Bollywood legend Dharmendra is “stable and recovering”, his daughter has said, after almost every media outlet declared him dead on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
The popular actor, known in the 80s as Bollywood’s ‘He-Man’, was admitted to the famous Breach Candy Hospital on November 10 after he complained of breathing issues while at home.
As news spread of the legendary star’s illness, his famous children started visiting one by one. Footage captured by paparazzi outside the hospital showed Dharmendra’s eldest son, the action star Sunny Deol, leaving from hospital looking visibly emotional. Some news outlets were quick to report that the 89-year-old had been put on a ventilator or had died, but Sunny’s team then put out a statement saying, “Dharamji is still in the hospital. Doctors have not advised him to go home. His condition is improving. He is being monitored and is not on a ventilator.”
Later in the night, A-listers of the Indian film industry, including superstars Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan, visited Dharmendra in hospital. His younger son, Bobby Deol, his wife Hema Malini and his daughter Esha Deol also visited the actor in hospital.
As fans prayed for Dharmendra, news outlets again jumped the gun late at night, saying that he had died. Early on the morning of November 11, Esha Deol took to Instagram to confirm that her father was recovering. In a blistering attack on media, she wrote: “The media seems to be in overdrive and spreading false news. My father is stable and recovering. We request everyone to give our family privacy. Thank you for the prayers for Papa’s speedy recovery.”
Dharmendra was born in what is now the Indian side of Punjab in 1935. The actor has a career that spanned over six decades, and included streaks of hits including his most famous role, smash hit Sholay’s Veeru. He has remained active in the industry even late in his career, last appearing on screen in 2024 in the film Teri Baaton Main Aisa Uljha Jiya.