Esha and Sunny with Dharmendra. (courtesy: iameshadeol)
Legendary actor Dharmendra turns 88 today. The "He-Man of Bollywood" has gifted us many iconic hits in the last several decades, and continues to impress fans with his acting prowess. A recent example is his stunning performance in Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. On the special day, the entire film industry is showering him with messages and best wishes. Dharmendra's daughter, Esha Deol has shared a series of pictures on Instagram to celebrate her father's special day. In the snapshots, the father-daughter duo can be seen sitting on a sofa. In the caption, she wrote a heartfelt note: “Happy birthday, my darling papa. Love you. I pray for you to always be happy, healthy, and strong. I just love you so much,” along with evil-eye, heart, hug, heart-eyed face, flexed bicep, kiss, and thumbs up emojis.
Esha Deol's brother, Bobby Deol, who is currently riding high on the success of Animal, was among the first to react to these pictures. He posted red heart emojis. Filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee also extended his wishes to Dharmendra by writing, “Happy Birthday Dharam ji. Have a great year ahead. Stay healthy and happy always,” accompanied by a red heart emoji.
To mark his father's birthday, Sunny Deol, Dharmendra's eldest son, also shared pictures from what appeared to be a mountain trip. The father and son were captured enjoying beverages in their effortlessly stylish holiday outfits. The Gadar 2 actor captioned the post with the wish: “Happy Birthday Papa Love You.”
Dharmendra's youngest child, Ahana Deol, also shared a special picture with her father. In her Instagram Stories, she posted a selfie capturing the essence of father-daughter love. Tagging Dharmendra in the photo, Ahana wrote, “Happy birthday to my first love. The strongest and most loving man I know.”
From his first marriage with Parkash Kaur, Dharmendra has four children - Sunny, Bobby Vijeeta and Ajeeta. He also married Hema Malini and the couple have two daughters, Esha and Ahana Deol.
Apart from his iconic role as Veeru in Sholay, Dharmendra has delivered many memorable performances in movies such as Seeta Aur Geeta, Jagir, Guddi, Shalimar and Yamla Pagla Deewana, among others.