Hema Malini: Lesser known facts

People still call me Basanti: Hema on 40 years of 'Sholay'

Actress-politician, Hema Malini, who had essayed the iconic role of Basanti in the film, Sholay, says that even 40 years after the film’s release, people still call her by the character's name. "40 years of Sholay and still going strong. So proud I was part of such an iconic movie! People still call me Basanti and transport me to that era again," [sic] Hema posted on Twitter. Hema had essayed the role of a fearless village belle in the film. Her character, Basanti, eventually falls in love with Dharmendra’s character, Veeru, in the film.

Hema Malini's younger daughter, Ahana Deol, recently gave birth to a baby boy. Find out what made Dharmendra and Hema talk about the child...

Hema Malini and Dharmendra's daughter Ahana delivered her first child, a baby boy, on June 10, 2015. According to a report on Movies.ndtv.com, Dharmendra said that holding the baby in his arms reminded him of the time when he first took his own children in his arms. The report quoted him saying that they just wanted some good energy around the baby right now, he should lead a happy, healthy and prosperous life, and that they want good wishes for him. The family hasn’t thought of any name as of now and there’s still some time for it, concluded the report.


While Hema and Dharmendra are on cloud nine, click further to know why Esha Deol deliberately chose to distance herself from the Bharatnatyam performance at Hema's show...

Braj Mahotsav, a festival organised by Hema Malini, has been making news ever since it was announced. After being reportedly delayed and objected to, by various groups, the festival has finally kicked off in Mathura. However, according to a report on Bollywoodlife.com, Esha Deol, who was reportedly going to perform on the opening day of the festival, walked out at the last minute. The report further claimed that Esha had deliberately chosen to distance herself from the Bharatnatyam performance as she had just been re-introduced in a hot avatar on the TV show, Roadies.

Read on to know more facts about Hema Malini...

The dream girl of Bollywood has had an iconic rise to stardom and continues to be an inspiration for her contemporaries, juniors and seniors. A politician, Bharatnatyam dancer, movie star, director, producer and mother of two, Hema Malini juggles many hats. As one of the most successful actresses of her time, Hema Malini has acted in over 150 films, in a career spanning four decades. Active on social networking sites, this diva has moved with the times and makes it a point to connect with her fans. On her birthday today, we list down things that we bet you didn't know about her.

Hema Malini was born to V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy and Jaya Chakravarthy on October 16, 1948 and was raised in a Tamil-speaking Iyengar family. She was the youngest of three siblings and her mother was a film producer. Hema began her career with regional cinema when she performed as a dancer in a Tamil film in 1961. In 1964, she was rejected by Tamil film firector, C.V.Sridhar who thought she was too thin to act. She then performed as a dancer on the song 'Singara Therukku Sela' from the 1963 Tamil film Idhu Sathiyam starring S.A. Asokan. But destiny had other things in store for her. She finally made her Bollywood debut opposite Raj Kapoor in the 1968 film Sapno Ka Saudagar which did not fare well at the box-office.

Though Hema Malini worked with most of the leading men of her time, some pairings fetched her much appreciation. The actress had 10 hits opposite the original superstar of Bollywood - Rajesh Khanna. The dream girl has been cast opposite Dharamendra in 35 films. Some of her breakthrough performances include roles in Johnny Mera Naam, Seeta Aur Geeta, Andaz, Satte Pe Satta, Lal Patthar and Sholay. Her favourite co-stars are Shashi Kapoor, Dharmendra, the late Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand. According to media reports, some of her favourite films include Prem Nagar, Dillagi, Kinara, Sholay, Seeta Aur Geeta, Mehbooba, Kudrat, Hum Dono, Rajput and Bagbhan. It is alleged that during the shooting of Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster film Sholay, Hema and Dharmendra fell in love with each other. According to IMDB, Hema Malini has revealed in her autobiography that actors Jeetendra and Sanjeev Kumar proposed marriage to her but she eventually married Dharamendra and the duo has two daughters - Esha and Ahana.

According to a report in filmibeat.com, Hema Malini was the highest-paid Bollywood actress along with Zeenat Aman from 1976-1980. From 1982-85, she was the 2nd highest-paid actresses and fourth highest from 1971-1975. This multi talented actress is also a trained Bahratnatyam dancer and is well versed with the dance form Kuchipudi. Hema Malini has often performed across the country with her two daughters, who are also trained dancers.

She is a trend-setter in her own right as she was one of the first few actresses to wear bell bottoms on the silver screen. Hema Malini has been nominated 11 times for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and was bestowed with the Padma Shri in the year 2000. She also has an Honorary Doctorate from the Sir Padampat Singhania University, which was conferred for her contribution to Hindi cinema. She was also given the SaMaPa Vitasta Award 2006 for her contribution to Hindi cinema and dance. She was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1999 for her contribution to Indian Cinema.

The actress began her political career when she was nominated by former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as a Rajya Sabha MP (2003–2009). She officially joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections (General Elections), she defeated her rival Jayant Chaudhary of RLD when she contested the elections from the Mathura constituency.

She earned the nickname 'Dream Girl' in 1970 when she starred opposite Dharmendra in a film by the same name. Ever since, the tag has stayed with her. After Padmini, Waheeda Rehmaan and Vyjayanthimala, she is one of the few South Indian actresses to make it big in Bollywood. Very few know that Hema Malini directed Shah Rukh Khan's first film Dil Aashna Hai but it released after Deewana, hence making it the superstar's debut film in Bollywood.