MUMBAI — Dharmendra Deol, who became one of India's most prominent actors and a Bollywood action hero, died in Mumbai on Monday, Nov. 24, according to local media. He was 89.
Dharmendra, who is survived by two wives and six children, had been ill for the past month and died at home, local media reported. There was no official statement from the actor's family, but several of his contemporaries, including actor Amitabh Bachchan, gathered at a crematorium in the Mumbai suburb of Juhu for his funeral.
"A massive mega star, the embodiment of a hero in mainstream cinema," producer and director Karan Johar, who cast Dharmendra in his 2023 film "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani" (Rocky and Rani's Love Story), wrote in an Instagram post.
Known to his legion of fans by his first name, Dharmendra acted in more than 300 films in a career spanning more than six decades.
Born in Punjab province in 1935, Dharmendra won a talent show organized by a film magazine, moving to Mumbai and acting in his first film in 1960. In the years that followed, he appeared in everything from arthouse films to soft romances to action films and goofy comedies, making him the top actor of his generation.
