Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director and producer, Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer, and a politician, well known for her roles in Hindi cinema. She made her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968). 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 one of 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 family in Ammankudi near Orathanadu to V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy[15] and Jaya Chakravarthy on 16 October 1948.[1] Her mother was a film producer. Malini was the youngest of the three children and has two brothers.[16] She was not interested in academics but enjoyed history, her favourite subject in school.[16] 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 into acting.
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.[18] 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).
Hema Malini's niece is actress Madhoo who had starred in films Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Roja (1992) and Annayya (1993).
Political career
She was nominated as Rajay Sabha MP (2003–2009) by the then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, from Maharashtra.
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.
In the General Elections 2014 (Lok Sabha -India) Hema Malini made a dream debut from Mathura Lok Sabha constituency defeating incumbent Jayant Chaudhary of RLD by an impressive margin of 3,30,743 Votes. She would be now entitled to Rs. 5/- Crores of Funds – under MPLAD Fund Scheme – for which she could recommend projects to be executed in Mathura Lok Sabha MP Constituency.
Hema Malini and her husband, Dharmendra (Bollywood Hero of Yester Years) 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.[35][36] 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.
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.
Malini is one of 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 family in Ammankudi near Orathanadu to V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy[15] and Jaya Chakravarthy on 16 October 1948.[1] Her mother was a film producer. Malini was the youngest of the three children and has two brothers.[16] She was not interested in academics but enjoyed history, her favourite subject in school.[16] 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 into acting.
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.[18] 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).
Hema Malini's niece is actress Madhoo who had starred in films Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Roja (1992) and Annayya (1993).
Political career
She was nominated as Rajay Sabha MP (2003–2009) by the then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, from Maharashtra.
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.
In the General Elections 2014 (Lok Sabha -India) Hema Malini made a dream debut from Mathura Lok Sabha constituency defeating incumbent Jayant Chaudhary of RLD by an impressive margin of 3,30,743 Votes. She would be now entitled to Rs. 5/- Crores of Funds – under MPLAD Fund Scheme – for which she could recommend projects to be executed in Mathura Lok Sabha MP Constituency.
Hema Malini and her husband, Dharmendra (Bollywood Hero of Yester Years) 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.[35][36] 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.
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.