Dharmendra’s passing on November 24 has brought back many memories from his long, colourful life — some filled with admiration, others marked by painful choices. As fans remember his charm and screen presence, an old remark by his first wife Prakash Kaur has resurfaced and reopened conversations about one of the most complicated love stories of Bollywood.
Long before he became the industry’s beloved He-man, Dharmendra had married Prakash Kaur in 1954. The couple built a family together, raising four children while he was still an emerging actor. Everything changed years later on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawan, where Dharmendra and Hema Malini fell deeply in love. Their chemistry on-screen soon became a real-life bond but it came with consequences neither family would escape.
For decades, the two households lived separately but side by side. Dharmendra never left Prakash, yet he also created a home with Hema Malini, with whom he had two daughters — Esha and Ahana. Hema once mentioned that she met Prakash only once before the wedding and never after, choosing instead to raise her daughters independently. Dharmendra visited often, balancing two worlds in a way that was far from simple for anyone involved. The only moment of connection between the families came when Dharmendra’s mother Satwant Kaur visited Hema after Esha’s birth, an instance that quietly signaled some warmth amid the tension.
With Hema, Dharmendra began a new chapter that drew criticism, sympathy and fascination. An old interview of Prakash Kaur, making the rounds again after Dharmendra’s passing, reveals how she felt about Hema’s decision. Speaking with a calm honesty, she had said that if she were in Hema’s place, she wouldn’t have made the same choice. She explained that while she understood the emotional pull of love, she could not approve of it as someone who had built a home and a life with Dharmendra long before stardom reshaped everything.
Dharmendra and Hema eventually married in 1980, reportedly converting to Islam to avoid a divorce, with Dharmendra taking the name Dilawar Khan and Hema becoming Aisha Bi. Their Nikah was a private affair and later, they honoured Hema’s tradition with an Iyengar-style ceremony. Their journey, marked by love, pain, commitment and controversy, continues to evoke strong emotions, especially now, as people look back at the choices that shaped all their lives.
