Dharmendra’s first love wasn’t Prakash Kaur, Meena Kumari or Hema Malini- A childhood crush lost to Partition!

Bollywood’s evergreen icon Dharmendra left for his heavenly abode on Monday at the age of 89, after battling age-related complications, including breathlessness. His passing has created a deep void in Indian cinema, leaving fans and colleagues united in grief and remembrance. Amid the heartfelt tributes, an intimate chapter from his early life has once again captured public attention- his very first love story.

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Dharmendra’s Innocent First Crush!

During a memorable appearance on Salman Khan’s Dus Ka Dum, Dharmendra opened up to his son Bobby Deol about the tender, untouched love he experienced as a young boy growing up in pre-Partition Punjab. His first affection was for Hamida, his schoolteacher’s daughter- older, wiser, and blissfully unaware of the young boy’s admiration. He was in Class 6, she in Class 8, but even those two years felt like a world apart.

As quoted by Bollywood Shaadis, Dharmendra recalled those innocent, wordless emotions: "Hum man hi man mein kehte rehte the. Thandi aahen bharte rehte the. Samne wali ko maloom hi nahi tha."

Love That Stayed Silent, Expressed Only in Poetry

Unable to voice his feelings, the young Dharmendra poured his heart into poetry—lines he later recited on the show, penned long before the world changed in 1947. He remembered, "Main jab padhta tha, partition nahi hua tha - tab ki baat hai."

He further narrated the poem that captured his shy longing and said, "Main chhota tha, maasoom thi umar meri... naam Hamida tha."

It was a tender affection destined to remain incomplete. Partition tore their worlds apart- Dharmendra’s family stayed in India, while Hamida’s moved to Pakistan. Their paths never crossed again.

A Memory Etched Forever

He cherished not just her presence, but the warmth in her gestures. He remembered with a smile: "Yuhin muskura deti, main paas chala jaata... 'Sawaal kya hai, yaar?'"

These small moments- her quiet kindness, her soft reassurances- became everlasting memories of a love that never got a chance.

Life, Love, and the Relationships That Followed

Dharmendra’s journey of love took many turns afterward. In 1954, before fame embraced him, he married Prakash Kaur at the age of 19, and they welcomed four children, including Bollywood stars Sunny and Bobby Deol.

Whispers of a romance with Meena Kumari surfaced in the late 1960s, a relationship that lingered without ever reaching a conclusion- a bittersweet chapter of Bollywood lore.

Also Read: Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini’s half-written love story: The real reason they broke up, it wasn’t Dharmendra

His most celebrated love story came with Hema Malini, beginning on the sets of Tum Haseen Main Jawan in 1970. In 1979, the two reportedly embraced Islam to marry through nikah, as Hindu law did not permit a second marriage without divorce. The duo welcomed two daughters Esha and Ahana Deol.