Cinema's "Darling D" turns 76, celebrates with fans

Bollywood's "Darling D" Dharmendra celebrated his 76th birthday with his fans at his residence.

Dharmendra receives a photo of him with legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

A super-size garland for the veteran actor.

Fans gather at Dharmendra's residence. Coming up: Dharmendra turns 76

Bollywood's original "He-Man" Dharmendra is often referred to as Garam Dharam, but the veteran actor who turned 76 today, prefers to be known as "Darling D".

Dharmendra, who was recently seen as a judge on the reality show India's Got Talent, also did a special appearance in the serial Sabke Sapne Saware Preeto.

Apart from the comedy movie Yamla Pagla Deewana, starring his sons Sunny and Bobby, Dharmendra also did a guest appearance in Tell Me O Kkhuda. The movie had his elder daughter Esha Deol playing the lead role and it was directed and produced by his wife Hema Malini.

The veteran actor has appeared in close to 250 films in a career spanning half a century.

He was born on 8th December 1935 as Dharm Singh Deol in Punjab's Kapurthala district.

Dharmendra married his first wife Prakash Kaur in 1954 at the age of 19. He has two sons, actors Sunny and Bobby and two daughters, Ajeeta and Vijeta, with her.

He launched his sons - Sunny and Bobby – in Bollywood under their banner Vijeta Films.

While shooting for Sholay, Dharmendra fell in love with actress Hema Malini. Both Dharmendra and Hema Malini converted to Islam to marry in 1980. Dharmendra is still married to his first wife. He has two daughters with Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana.

Some industry insiders at the time claim Dharmendra had also fallen in love with his Phool Aur Patthar co-star, Meena Kumari.

Haqeeqat, a movie set against the Sino-Indian War of 1962, was the first major hit of Dharmendra's career.

He romanced Meena Kumari in Kaajal (1965) and Phool Aur Pathar (1966) - both were big hits of their time.

Dharmendra earned critical acclaim as well as box-office success for Anupama in 1966. It was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who cast him opposite the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore.

For Dharmendra, the era of colour in cinema began with movies like Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966) opposite Asha Parekh and Mere Humdum Mere Dost (1968) with Sharmila Tagore.

He starred with Sanjeev Kumar and Sharmila Tagore in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Satyakam in 1969. Critics lauded his portrayal of "Satyapriya" as flawless.

Dharmendra's next box-office hits were Pyar Hi Pyar (1969), Aya Saawan Jhoom Ke (1969), Jeevan Mrityu (1970) and Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971).

Surprisingly, industry insiders at the time claim he turned down a major role in the 1971 hit, Guddi with Jaya Bhaduri in the lead.

Some of Dharmendra's screen romances with Hema Malini include Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Raja Jani and Jugnu (1973).

In 1973, Dharmendra featured in the musical blockbuster Yaadon Ki Baaraat. The film also had Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora and Tariq.

Among Dharmendra's most-remembered roles is that of Professor Parimal Tripathi in the comedy movie Chupke Chupke (1975). The movie also featured Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, David, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee.

Dharmendra's remarkable feat came in 1975 as cult film Sholay with Amitabh Bachchan became a box-office phenomenon after a slow start. He is remembered for playing the inimitable "Veeru".

His Bollywood journey went on with Dream Girl (1977), Dharam Veer (1977) and Chacha Bhatija (1977).

Even at the peak of his career, he had to come to terms with movies like Shalimar (1978) and The Burning Train (1980), which were box-office disasters. The Burning Train is perhaps best remembered as a disaster disaster flick and, on a happier note, the very apparent chemistry between Dharamendra and Hema Malini.

Dharmendra's fans didn't appreciate his appearance as a black slave in Razia Sultan (1983), despite Hema Malini playing Razia Sultan, the only female Sultan of Delhi. The film bombed at the box-office.

A string of flops hit Dharmendra, with films such as Hathyar (1989), Batwara (1989), Farishtay (1991) and Tahalka (1992).

He tried his luck in a character role in Kshatriya (1993) but that too didn't work.

He did many films after that but the magic refused to be rekindled on screen.

The 2004 comedy Kis Kis Ki Kismat did nothing to revive Dharmendra's career, beyond hogging headlines for the kiss with Mallika Sherawat.

His played Amol, an aged man, in Life in a ... Metro, which was a semi hit film.

The Deol home production Apne (2007) which featured Dharmendra with Sunny and Bobby rocked the box-office. He played the role of a failed boxer.

He also worked in Johnny Gaddar which was a crime thriller.

"Garam Dharam" reunites with sons Sunny and Bobby in their first outing together after Apne in this year's hit comedy, Yamla Pagla Deewana.

The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award came to him in 1997 for his contribution to Indian Cinema.

In 2004 he forayed into politics and was elected a Member of Parliament from Bikaner in Rajasthan on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. However, he was severely criticized for ignoring his constituency and spending time in Bollywood.

Here's wishing Indian cinema's "Darling D" a happy birthday.