Hema credits her real-life romance with Dharmendra for 'Sholay' chemistry
What's the story
As the iconic Hindi film Sholay nears its 50th anniversary on Friday, actor Hema Malini has revealed how her real-life romance with co-star Dharmendra added to their on-screen chemistry. In a recent interview with NDTV, she said, "He was very fond of me as I was of him." "We had a lovely relationship because we had worked on so many movies together."
On-screen magic
'Friendship led to love, maybe that's what was reflected': Malini
Malini further elaborated on their off-screen bond, saying, "We shared so much with each other, sometimes there were problems, sometimes it was happiness." "Eventually, friendship led to love, maybe that's what was reflected on the big screen too in the film." "It's natural, isn't it? A lovely friendship ultimately leads to love and care for each other."
Career milestone
On-screen romance turned into love during 'Sholay'
The couple had previously worked together in several films before tying the knot. However, it was on the Sholay set that their friendship blossomed into love. Notably, Dharmendra was already married with children when he fell for Malini. The film, directed by Ramesh Sippy and written by Salim-Javed, is remembered for its memorable characters such as Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) and Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar).
Filming memories
Malini earlier spoke about shooting iconic 'mandir' scene
Earlier, Malini reminisced about filming the iconic mandir scene with Dharmendra. She said, "The mandir scene was the first scene I shot. It was a lot of fun." "So innocently, Basanti was accepting everything and answering back to Lord Shiva. Everything was very different." "Shooting happened outdoors in hot summers; I don't think we shot anything indoors." Meanwhile, Sholay's restored 4K version will be screened at TIFF 2025 on September 6 this year.