Happy birthday, Hema Malini: A look at some of the actor's best works

Hema Malini is popularly known as the dream girl of Indian Cinema. She has ruled the industry with her beauty, acting skills and graceful dance moves. Having worked in almost 100 films, in a career spanning over five decades, the veteran actor was honoured with Filmfare Special Award for 50 Years of Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.

She made her acting debut in 1963 with the Tamil film ‘Idhu Sathiyam’. In 1968, she starred opposite Raj Kapoor in ‘Sapno Ka Saudagar’. She frequently did movies with actor Dharmendra, whom she married in 1980. Hema and Dharmendra’s on-screen chemistry was remarkable and assured film’s box office success.

On Hema Malini’s 74th birthday, let’s take a look at some of her movies that can’t be missed.

Seeta aur Geeta (1972)
The comedy-drama was directed by Ramesh Sippy and written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The movie, which was a huge crowd-pleaser, narrated the story of identical twins who were born to a millionaire and were separated at birth due to the selfishness of a childless woman. Hema earned Best Actress Filmfare award for the film.

Sharafat (1970)
This was Hema Malini’s first film with husband-actor Dharmendra. In this film, Hema portrayed the role of Chandni, a courtesan, while Dharmendra played Rajesh, a college professor who falls in love with her. A man wants Rajesh to marry his daughter, but is dismayed to learn that he has been visiting a brothel frequently.

Sholay (1975)
This Ramesh Sippy directorial is one of the most iconic Bollywood films ever made. It narrates the story of a retired policeman, who summons small-time thieves to help him capture a notorious dacoit - Gabbar. Hema played the role of Basanti and left the audience mesmerised. It is a perfect blend of all cinematic elements.

Dream Girl (1977)
The film earned Hema Malini the tag of ‘Dream Girl’. Directed by Pramod Chakravorty, the film also stars Dharmendra and Ashok Kumar in pivotal roles. In the film, Hema portrays the role of Sapna, a beautiful woman, who cons wealthy people to fund an orphan home. She meets a wealthy boy and acts to be a rich princess, but somehow her past reveals that she was once a prostitute.

Raja Jani (1972)
The Mohan Segal directorial revolves around the life of a queen and her quest for her grand-daughter, who went missing at the age of 12. A conman devises a scheme to present a replica of a long-lost princess and defraud the princess’ family of their money but the plan led him to various consequences. In the film, Hema portrayed the role of a street dancer.

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