average attendance record was a frequent target of the opposition.
His constituents complained too but others pointed to extensive behind-the-scenes work.
At the end of his term the actor walked out of politics, declaring he would never return; Sunny Deol would later tell reporters his father "didn't like politics and regretted joining it."
Of course, by then politics had become an integral part of the family, with his wife, Hema Malini having already served one term as a Rajya Sabha MP from the nominated category.
And, of course, Sunny Deol himself took the plunge later, again with the BJP.
Deol Jr joined the party in April 2019 and was fielded from Punjab's Gurdaspur constituency, which he won with a big margin; he secured nearly 83,000 votes over then-Congress veteran Sunil Jakhar.
But, like his father, his political career too never took off. And, like his father, attendance was an issue. At one point his attendance was 18 per cent against a then-national average of 79.
READ | Dharmendra's Advice For Son Sunny, Debutant MP, Has Twitter 'Garam'
And, like his father, he chose not to stand for election after his term ended.
In hindsight, with Dharmendra, the red flags were all there; during campaigning, for example, he was heavily criticised for referring to himself as a "dictator to teach basic etiquette..."
