The idea of a filmy love story often makes us think of a macho hero and a glamorous heroine who have to brave a storm of opposition so they can have their happy ending. These ‘filmy’ stories aren’t always restricted to films and when real life starts taking after reel life, one always can’t guarantee a happy ending. Hema Malini and Dharmendra could have once been described as star crossed lovers for there was nothing in their story that worked in their favour. Familial opposition, society, and even the fear of being ostracised by their peers – Hema and Dharmendra’s had to hold on to each other strongly even when their close ones tried to pull them apart. Hema, who was first introduced as ‘Dream Girl’ by Raj Kapoor, was seen as a delicate beauty but she had to develop a thick skin almost overnight. When Hema was labeled as the ‘other woman’ to a man who was married and was a father to four children, she had to stand her ground and continue to live her best life without any fear.

Hema Malini was one of the most successful actresses of her generation and as much as her fans liked to keep up with her movies, they were also always interested in her personal life. Be it her short lived relationship with Sanjeev Kumar, or the whiff of her potential relationship with Jeetendra, tabloids and film magazines followed her with a magnifying glass. When stories of Hema falling in love with Dharmendra started doing the rounds, she knew that this wasn’t going to be a smooth ride. Hema’s mother Jaya Chakravarthy watched her like a hawk and Hema did not object to it until her love story with Dharmendra started. The otherwise docile Hema learnt how to rebel and was ready to fight the world for her love because, in her words, he made her happy.

“I just knew that he made me happy. And all I wanted was happiness,” she shared in her biography Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl. For Hema, this was her version of selfless love as she didn’t know what to expect from him as he was already married to Prakash Kaur, and Hema was being subjected to ridicule. “Fingers were pointed. Accusations were flung at us. Nobody said anything in front of me, but I was not a fool. I knew that they discussed me behind my back. It wasn’t easy,” she shared in the biography and revealed that she was also called “first lady of second marriages” and while she found it hurtful and unfair, she didn’t allow it to bring her down.

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Hema Malini and Dharmendra first met on the set of the 1970 film Tu Haseen Main Jawan and for her, she instantly knew that if she had to marry, it would be to someone like him. The idea of falling in love was just fantastical, but their love had consequences, not just for them but others too, namely Prakash but Hema did not want to hurt her in any way. When Hema’s family got to know about her love for Dharmendra, they insisted that she marry someone else, but that was out of the question. “I called him and I said, ‘You’ll have to marry me now.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll marry you.’ So that is how it happened, she shared with Simi Garewal on her talk show.

After marrying Dharmendra, Hema found herself in an awkward spot where she could have moved away from the limelight as the naysayers were attacking her from every direction. The actress revealed that she had once thought about moving to Bangalore but never acted on it as she was in the middle of filming. By the time her shoots wrapped, the idea of moving away from all that she had worked so hard to get seemed bizarre so Hema continued to work in the movies, and be with her husband.

Hema once said that no one would want to “live like this” and while she didn’t elaborate, by “this” she possibly meant being the second family. She told Lehren Retro, “Nobody wants to be like that; it happens. Automatically, what happens, you have to accept. Otherwise nobody will feel like they want to live their life like this. Every woman wants to have a husband, children, like a normal family. But somewhere, it went out of the way… I am not feeling bad about it, or sulking about it. I am happy with myself. I have my two children, and I have brought them up very well.”

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Hema knew that the rest of the world would never understand her unique arrangement and she even addressed it in her book. “I know there are sections of people who discuss me with pity. They make me out to be someone who is weeping and mourning at home, pining for my man who is not around. I am not a police officer who needs to keep tabs on him. And I don’t need to show people a roll-call register as to how many days he visits me and how many days he doesn’t. He knows his duty as a father and I’ve never had to remind him of it. Dharam-ji still treats me like he did in the initial days,” she shared.

Hema Malini and Dharmendra have been together for over 44 years now and to this date, she lives in the house across the road from him. They have two daughters – Esha and Ahana. Dharmendra never left Prakash and his children from the first marriage, and he never abandoned Hema and his daughters. Their familial ties aren’t conventional but they work for them, and for a woman who only wanted happiness from the man she marries, it appears that Hema got just that, and much more.

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