I caught India’s Dream Girl Hema Malini in a very forthright mood on the eve of her birthday on October 16 when she told me she had received the best gift of her life. “Someone has put all my films on an iPad. For the first time I am able to access all my films from the time I entered the film industry to the present day. Would you believe it, I had never seen any of films in a complete form before,” says the forever-beautiful actress who has bedazzled audiences for over fifty years.
Hemaji admits watching herself in her blockbusters from the past was a revelation. “My reaction on seeing myself on screen was, ‘My God, who is this beautiful girl?’ Yes I am admitting I was very beautiful.”
For the first time, Hemaji has admitted to being a beauty. “I never took the compliments seriously before. People always said I was beautiful. It is only after seeing my films that I realize what they meant.”
Hemaji juggles many roles at the same time. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, actress politician, she admits it isn’t easy juggling all these roles. “It requires a lot of serious time management. Bahot adjustment karna padta hai. Suddenly if I am called to my constituency I am not always able to rush there, I have to remind my constituency of my other duties.”
I remind her that Dharmendra and Hema Malini made the most beautiful on screen couple. She laughs, “Dharmendra is definitely the most handsome man I’ve ever met. That is why I married him. I guess we do make a beautiful couple. I enjoyed doing films with him, especially Sharafat, Raj Jani, Dillagi, Razia Sultan and Sholay.”
Her birthday wish? “Dharamji and I should remain healthy. The love that we receive from fans is like oxygen for our souls. Please keep showering your affections on us.”
