Dharmendra, Bollywood Leading Man, Dies at 89

In a career spanning nearly seven decades and more than 300 productions, he became widely popular, and wealthy, playing heroes and thieves.

Dharmendra, a Bollywood actor of easygoing machismo who became one of India’s most versatile stars, playing swoon-worthy romantic leads, flashy action heroes and witty comics in a career spanning nearly seven decades, died on Monday in Mumbai. He was 89.

The cause was not immediately clear, but he had been in and out of the hospital recently with ailment, according to local news media outlets that reported his death. His family was not available to comment.

Dharmendra, nicknamed He-Man for his rugged appeal, appeared in more than 300 productions. He started in romance dramas aimed at mostly female audiences in the early 1960s but soon shifted to male-oriented action fare, which remained one of his primary genres amid forays into comedy.

His best-remembered films included “Phool Aur Patthar” (1966), in which he played a virile but softhearted criminal; “Mera Gaon Mera Desh” (1971), in which his character transforms from a thief to village protector; “Chupke Chupke” (1975), a blockbuster romantic comedy of errors in which he portrayed a professor who disguises himself as a driver as part of an elaborate practical joke; and “Sholay” (1975), an action-adventure in which he played one of two petty criminals, the other portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, hired by a retired policeman to capture a ruthless villain.

“Sholay” was a blockbuster that enjoyed a “silver jubilee” run, meaning it was shown for 25 weeks straight in more than 100 theaters across India. Celebrating friendship and camaraderie, the film has gained cult status in Hindi cinema for its memorable dialogue and songs.

This month, the entertainment journalist Rajiv Vijayakar, who wrote a biography of the actor, said in an interview, “There’s no role he cannot do,” adding, “You cannot slot him into a pigeonhole.”

By Dharmendra’s own telling, he was least comfortable when asked to dance, although by most accounts he acquitted himself admirably in “Pratiggya” (1975), in which he created impromptu steps.

“I used to tell the director bluntly that I don’t understand the meaning of dance,” he told the Indian newspaper The Sunday Guardian. “I used to catch the rhythm. I did my own thing, and the dance steps became famous.”

Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol was born on Dec. 8, 1935, in the Punjab region of British-ruled India. He grew up in the village of Sahnewal, where his father was a school headmaster.

Dharmendra said he was mesmerized as a child watching “Shaheed,” a 1948 romantic drama set amid Indian independence and starring Dilip Kumar. It made him want to become an actor, he said.

“My big dream and prayer to God was my pictures being there everywhere, just like my idols were seen all over,” he told Mr. Vijayakar in a 2009 newspaper interview. “I was not bothered whether I earned no money, little money, or a lot. My goal was very simple — one flat and one Fiat!” (He eventually owned a fleet of luxury cars.)

He said that his father had discouraged him from acting, hoping that he would follow him into teaching instead, but that his mother had been more encouraging. He supported himself initially as a mechanic for a drilling company before winning a talent contest organized by an entertainment magazine.

Dharmendra’s telegenic looks propelled him to the attention of the influential producer-director Bimal Roy, who elevated him to stardom in “Bandini” (1963), playing a handsome prison doctor. Dharmendra cemented his heart-fluttering reputation in “Anupama” (1966) as a poet and school teacher.

He continued acting onscreen through his later years and impressed critics in the hard-boiled crime thriller “Johnny Gaddaar,” released in 2007. He won awards for his contributions to Indian cinema and also received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors.

As a film star, Dharmendra reportedly amassed a fortune from endorsements and investments, including the restaurant chains Garam Dharam Dhaba and He-Man.

In 2004, he was elected to the lower house of the Indian Parliament as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was reportedly criticized for being inattentive to constituents. Dharmendra later described his decision to run for office as impulsive and spoke of his time in office with regret. Of politics, he said, “I can’t play the game of scoundrels.”

He married Prakash Kaur in 1954, and they had four children, including their sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, both of whom became Bollywood actors. Dharmendra’s second marriage, in 1980, was to the actress and politician Hema Malini, his frequent co-star, and they had two children, one of whom, Esha Deol, is also an actress.

Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.

In 2017, Dharmendra told The Sunday Guardian that he would never write a memoir, and he dismissed the idea of a biopic of his life.

“People forget films easily,” he said. “People should remember you despite the lack of any biography or biopic.”

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