Govinda’s wife and content creator Sunita Ahuja recalled veteran actor Dharmendra as India’s true He Man who was largehearted and an inspiration. She attended his prayer meet, hosted by wife Hema Malini on Thursday at her home, and said that they are all feeling ‘broken’ by their loss.
Talking about the bhajan sandhya at Hema Malini’s home, Sunita said, “Hema ji had kept a path of Bhagavad Gita and bhajans. So, we all listened to the bhajans. I couldn’t stop crying in front of Hema ji.” When asked how Hema was dealing with her loss, she said “What can one say… it’s a huge loss. He was such a legend. I couldn’t stop crying. He was my childhood crush. I respect their family so much. I am really broken at the moment.”
Talking about a fond memory with Dharmendra, Sunita recalled, “I had performed with Dharam ji on Sony TV to ‘Chalkaye Jaam’. I had shared the stage with him… it was so special for me. I respect him and his family a lot. I’m very close to Esha Deol too… my whole family is. We are big fans of Dharmendra ji. In fact, I got married to Govinda because I felt he resembled Dharmendra. He is not that handsome; Dharmendra ji was the most handsome man in the industry. He was a true He Man of the industry and worked till the very last. He was a true desi, a largehearted man.”
She recalled meeting Dharmendra two months ago during Ganesh Chaturthi. “I met him two months earlier during Ganpati. I went with my son Yashvardhan. Esha had invited me for Ganpati. When Yash was born, I always wished that he had the qualities and looks of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra.”
She said her husband, actor Govinda had earlier met the Deol family to pay condolences. “Yash and I are very much in contact with Esha. Hema ji also loves us a lot. After Dharmendra ji passed away, Govinda had visited Sunny and Bobby Deol to pay condolences. I couldn’t go then as I was not in Mumbai. When I returned, I got to know about the prayer meet. So I went there on Thursday.” Besides Sunita and her son Yashvardan Ahuja, Mahima Chaudhry and Esha Deol’s ex-husband Bharat Takhtani were also in attendance here.
Dharmendra passed away on November 24. (Photo: Express Archive)
She said that she could not attend the prayer meet for Dharmendra at Taj Land’s End which was hosted by the Deol family. “I couldn’t go there. I just met Hema ji and Esha. Govinda went to pay tribute to Dharam ji at the prayer meet.”
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Dharmendra died on November 24 from age-related issues. He had been ailing for a few days and was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital. He was later shifted to the Deol home in Juhu as the family decided to continue his treatment at home. The Deol family hosted a prayer meet for the actor on Thursday which was attended by Bollywood celebs including Shah Rukh Khan and his family, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, Malaika Arora, Sanjay Dutt and many more. The family decided to celebrate the storied life of the actor and singer Sonu Nigam reportedly performed some of Dharmendra’s most popular songs.
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