• By Swati Singh
  • Sat, 23 Aug 2025 07:50 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Dharmendra stirred controversy in the B-town industry when he married actress Hema Malini despite being married to first wife Prakash Kaur. After this big step, Dharmendra was labelled a 'womaniser' by many, except for Kaur, who defended him, saying "Any man would have preferred Hema over me." In a 1981 interview with Stardust, Prakash Kaur questioned, "Why only my husband? How dare anyone call my husband a womaniser when half the industry is doing the same thing?"

Prakash Kaur said that all heroes are having affair and doing second marriage, adding, "He may not be the best husband, though he is very good to me, but he is certainly the best father. His children love him a lot. He never neglects them."

She further added, "I can understand what Hema is going through. Even she has to face the world, her relatives and her friends. But if I were in Hema's place, I would not have done what she did. For, as a woman, I can understand her feelings. But as a wife and a mother, I do not approve of them."

After his first marriage to Prakash Kaur in 1954, when he was just 19 years old, Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980. The 87-year-old actor has two daughters, Ajieta Deol and Vijeta Deol, and two sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, with his first wife.

ALSO READ: Do You Know Hema Malini Never Met Dharmendra Deol's First Wife Prakash Kaur? All We Know

In her biography Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl, written by journalist and filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee, Malini had stated, according to DNA, “I didn’t want to disturb anyone. I am happy with whatever Dharamji did for me and my daughters. He played the role of a father, like any father would do. I guess I am happy with that. Today I am a working woman and I have been able to maintain my dignity because I have devoted my life to art and culture.”

“I guess, if the situation was even slightly different from this, I wouldn’t be what I am today. Though I have never spoken about Prakash, I respect her a lot. Even my daughters respect Dharamji’s family. The world wants to know about my life in detail, but that is not for others to know. It’s no one’s business,” she further explained.