Dharmendra (Dharam Singh Deol), a legendary Indian actor and producer, was born December 8, 1935, in Nasrali, Khanna, Punjab, India. Beginning his career in 1960, Dharmendra was considered a versatile actor, doing comedy, romance, and action for directors such as Bimal Roy, Ramesh Sippy, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Yash Chopra, and especially Arjun Hingorani. He was given the nicknames of “He-Man” and “Action King”. The handsome actor is most known for playing Viru, a friend of Amitabh Bachchan, in ‘Sholay’ (1975), one of the most popular and successful films of the last 50 years in Bollywood.  Other hits are ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Yaadon Ki Bhaart’, ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’, ‘Seeta aur Geeta’, ‘Dream Girl’, ‘Satyakam’, ‘Phool Aur Patthar’, and ‘Apna 2’.  Dharmendra received India’s third highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, from the Indian government in 2012.     He received a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 for his career spanning five and a half decades and over 300 films. Still active, his most recent releases are ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se’ (2018), the third film in a series also starring his sons, and ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem’ (2023). He also starred in Zee5’s period drama ‘Taj: Divided by Blood’ (2023). Dharmendra married iconic actress Hema Malini in 1980. He is the father of actors Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, and actress Esha Deol.