Hema Malini

Date of Birth : 16 Oct 1948

Place of Birth : Trichy, Tamil Nadu

Biography :

Mother of Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. Step-mother of Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. Daughter of Jaya Chakravarthy.The second South Indian actress after Vyjayanthimala to become a major Hindi film star. Ironically, Hema's career almost ended before it began. Her first director threw her out of a Tamil film he was directing, saying she had no star appeal. Hema resolved she would make it big where it mattered the most: Bollywood. Hema Malini began her film career opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968) where she became labeled the "Dream Girl". She had a glorious reign as a leading actress during the 70's, even winning the Filmfare Best Actress award for Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), but in the early 80's, she decided to concentrate on 'character' roles, often those with feminist undertones. Both actors Jeetendra and Sanjeev Kumar proposed marriage to Hema, but it was Dharmendra, with whom she formed a hugely successful on-screen couple, that won her hand in the end. She defied the conventional norm at the time by becoming his second wife and continuing to work after having children. In an effort to re-establish herself as a classical dancer (she is an expert Bharatnatyam dancer), she directed TV serials such as "Noopur" (1990) and "Women of India" in 1996. Hema Malini was awarded the 'Padma Bhushan' in 1999 for her contribution to Indian Cinema. Born in the village Ammankudi, located in the District of Trichy, Tamil Nadu, to V.S. Ramanujam Chakravarti and Jaya Chakravarti. Set up a Natya Vihar Kalakendra, an institution dedicated to create, spread and present the age old Indian mythological themes from the epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and other ancient scriptures through the medium of dance. In 2003 was nominated to the Rajya Sabha (Parliament of India), serving on the Committee of External Affairs as an MP. In 2004, actress-turned-politician Hema formally joined the BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party). Served as Chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) from 2000-03.