When Dharmendra talked about his first love — not Hema Malini or Prakash Kaur, but Hamida, his childhood crush before partition

When Dharmendra talked about his first love story before partition

Fans of Bollywood legend Dharmendra recently went through a rollercoaster of emotions after the 89-year-old actor faced a health scare and rumours of his death circulated online. The veteran star, who had been dealing with age-related issues including breathlessness, was reported to be well enough to return home on 12 November 2025.

Amidst this, a story of his first love has come in light.

Dharmendra opened about his first love story during a heartwarming conversation with his son Bobby Deol on Salman Khan’s Dus Ka Dum.

Growing up in a small village in Punjab before the 1947 Partition, Dharmendra fell for Hamida, the daughter of his schoolteacher, who was slightly older than him. He was in the sixth standard, she in the eighth.

As quoted by Bollywood Shaadis, he talked about the naive times of desire and adoration during his early infatuation:

"Hum man hi man mein kehte rehte the. Thandi aahen bharte rehte the. Samne wali ko maloom hi nahi tha (We used to keep saying it to ourselves in our hearts. We would sigh quietly. The girl in front didn’t know at all)"

Hamida never knew about his feelings, and Dharmendra never confessed them. Instead, he captured his emotions in a poem, which he later shared on the show. He explained it was written before Partition, "Main jab padhta tha, partition nahi hua tha — tab ki baat hai (I used to study then, it was before partition)"

He also recited a poem on his story, "Main chhota tha, maasoom thi umar meri. Woh kya thi, pata nahi. Paas jaane ko jiske, saath baithne ko jiske ji chahta tha. Woh taliba thi aathvi ki, main chhathi ka tha. Hamare school teacher ki beti thi, naam Hamida tha (I was small, my age was innocent. Who she was, I didn’t really know. The one I longed to go near, the one I wanted to sit beside. She was an eighth-grade student, I was in the sixth. She was the daughter of our school teacher, her name was Hamida.")

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They were cruelly split apart by partition; Dharmendra's family remained in India, while Hamida's family moved to Pakistan. He never saw them again, but the memory remained. He recalled her kind assurances with fondness:

"Yuhin muskura deti, main paas chala jaata. Woh khaamosh rehti, main sar jhuka deta. Woh poochti kuch aur thi, main keh kuch aur jaata tha. Woh kehti, 'Udaas mat ho, Dharam. Abhi waqt hai, tere imtihaan mein sab theek ho jaayega.' Keh kar chali jaati, main dekhta rehta. Woh ojhal ho jaati, main sochta rehta, 'Sawaal kya hai, yaar?' ("She would just smile, and I would walk closer. She remained silent, and I would bow my head. She would ask something, and I would say something else. She would say, 'Don’t be sad, Dharam. There’s still time; everything will be fine in your tests.' Saying this, she would walk away, and I would keep watching. She would disappear, and I would keep thinking, 'What exactly is the question, yaar?'")

Eventually, Dharmendra’s heart found fulfilment with two remarkable women. He married Prakash Kaur in 1954 at the age of 19, before Bollywood fame, and they had four children, including Sunny and Bobby Deol.

His romance with Hema Malini began on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawan in 1970, and in 1979, they reportedly converted to Islam for a nikah ceremony, as Hindu law prevented him from marrying her without divorcing his first wife.