Dharmendra’s mom met Hema Malini secretly; Prakash Kaur shared she ‘understands’ what Hema went through

Hema recalled meeting her mother-in-law after Esha’s birth
In her biography Hema Malini: Beyond The Dream Girl, authored by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, Hema spoke about meeting Dharmendra’s mother and recalled how warmly she hugged and blessed her. She revealed that Satwant came to see her without informing anyone in the family.
“Dharamji’s mother Satwant Kaur was equally warm and kind-hearted. I remember how she came to meet me once at a dubbing studio in Juhu after I had conceived Esha. She hadn’t informed anyone in the house. I touched her feet, and she hugged me and said, “Beta, khush raho hamesha (Be happy always).” I was happy that they were happy with me.” she wrote.
Dharmendra’s father and Hema’s father would arm-wrestle
Not just Dharmendra’s mother, even his father Kewal Kishan Singh Deol was very fond of her. She recalled Kewal’s bond with her father V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarthy and how Dharmendra’s father would arm-wrestle him.
“He would drop by and meet my father or brother for chai. Instead of shaking hands, he would arm-wrestle them, and after defeating them he would jokingly say, ‘Tum log ghee-makkhan-lassi khao, idli aur sambhar se taqat nahi aati (Have butter, lassi, ghee. Idli and sambhar won’t make you strong). My father would join in the laughter. He (Dharmendra’s father) was a very jovial person,” she recalled.
ALSO READ | When Esha Deol visited Dharmendra’s house first time in 30 years, touched step-mother Prakash Kaur’s feet: ‘Sunny bhaiya made arrangements’
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Hema on not meeting Dharmendra’s first wife
About not crossing Dharmendra’s first wife Prakash Kaur’s path, the Sholay actor said she “didn’t want to disturb anyone.” Hema added that she has never spoken to Prakash, but she and her daughters respect her.
“I am happy with whatever Dharamji did for me and my daughters. He played the role of a father, like any father would do. I guess I am happy with that. Today, I am a working woman and I have been able to maintain my dignity because I have devoted my life to art and culture. I guess, if the situation was even slightly different from this, I wouldn’t be what I am today,” she wrote.
‘Nobody wants to be like that’: Hema on living separately from Dharmendra
Though Hema expressed that she “doesn’t want to disturb” anyone and stays away from Dharmendra’s family with his first wife, she also admitted that the arrangement of him living with his first family wasn’t ideal.
She said, “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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‘Would not have done what she did’: Prakash Kaur on Hema marrying her husband
Dharmendra was 19 years old when he married Prakash Kaur in 1954, a time when he wasn’t a star and hadn’t entered the film industry. After becoming an actor, he fell in love with co-star Hema Malini when they first met on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawaan in 1970.
In 1981, in a chat with Stardust, Prakash Kaur spoke about his second marriage and even defended her husband against the label of being a “womaniser”. “Why only my husband? Any man would have preferred Hema over me “How dare anyone call my husband a womaniser when half the industry is doing the same thing?”
Prakash defended Dharmendra’s choice to marry again, stating how all male actors have affairs. “All heroes are having affairs and getting married a second time. He may not be the best husband, though he is very good to me, but he is certainly the best father. His children love him a lot. He never neglects them,” she said.
However, Prakash didn’t approve of Hema choosing to marry an already married Dharmendra. “I can understand what Hema is going through. Even she has to face the world, her relatives and her friends. But if I were in Hema’s place, I would not have done what she did. For, as a woman, I can understand her feelings. But as a wife and a mother, I do not approve of them,” she had said.