Dharamendra was voted as one of the top five handsome men in the world in the sixties. He was also known as the ‘he-man’ of Hindi cinema. He was the action hero, he was the romantic hero and one of the top actors of his time until politics came knocking. Film star Dharmendra was born at Phagwara in Punjab. He was first noticed in a Filmfare spot- the- talent contest and was signed by Arjun Hingorani for the film "Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere".
At the start of his career Dharmendra was usually cast as a romantic hero. His first major hit film was "Phool Aur Patthar". Dharmendra also worked in comedy films like "Chupke Chupke", a masterpiece from Hrishikesh Mukherjee. When action movies became popular in 1970's he starred as action hero in many such films. Dharmendra's most memorable role as action hero was in the blockbuster film "Sholay" where he was teamed with Amitabh Bachchan.
Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, no other film star can claim to be equally good in comedy and action as Dharmendra. Dharmendra also ventured into film production and launched his sons Sunny Deol in "Betaab" and Bobby Deol in "Barsaat" as well as his nephew Abhay Deol in "Socha Na Tha". After a few years hiatus from acting since the early 2000s he is reappearing in films as character actor.
Dharmendra's latest films "Metro" and "Apne" have been successful at the box office. Dharmendra also played a Villainious role in his recent released film "Johnny Gaddar". Dharmendra has married Bollywood actress Hema Malini after converting to Islam. He had to change his religion because he was already married to Prakash Kaur and according to Hindu marriage act one can not marry any other woman till the first wife is alive.
In 1980 Dharmendra converted to Islam to marry actress Hema Malini as his first wife refused to grant him divorce. His legal name after changing religion is Delawar Khan. He has two daughters with Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana. His daughter Esha Deol is an actress. He was also involved with Meena Kumari with whom he worked in Phool Aur Pathar and many other movies.
Dharmendra worked with another rising star Amitabh Bacchan in the comedy Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Chupke Chupke (1975), as a professor. They came together again in one of the biggest movies of Indian cinema, Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975). He played a criminal Veeru who along with buddy Jai sets out to destroy Gabbar Singh and also falls in love with Basanti, which was played by Hema Malini. Dharamendra appeared with Hema Malini in Dream Girl (1977).
Dharmendra has gone on record saying he did not believe the Mumbai film industry was a place suitable for girls. He was unperturbed by his sons Sunny and Bobby joining the industry, he was vocal about his displeasure regarding his daughter Esha's choice of profession.
Dharmendra has recently become active in politics. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from Bikaner in Rajasthan, on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. During his election campaign, he made an ironic remark that he should be elected Dictator Perpetuus to teach "basic etiquette that democracy requires" for which he was severely criticized.