'Dharmendra will never marry you', when Dimple Kapadia told Hema Malini

'Dharmendra will never marry you', when Dimple Kapadia told Hema Malini

In recent weeks, Dharmendra’s health has again become a subject of concern. The 89-year-old veteran actor has been in and out of Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital due to age-related complications, leading to a wave of prayers and emotional tributes from fans and colleagues. At a time when many are looking back on his remarkable life and relationships, an anecdote from Hema Malini’s biography has resurfaced, capturing the emotional turbulence behind one of Bollywood’s most spoken-about love stories.

The moment comes from Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, where Hema Malini recalls her long-standing friendship with Dimple Kapadia and how Dimple, in a moment of frustration, once told her, “Dharmendra will never marry you.”

Their friendship began on film sets where Hema frequently worked with Rajesh Khanna. Dimple, newly married to Khanna at just 16, would often accompany him. Hema was nine years older, already established, but what formed between them had nothing to do with stardom. Hema remembered feeling immediately affectionate towards her. She described Dimple as a young girl thrust too quickly into adulthood. “This kid was all wrapped up in a big sari, with a jooda and bangles covering her arms. Then she had a baby soon after,” she recalled.

Hema saw loneliness more than glamour. “During the outdoor locations, she would sit there smoking and drinking, but I never felt it looked wrong or indecent. I know she was going through a lot of tension, and she was such a lonely girl. Rajesh used to shoot all day, and in the evenings, he would sit with his friends and chat late into the night and drink. She had no company.”

Also Read: When Bobby Deol reacted to Dharmendra's death scene in Rocky Aur Ranii Ki Prem Kahaani, said, "I couldn't stop crying and left"

At the same time, Hema herself was struggling emotionally. She was in love with Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur and was father to four children. Their relationship was public, intense, and uncertain.

Dimple later admitted that she projected her own frustrations into Hema’s situation. She said in the book, “You see, I was such a hot-headed person in those days that I’d get all worked up about her problems. I’d tell her things like, ‘This man (Dharmendra) is never going to marry you. You better sit up and do something about it.’ And if she had listened to me…”

Life, as it often does, unfolded differently. Dharmendra did eventually marry Hema Malini in 1980.

And now, as fans pray for his health, these stories remind us that behind the screen legends were two women trying to find their footing in love, friendship, and the world that watched them.