Career Hema Malini

Film career

After small parts in Tamil films in the 1960s, she got her first lead role opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968), whose makers promoted her as the "Dream Girl". Hits such as Johny Mera Naam (1970), Andaz (1971) and Lal Patthar (1971) made her a leading star. Her double role in Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Through the 1970s and early 1980s she was one of the top-paid actresses in Hindi cinema, starring in Sholay (1975) as the talkative tangewali Basanti, Dharmatma, Trishul, Dream Girl (1977), Kranti, Naseeb and Satte Pe Satta. She paired with Dharmendra in about 28 films. She also directed and produced Dil Aashna Hai (1992), Mohini (1995) and Tell Me O Kkhuda (2011).

Her comeback in Baghban (2003), opposite Amitabh Bachchan, earned her another Filmfare nomination. Her later films include Baabul (2006), Sadiyaan (2010), Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi (2017) and Shimla Mirchi (2020).

Dance

A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she runs the Natya Vihar Kalakendra dance school and has staged dance dramas across India, often with her daughters. In January 2024 she played Sita in a dance-drama on the Ramayana in Ayodhya around the Ram Mandir consecration.

Political career

Hema Malini campaigned for the BJP from 1999 and formally joined the party in 2004. She was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 2003 to 2009, and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in 2011. She also served as a BJP general secretary.

In the 2014 general election she won Mathura, defeating RLD's Jayant Chaudhary by 3,30,743 votes. She retained the seat in 2019 and again in 2024, when she defeated Congress candidate Mukesh Dhangar by 2,93,407 votes to complete a hat-trick.

Other work

In 2000 she became the first woman to chair the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). She has edited the women's magazine Meri Saheli and is a long-time supporter of animal-welfare causes; PETA India named her its Person of the Year in 2011.