Veteran actor and BJP MP Hema Malini hosted a prayer meeting on Thursday in Delhi for her husband and the late film icon, Dharmendra, who died on November 24 at the age of 89 after a brief illness. The gathering was held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre on Janpath, New Delhi, and began at around 3.30 pm. After prayer meets in Mumbai, Hema Malini organised the meet along with her daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol, and her son-in-law, Vaibhav Vohra.
Dignitaries attend Dharmendra`s prayer meet in Delhi
The prayer meet marked a second memorial gathering for the legendary actorheld by Hema Malini. It witnessed the attendance of several political leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister of Railways and Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of State Jitendra Singh, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prahlad Joshi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and BJP MPs Kangana Ranaut, Harsh Malhotra and Bansuri Swaraj.
Esha Deol`s ex-husband, businessman Bharat Takhtani, was also present at the prayer meet.
Notably, along with Hema Malini, Dharmendra`s eldest son, actor Sunny Deol, had also hosted a separate prayer meeting for Dharmendra on November 27. This was attended by Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Tiger Shroff, Vidya Balan, Anil Sharma, Utkarsh Sharma, Aryan Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Suresh Oberoi.
Hema Malini`s emotional speech
Hema Malini addressed the crowd at the prayer meet by delivering an emotional speech remembering her late husband. She said, “Aaj ki is prarthana sabha mein aap sab ka swagat karte hue, main bahut hi bhavuk ho rahi hoon. Maine kabhi nahi socha tha ki meri zindagi mein aisa ek pal aayega, jab mujhe bhi yeh shok sabha rakhni padegi, woh bhi mere Dharam ji ke liye. The whole world is mourning his passing, but for me, it is an inconsolable shock, the breaking of a companionship that stood the test of time.”
Amit Shah`s speech
Amit Shah also remembered the legendary actor in his speech at the prayer meet saying, “I never had a personal meeting with Dharmendra ji. Once he called me when Hema ji became an MP. He had written a letter… He was worried that Hema ji should win from her constituency with a good vote margin – he mentioned this in the letter – and that’s exactly what happened; Hema ji won by a very good margin.”
“Dharmendra ji was a man with a very clean and pure heart. Today, I have come here as a fan of Dharmendra ji; I have not come here as the Home Minister. Dharmendra ji entered the film industry at a time when there wasn’t much money, nor the kind of luxury we see today. Through sheer hard work and dedication, he achieved that stature. The same person who could play a character like the one in Sholay could also play a completely different kind of role in Chupke Chupke,” he added.
Amit Shah concluded saying, “I have watched many of Dharmendra ji’s films that are connected with patriotism. I have watched his film Aankhen many times. Even back then, it felt as though this was a true patriot; this wasn’t just acting. The whole world knows that Dharm ji was a farmer’s son and loved the country deeply. Even at the age of 90, Dharmendra ji’s departure is a great loss. May God grant peace to his noble soul. Vande Mataram!”