Hema Malini is one of the most influential names in the world of Bollywood, a leading name belonging to the era of 70s Bollywood. Before etching her name in the history books of entertainment, the actress had to go through some trying and disappointing times in the industry.
According to the reports, Hema even faced rejection based on her looks. The information given on the IMDB website states that in 1963, Hema worked as a background dancer for Tamil films. From one of the Tamil projects titled Veniradai, the actress was made to leave, by its director C V Shridhar, the reason being her thinness. The role she was supposed to portray eventually went to actress Venidradai Nirmala.
Only in 1968, she starred as the lead in Sapno Ka Saudagar, her first Hindi film and a Mahesh Kaul directorial. Hema Malini starred opposite Raj Kapoor in the film and gradually, with her works, she got the title of ‘Dream Girl.’
Her breakthrough in Bollywood came with the release of Johny Mera Naam, a 1970 release made under the direction of Vijay Anand. Hema shared the screen space with Dev Anand in the film. The cast also included Pran, Jeevan, Premnath, I S Johar, Iftekhar and Padma Khanna. The film proved to be a massive hit at the box office. It was produced by Gulshan Rai under the banner of Trimurti Films.
The release was followed by a string of successful appearances on the actress’ part which included films like Seeta Aur Geeta, Andaz, Satte Pe Satta and Lal Patthar. Then in 1975, she was cast in one of the biggest films Bollywood has ever produced, Sholay. The actress was seen in the role of Basanti, a character which is now considered a pop culture icon.
In Sholay, the actress shared the screen with Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. The cast also included Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan. It was made under the direction of Ramesh Sippy and produced by G P Sippy.
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