Dharmendra, also known as the 'Action King'
of Bollywood turns 86 today . With more than 60 years of association with
Bollywood, He has given some of the most magnificent movies to the film
industry.
He is known for his role in films like
Sholay, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Yaadon Ki Baarat etc. In the year 1997, Dharmendra
was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to
Hindi cinema.
Today on his birthday, let us know some
interesting less-known facts about the legendary actor.
·
Director
Arjun Hingorani introduced Dharmendra Ji into Bollywood with a movie titled Dil
Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere. Since then, the two had been close friends until the
former died.
·
Dharmendra
and one of his favourite co-stars Sharmila Tagore share the same birthday. They
have worked together in innumerable films including the three Hrishikesh
Mukherjee classics Anupama, Satyakam, and Chupke Chupke.
·
It
was in the 70s that Dharmendra fell for Hema Malini. He married, Hema Malini
after converting to Islam so that he could stay married to his previous wife
too.
·
Dharmendra
has played the romantic hero to many leading ladies of Bollywood including
Meena Kumari, Saira Banu, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh and Zeenat Aman.
But his pairing with Hema Malini is regarded as his best.
·
He is most noted for his role of Veeru, in Sholay. In British Film Institute's
2002 poll, Sholay was ranked first in the list of 'Top 10 Indian Films'
Also read: 20 Years of K3G: Karan Johar – Farah Khan dances on ‘Bole Chudhiyan’ to celebrate the day
·
Dharmendra
is one of Bollywood’s most versatile adventurous and underrated actors. He
always dreamt of becoming an actor and it was his mother with whom he shared
his fascination.
·
In
1997, he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his
contribution to Hindi cinema. In 2004, Dharmendra was honoured for Best
Contribution to Indian Cinema. Also, Dharmendra was awarded the Padma Bhushan
award in 2012.