Esha Deol was in Class 4 when Hema Malini told her that Dharmendra was ‘married to another lady, had a family’: ‘Nothing wrong with it’

Hema Malini told Esha Deol about Dharmendra's first wife Prakash Kaur and his family when she was in fourth standard after she was teased at school.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 26, 2024 08:07 PM IST

3 min read

Esha Deol with her parents Hema Malini and Dharmendra. (Photo: Esha Deol/Instagram)

Hema Malini and Dharmendra aren’t a conventional married couple and while growing up, their children Esha and Ahana Deol always didn’t now that this wasn’t how a conventional family worked. Esha, who later worked worked in the movies when she grew up, was completely oblivious about the family that his father had across the road from their house but she learnt about it when she was just in fourth standard.

In Hema Malini’s biography ‘Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl’ by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, Esha recalled the she was in fourth standard when a classmate asked her “You have two moms, right?” Esha was completely shocked as she heard this question and responded almost immediately. “I immediately snapped back at my classmate, saying, ‘What rubbish! I have only one mother’,” Esha said. But, as soon as she came back home, she spoke to her mother about this conversation at school.

“But the moment I reached home, I told my mom that a friend was asking me this question. I think it was at that point of time that my mom decided to tell me the truth. Imagine, we were in the fourth standard and had no idea about anything Nowadays kids are much smarter,” she said. Esha said that it was at this point that her mother Hema told her that her father Dharmendra had another family.

ALSO READ | Hema Malini was called ‘first lady of second marriages’ when she married Dharmendra, chose to live the way she wanted to: ‘All I wanted was happiness’

“So, that was when I understood that my mother had married someone who was already married to another lady and that they also had a family. But frankly speaking, I never felt bad about it. Till today, I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. And I give full credit to my parents for not making us ever feel uncomfortable,” she said.

Esha shared that Dharmendra would come and share a meal with them everyday but he wouldn’t stay back. In fact, if he ever stayed back, they would wonder if he was alright. She shared, “When I was younger, I used to go to my friends’ houses where I would see both parents being around. That’s when I realized that it’s normal to have dads around too. But somehow, we were groomed in a way that it didn’t affect me much. I was very content with my mother and I loved my father.”

Dharmendra was already married to Prakash Kaur and had four children when he married Hema Malini.

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