Veteran journalist and movie critic Bhawana Somaaya just lately mirrored on an period when Bollywood celebrities fiercely protected their non-public lives, and even intimate milestones like weddings and pregnancies had been evaded public scrutiny. Whereas opening up on how stars additionally maintained secrecy earlier, she recalled Hema Malini’s marriage to Dharmendra. She additional added how they even managed to maintain the being pregnant beneath wraps. “Earlier, the whole lot was personalised. There have been a handful of newspapers and a handful of magazines. All people knew everyone by identify. In our time, we had been extra pleasant to every star individually than the celebrities had been to one another. No person instructed you that that is off-record and that is on-record. You got here from that sort of household, that sort of values and custom, that you wouldn’t betray your individual sister or your aunt. It was simply so natural,” Somaaya recalled in an interview with ANI. For example of the discreet tradition that when prevailed, she remembered Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s marriage ceremony, which was broadly identified inside the business but evaded headlines. Sharing how their union was lastly confirmed, she mentioned, “All people knew about their marriage. The primary time Dharamji mentioned, ‘I am married to her’, it was for my journal. I used to be not the editor; I used to be a reporter. We went to Movie Metropolis and simply needed to take one line from them – ‘I am married to her’. We waited for 4 hours. As quickly as we obtained that, we left.” The veteran journalist revealed that it was Dharmendra who first shared the information with everybody and never Hema Malini. She additional revealed that Hema Malini’s being pregnant was dealt with with related secrecy, with a number of hospitals booked to keep away from consideration. “No person knew the place Hema Malini was going to ship. She was appearing when she was pregnant. She used to say how everyone realised that she had gained weight. However she has such an exquisite face, and nothing about her look gave away her being pregnant. She used to get into that costume and even carried out Bharatanatyam,” Somaaya mentioned. She additional added, “When she was pregnant, he booked many hospitals so no one knew the place would ship. This was to mislead the media.” Dharmendra and Hema Malini first met in 1970 on the units of ‘Tum Haseen Foremost Jawan’, the place they performed the lead pair. Their love steadily blossomed, culminating of their marriage ceremony in 1980. The 2 went on to turn into dad and mom to daughters Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.Dharmendra, affectionately known as Hindi cinema’s “He-Man,” handed away on November 24, 2025, leaving followers, colleagues, and all the nation grieving his demise.