Dharmendra And Hema Malini Converted To Islam To Get Married, Changed Names To Dilawar And Ayesha

Dharmendra and Hema Malini are the most iconic couple of Bollywood. He was the handsome hero, who was swarmed by fans and admirers. She, on the other hand, was the ‘Dream Girl’ of Indian cinema. He was Punjabi, and she was a South Indian, yet the two fell in love. But the twist in their love story was Dharmendra’s marital status.

Yes, the actor was already married to Prakash Kaur, with whom he had four kids, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Vijeta, and Ajeeta. But despite it, Hema couldn’t stop herself from falling for Dharmendra. He, too, was smitten by her and decided to get married to her. Hema faced a lot of opposition from her parents, who even tried to fix her alliance with Jeetendra. But she eventually got married.

How did Dharmendra and Hema Malini fall in love?

Dharmendra and Hema Malini first crossed paths on the sets of the film, Tum Haseen Main Jawan in 1970. They soon became friends, and their chemistry was just magic. They looked so good together that their professional partnership continued, and they appeared together in over 40 films, including Razia Sultan, Aas Paas, Patthar Aur Payal, and Raja Jani.

Soon, their friendship turned into love, and their on-screen chemistry became evident. The iconic film Sholay is a standout, where their real-life closeness adds charm to the on-screen characters ‘Veeru’ and ‘Basanti’.

Dharmendra and Hema Malini converted to Islam to get married

Though Dharmendra was hopelessly in love with Hema Malini, he was committed to his first wife, Prakash, and their four kids. She refused to give him a divorce, and he, too, couldn’t desert her. So, without succumbing to external pressures, Dharmendra and Hema reportedly decided to get married, and converting to Islam was the only option.

Soon, rumours spread that Hema and Dharmendra converted to Islam and changed their names to Dilawar and Ayesha Bi for their nikaah in 1979, followed by an Iyengar wedding ceremony in 1980. They did so as questions about the legality of their marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act would be raised, given Dharmendra’s existing marriage. Neither Dharmendra nor Hema addressed the rumours. After their marriage, the couple welcomed their two daughters, Esha Deol, born in 1981, and Ahana Deol, born in 1985.

When Hema Maini addressed reports of her changed religion

Though chatter about Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s conversion to Islam died down, speculation gained wide attention in 2004 when Dharmendra contested the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party revealed that the actor only mentioned his first wife’s properties in his asset declaration and omitted any mention of Hema. When questioned about the same, Hema refused to comment on it and said:

“This is extremely personal between us. And we will sort it out between ourselves. Nobody else should bother about this.”

Hema was a member of the Rajya Sabha at that time, and the Congress party considered cancelling her nomination as they felt the actress gave wrong information about her name and religion. Hema dismissed the reports and stated:

“There is no truth in these allegations. I have nothing more to say about this.”

Dharmendra strongly reacted to the reports of his conversion to Islam

Hema Malini was not the only person to react strongly to the news of her conversion; Dharmendra also shut down the rumours in a throwback interview. In a 2004 interview with Outlook, Dharmendra fiercely dismissed the speculations about his conversion and said:

“This allegation is totally incorrect. I am not the kind of man who will change his religion to suit his interests.”

Did you know about Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s alleged conversion to Islam to get married? Let us know.

Also Read: Dharmendra Married Prakash Kaur At 19, She Defended His Affair, 'Any Man Would Have Preferred Hema'

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)