“Today we can laugh over it, but at that time it wasn’t funny. Strangely, my father had no problems with Dharam-ji other than the one related to me. In fact, they got along so well whenever I wasn’t around. They would always be laughing and I would want to freeze the moment. If only they could be like that forever. Everyone in my family adored him … just not as a prospective son-in-law. It’s difficult for me to describe what I went through in those days. I liked him – I couldn’t deny that he was attractive and strong and there was an air of serenity about him. I tried turning away from him. But I couldn’t. There was something inherently good about him. One day, while we were shooting, he suddenly asked me if I loved him. I began to blush and replied indirectly “I will only marry the person I love.” That was my only answer…”
It was at the premier of a K.A. Abbas film, Asmaan Mahal, that Hema Malini met Dharmendra. ‘I remember Ananthaswami had told my mother…