When Esha Deol learnt about Dharmendra’s first marriage with Prakash Kaur at school, says he never stayed home at night: ‘You have two moms?’

But the question kept troubling her, and she confronted her mother when she reached home. It was at this point that Hema Malini told her the truth. “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 and added, “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.”

ALSO READ | When Esha Deol visited Dharmendra’s house first time in 30 years, touched step-mother Prakash Kaur’s feet: ‘Sunny bhaiya made arrangements’

Esha Deol admitted that despite learning about her father’s past, she never harboured disappointment. “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 also recalled that she grew up not having her father around at night. She shared that he would have dinner with them but would then leave the house, and her upbringing made this feel normal. “When I was younger, I used to go to my friends’ houses where I would see both parents being around. That’s when I realised 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,” she said.

Dharmendra passed away on November 24 due to age-related ailments. A prayer meeting was organised by Dharmendra’s first wife, Prakash Kaur, and sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol on Thursday. However, his second wife, Hema Malini, and their daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol, gave it a miss. Later, Govinda’s wife Sunita Ahuja revealed that Hema Malini had organised a Gita paath and bhajan sandhya in Dharmendra’s memory at her residence.