Hema Malini

Lore & Background

Hema Malini was born in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family to Jaya Lakshmi and VSR Chakravarti Iyengar in Ammankudi, Madras Province (now Tamil Nadu). She made her acting debut in 1963 with the Tamil film Idhu Sathiyam, and first acted in a lead role in Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968), after which she was promoted as the 'Dream Girl'. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her dual role in the comedy Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), and was nominated ten more times leading up to Baghban (2003). She married Dharmendra on 2 May 1980, with whom she had two daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol Vohra.

Malini's political career began when she campaigned for BJP candidate Vinod Khanna in 1999, and she officially joined the BJP in February 2004. She served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 2003 to 2009, and later as a nominated member from 2011 to 2012. In the 2014 general elections, she defeated incumbent Jayant Chaudhary by 3,30,743 votes to win the Mathura Lok Sabha seat, and retained it in 2019 and 2024, making a hat-trick. She has also been involved with charitable and social ventures, and is a life member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Reader's Guide

Hema Malini's significance lies in her dual career as a leading actress of Hindi cinema and a prominent politician. As an actress, she starred in both comic and dramatic roles, earning a Filmfare Best Actress Award for Seeta Aur Geeta and a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2000, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, and received an honorary doctorate from Sir Padampat Singhania University in 2012. Her political career saw her serve as a Rajya Sabha member and later as a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Mathura, representing the BJP. She also served as chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation. Her legacy includes contributions to Indian cinema and culture, recognized by awards such as the NTR National Award in 2013 and the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the 52nd International Film Festival of India in 2021. Her support for animal rights through PETA India further underscores her public engagement.