Veteran actress Hema Malini has spoken about the family’s decision to hold a private funeral for Dharmendra, revealing that the actor’s final days were marked by severe suffering. Her comments were shared by UAE-based filmmaker Hamad Al Reyami, who met the actress during the mourning period and later posted a detailed account of their conversation on Instagram.
According to Hamad, he visited Hema Malini on the third day of mourning and found her trying to stay composed despite visible emotional strain.
In his note, he described seeing “an inner turmoil she was desperately trying to hide.” He added that their meeting, though the first one-on-one interaction between them, happened under circumstances that felt “painful, heartbreaking.”
Hamad recalled Hema Malini speaking softly about the memories that continued to trouble her.
“I wish I had been at the farm on the same day I was with Dharmendra two months ago… I wish I had seen him there,” she reportedly told him in a trembling voice.
She also shared how she would encourage the actor to publish his poetry and writings, only for him to respond, “Not now… let me finish some poems first.”
Hamad wrote that “time didn’t spare him, and he passed away,” leaving those works unpublished.
Hema Malini expressed another regret during the conversation. According to Hamad, she said, “Now strangers will come… they will write about him, they will compose books… while his own words never saw the light of day.”
The filmmaker said her frustration came from knowing how private Dharmendra was about his creative work, and how much of it remained unfinished.
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Speaking about the private funeral, Hema Malini told Hamad that the family struggled with the choice. She felt sadness for fans who wanted to bid farewell but insisted that the decision came from respecting Dharmendra’s dignity.
“She regretted his fans hadn't had the chance to see him one last time,” Hamad wrote, before adding that she explained her husband never wanted to appear vulnerable. “Dharmendra, throughout his life, never wanted anyone to see him weak or ill. He hid his pain even from his closest relatives. And after a person passes away, the decision rests with the family.”
Hamad said Hema paused, wiped a tear, and then spoke with painful clarity about her husband’s final days. “But what happened was a mercy… because, Hamad, you couldn’t have borne to see him in that state. His condition in his final days was cruel… painful… and even we could hardly bear to see him like that.”
Dharmendra died on November 24 at the age of 89, days before his 90th birthday. The veteran actor had been hospitalised earlier in the month and was later discharged to recover at home, but his health deteriorated. He was cremated in Mumbai on November 25, with Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and other industry figures attending. A prayer meet titled Celebration of Life was held last week, with several stars joining the Deol family to honour the late icon.
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