Legendary actor Dharmendra passed away on November 24 in Mumbai. His prayer meet was recently held in the city and it was attended by his family and other industry well wishers like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and more celebs. Meanwhile, Salman, SRK, Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda and many actors also were spotted at his last rites to pay final respects to him. While he left a huge void in cinema, Dharmendra will always be loved and remembered for his iconic movies and vibrant onscreen presence. Not to mention, the actor always was so vibrant even off screen. Apart from his movies and superstar aura, Dharmendra’s personal life has also always been under scrutiny. The actor married Hema Malini in 1980 while he was already married to Prakash Kaur and had four children with her – Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Ajeita and Vijeta Deol. Dharmendra and Hema Malini became parents to two daughters – Esha and Ahana Deol. In an old interview, in 2022 where Esha had appeared with mom Hema Malini, she spoke about how her father has been able to handle both his families well. Hema Malini has always lived separately from Dharmendra after getting married as she did not want to disturb his existing life. However, she has often admitted that he has always been for her. Talking about marrying him, Hema Malini had said in this interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, “There was a time when I had to tell him, ‘you better marry me now’. You cannot go on like this. I knew there would be a little problem but I don’t expect anything else from him. Just love. He’s always there for me so what else do I need. I don’t need property or money or anything else from him. I just need some love. That’s it.”

When Esha was asked about her father and her equation with her brothers Sunny and Bobby Deol, the actress had said, “We are very private as a family. I love my brothers. They’ve been there for me and my father has always been there. What I admire about my dad is that because he’s such a large hearted person, he has been able to manage both the sides beautifully. I give him credit. They don’t make men like that.”