MUMBAI — The death of 89-year-old Bollywood heartthrob Dharmendra on Monday at his home in the Indian city of Mumbai has struck a grieving Indian cinema, his family told Reuters on Monday in a lengthy report where doctors also were quoted about the death. “बॉलीवुड “ही-मैन” अक्टर हेमा को “He-Man” of Hindi cinema. The late actor was discharged from Breach Candy Hospital earlier this month and was being treated at home for age-related issues on Nov. 24, 2025.
National tributes, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, described Dharmendra’s passing as “the end of an era in Indian cinema,” and paid homage to the octogenarian actor as an “iconic film personality–the actor who made everyone’s hearts flutter with his outstanding portrayal in all roles.” (Quoted from the Indian Express.) The former lawmaker and screen idol’s death was a “great loss to Indian cinema whose work would continue to inspire upcoming artists for generations,” President Droupadi Murmu said.
The news of Dharmendra’s death brought a torrent of condolence messages from the film fraternity, with Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, and more turning out to pay their respects at the Pawan Hans crematorium in Vile Parle. An NDTV photo report showed long lines of stars and fans waiting to salute the “Sholay” star one final time.
Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol conducted the last rites as priests of Hindu rituals chanted inside his Juhu bungalow while hundreds had gathered outside shouting their name, an Indian Express live blog reported. And a number of premieres and promotional events were canceled across the city, as producers and guilds declared that the day amounted to a de facto industry shutdown in his honor.
Over a career that spanned more than six decades, Dharmendra appeared in more than 300 films and became one of the most bankable stars of Hindi cinema, a body count the news agency Associated Press chronicled when he died. Emerging from his 1960 debut “Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere,” he struck gold with hits like “Phool Aur Patthar,” “Aaye Din Bahar Ke,” Mera Gaon Mera Desh,” and the iconic 1975 blockbuster “Sholay.
Labeled Bollywood’s “He-Man” for his muscular physique and daredevil persona, Dharmendra combined action with romance and comedy in movies such as “Seeta Aur Geeta,” “Chupke Chupke,” “Yaadon Ki Baaraat” and “Satyakam.” In later years, he rebranded himself in cameo roles in “Life in a… Metro, “Yamla Pagla Deewana,” “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” and “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.”
“Dharmendra died,” Imran Jafri. Long before Dharmendra breathed his last, industry watchers were noting his astounding longevity. The 2020 Box Office India retrospective, coinciding with his 60 years since first release, described him as one of the legends of Hindi cinema, and a 2023 Economic Times feature listed 10 key films that illustrated his range from tender drama to out-and-out masala entertainers.
He finally received state recognition in India with the Padma Bhushan for his work in cinema in 2012 (a moment captured by NDTV in a gallery of 2012 images). Dharmendra later served as a member of Parliament from Bikaner for the Bharatiya Janata Party from 2004 to 2009, while still acting and producing.
Dharmendra was born Dec. 8, 1935, in the village of Nasrali in Punjab and rose from farming roots to film magazines and then to Bombay after winning a talent search, according to an online biography. He married Prakash Kaur before he ventured into movies, and later married Bollywood actor Hema Malini, with whom he has two daughters. Through his first marriage, he also has two sons (actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol) and two more daughters. Between them, they are all actors.
His fans had followed his poor health closely this year as he underwent eye surgery and multiple trips to the hospital for breathing problems, and even fielded an onslaught of false death reports earlier in November that his family debunked publicly. That trembling made confirmed news of Dharmendra’s death on Monday sound at once devastating and, to the movie star’s many fans, tragically inevitable.
His last onscreen role will be in the posthumous war drama “Ikkis,” directed by Sriram Raghavan and co-starring Agastya Nanda, so his presence is set to remain for at least one more big release. Colleagues say the swagger, warmth, and vulnerability he brought to the camera are bound to keep his movies a touchstone for generations of filmgoers, regardless of Dharmendra’s death.
