Esha Deol Says Dad Dharmendra 'Wanted To Keep Us More Private': 'He's More Protective As A Male'

Esha Deol comes from an illustrious family of actors. Her parents are veteran actors Hema Malini and Dharmendra and her half-brothers are Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. However, unlike their case, Esha’s acting journey has been a tough one, with some credit to Dharmendra’s reservations.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Esha said, “When I wanted to join movies, it was a little… to get the green signal to join films, but once that happened, Boney ji (Kapoor) showed me the script of Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. I also liked Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, and I was shooting for both these films simultaneously.”

Revealing that it was harder for her to convince Dharmendra than Hema Malini to let her act, Esha said, “My dad. Not because of anything else, but because he is more protective as a male, and he wanted to keep us more private. I was, on the other hand, all excited and ready to fly.”

In an earlier interview with The Indian Express, Esha revealed that Dharmendra was “possessive and orthodox” when it came to her, and that, according to him, “girls should be kept away from the world in a protected way”. She said, “I wouldn’t say that they have it tough. Yes, there is a different level of challenge and boys too have their own set. As far as my father is concerned, he is possessive and orthodox, and for him, girls should be kept away from the world in a protected way. That was what he must have felt, also knowing how our industry functions. All said and done, we managed and how.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Esha was last seen in the web show Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega. As for Dharmendra, he was recently seen in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. The film featured Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in the lead. Dharmendra played Shahid’s grandfather in the film.

Before that, he received a lot of praise for his performance in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani alongside Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. The film featured Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead and Dharmendra played Ranveer’s grandfather. He will next be seen in Ikkis with Agastya Nanda.