The iconic Bollywood couple, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, entered matrimony in 1980. However, in a remarkable display of respect, Hema chose to maintain a separate residence. She did not wish to disrupt Dharmendra's existing family life with his first wife, Prakash Kaur, and their children Sunny, Bobby, Vijeta, and Ajeita. Consequently, for a significant part of her life, the actress lived in a home situated just minutes away from Dharmendra's house in Mumbai's Juhu area.
The Quest for Greenery in a Concrete City
Long before her marriage, Hema Malini was on a determined hunt for the perfect home in Mumbai. Having grown up in Delhi and Chennai (then Madras), she was accustomed to spacious bungalows surrounded by nature. The compact apartment living that dominated Mumbai (then Bombay) never felt right to her. She yearned for a house with plenty of trees, a stark contrast to the city's typical high-rises.
Her father once tried to alleviate her discomfort by surprising her with a sea-facing apartment in South Mumbai's Walkeshwar area, reportedly purchased using her own earnings. As recounted in Ram Kamal Mukherjee's biography, 'Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl', she received a call from her father during a shoot. Upon visiting, she saw the sprawling apartment he had bought. "That was perhaps the first time I told him that I didn't fancy staying in town (south Bombay) but wanted instead a house with a lot of trees," she shared. This prompted her father to begin searching for a bungalow in Juhu.
Haunting Experiences and Establishing a Home
Hema's early days in Mumbai were marked by unsettling living arrangements. During the filming of her Hindi debut 'Sapno Ka Saudagar' with Raj Kapoor, she stayed in a small Bandra apartment primarily used for costume fittings by designer Bhanu Athaiya. She later moved to a bungalow, but the experience turned traumatic.
Describing the ordeal in the book, Hema revealed, "Every night I would feel someone was trying to choke me; I used to have difficulty breathing." The incidents occurred nightly, leaving her restless and shaken. This frightening chapter solidified her desire to establish a permanent and comfortable base in the city, leading her to purchase her first Mumbai apartment.
Finding Love and a Forever Home in Juhu
Reflecting on those early days, Hema recalled Dharmendra's casual visits. "I remember Dharam-ji would drop by for coffee, but back then I had no idea I would fall in love and get married to him," she said. Her dream of a home with trees materialized in 1972 while she was shooting 'Seeta Aur Geeta'. By then, a frequent co-star with Dharmendra, she bought her first bungalow in Juhu.
"It was a five-year-old bungalow that belonged to a Gujarati. We constructed extra rooms in the house later. I loved that house because it had lots of trees around it," Hema fondly remembered. This choice serendipitously placed her in the same neighborhood as Dharmendra, weaving their personal and professional lives closer together.
Despite the proximity, Hema and Prakash Kaur, Dharmendra's first wife, meticulously led separate lives and never crossed paths. Their worlds briefly connected years later during a family crisis. When Dharmendra's brother Ajit Deol was seriously ill, Hema's daughter Esha, then 30, visited Prakash's home. Esha recounted the poignant moment in the book, "I touched her feet, and she blessed me before leaving." This marked the first and only meeting between the two.
