Hema Malini's political side

Dream Girl Hema Malini is Southward bound. As the politician in her itches to shine as bright as the dancer, Sholay's Bansanti will be heading for Parliament once again - having being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

She will, however, have only a one-year term, ending on April 2, 2012. She enjoyed a full six-year term between 2003 and 2009 in the Upper House.

The BJP's decision to name the actor as its candidate has caused considerable heartburn in Karnataka with many aspirants pointing out that she is an outsider with no real link to the state.

Ready with a heart-warming smile, Ms Malini replies, "As a film star I have been coming here a lot. I am an artist basically...I don't know why when I am coming to Karnataka people had the feeling - oh, she should not come - I found it very funny because I belong to all of you. Everybody. Whole country."

After having claimed that she had it in her to playing BJP's Vice President to perfection a year back when years of campaigning finally bore fruit, the actress is seen playing the 'Woman' card yet again.

She had previously said, “I am an actor, a dancer, and yet I can deal with politicians. We, the women, have the power to deal with everything in a proper manner.”

Ahead, Hema Malini's journey, personal and otherwise!

Hema Malini R. Chakravarty was born in Tamil Nadu, in the Tiruchirapalli district on October 16, 1948. Her entry into the cine world was with Telugu cinema in 1961, where she appeared as a dancer in a film called Pandava Vanavasam.

She studied in Chennai and acted in a short episode as dancer in Pandava Vanavasam, a 1961 Telugu film.

Surprisingly, she was rejected by most Tamil directors, some saying she had no star appeal. This worked out well for Bollywood, as she turned to Hindi cinema in 1968, and debuted with the film Sapno Ka Saudagar. Her co-stars in the film were the daunting Raj Kapoor and fellow youngster Tanuja.

She was an instant hit with the movie going public and became one of the longest reigning divas of filmdom.

Hema was romanced by Jeetendra and Sanjeev Kumar but lost her heart to the already married, father of 4, Dharmendra.

But true love prevailed and they got married in 1979. They are still together today and have 2 daughters – Esha and Ahana.

Hema's elder daughter Esha Deol is a Bollywood actress.

Younger daughter Ahana wants to be a director.

Hema and Dharmendra lit up the screen together in films like Dream Girl, Seeta Aur Geeta and the immortal Sholay.

Their off screen chemistry carried over on screen making them a hit movie couple.

One of the most popular films in Hema Malini's career was Sholay (1975). She played the spirited taangewali Basanti, with her ever-faithful horse Dhanno.

In 1977, Dream Girl catapulted Hema to stardom and into the hearts of the nation. Directors down South, like Sridhar, had to eat their words.

Even before they were married, the Dharmendra-Hema combination was the magic formula that brought success to every film. The two were also together in Charas in 1976, which was another superhit film.

Hema Malini has a number of Filmfare and other acting awards to her credit. She won the Best Actress award in 1973 for her entertaining performance in Seeta aur Geeta.

In 1999, Hema Malini got the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2000, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Hema jumped on the political bandwagon, winning a Rajya Sabha seat with BJP support. In 2004 she joined the party and has campaigned for them for subsequent elections.

The phoenix act: The 90s saw a lull in Hema Malini's film career, but in 2003, she was back with a bang with Baaghban, in which her co-star was none other than Amitabh Bachchan.

Baaghban proved that the Big B-Hema combo had lost none of it's appeal since Naseeb and Satte Pe Satta. They reunited for Baabul in 2006, with Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan and John Abraham.

King maker: Hema Malini may not have appeared in any movies in the ‘90s but she made good use of her time by directing Dil Aashna Hai. The debutant hero of her film was a certain Shah Rukh Khan.

Dancing Queens: Hema made sure that both daughters, Esha and Ahana, could speak Tamil as well as follow her own passion, Bharatnatyam.

Hema's only directorial venture, Dil Aashna Hai, was a box office flop. Apart from Shah Rukh, it starred the late Divya Bharti.

Hema Malini might be officially a senior citizen, but her energy is that of a 16-year-old. She is all set for her next film, Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi, which is based on the life of former Gwalior queen Vijayraje Scindia.

On Koffee With Karan, she remarked on the fact that though Esha and Ahana were fluent in Tamil they could not speak Punjabi. A Punjabi tutor had to be hired for Esha to prepare for a role.