Hema Malini’s ‘haunting’ experience: Dream girl felt someone choking her every night in Mumbai home

Paranormal and haunting tales experienced by film actors often blur the line between superstition and lived reality, whispered quietly on film sets and remembered for decades. From eerie dreams to unexplained sensations, some stories refuse to fade with time. Among them stands a chilling chapter from Bollywood’s Dream Girl- Hema Malini and her paranormal experience.

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A Childhood Love for Green, Open Spaces

Having grown up in Chennai and Delhi, Hema Malini always felt drawn to homes surrounded by nature. Bungalows with trees, open air, and privacy gave her comfort, something she never quite found in Mumbai’s apartments. When she shifted to the city for work, flats made her feel constrained, both emotionally and physically, reinforcing her preference for independent houses.

A Father’s Surprise in South Mumbai

As recounted in Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s book Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl, her father once called her to Walkeshwar during a shoot break. There, she discovered he had purchased a sea-facing apartment for her.

Reflecting on that moment, she said, "He asked if I liked the flat. That was perhaps the first time I told him I didn't fancy staying in town (South Bombay) but wanted a house with lots of trees, just like the one we had in Chennai. It was then that he started looking for a bungalow in Juhu," revealing how strongly she felt about her living space.

Nights of Fear in a Bandra Apartment

Before finding her dream home, Hema stayed briefly in a small Bandra flat while shooting Sapno Ka Saudagar. What followed left a lasting impression.

"Every night, I felt someone was trying to choke me; I had difficulty breathing. I slept with my mother, and she noticed how restless I was. If it had happened only once or twice, we would have ignored it, but it occurred every night," she recalled, describing an experience that felt disturbingly real.

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Love, Change, and a New Beginning

During this period, Dharmendra often visited her for coffee, long before their relationship took shape. "I remember Dharmendra-ji would drop by for coffee, but back then I had no idea I would fall in love and marry him," she shared. Eventually, Hema bought her first Juhu bungalow, a property filled with trees and calm.

"We added extra rooms later. I loved it because of all the trees around," she said, finally finding peace.