Dharmendra is an Indian film actor. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema. He was born on 8 December 1935 in Nasrali, Punjab, British India. He began his illustrious career with the 1960 Arjun Hingorani directed 'Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere', starring Dharmendra himself, Balraj Sahni and Kum Kum. After this film he appeared in various other black and white romantic moviesand he got his first major breakthrough with the 1966 O. P. Ralhan directed blockbuster film named 'Phool Aur Patthar' (1966). This film catapulted him to greater heights of fame and glory, as this movie was the highest grossing movie that year and Dharmendra also earned his first Filmfare nomination in the Best Actor category for this film.

At the initial stages of his career, Dharmendra was often portrayed in films as a romantic hero but sooner after 1974, he started playing action roles in films. During his initial days in the industry, he got the opportunity to star with some of the renowned actresses of his times. He worked with the actress, Nutan on the sets of 'Bandini' (1963) and 'Soorat Aur Seerat' (1962). He even worked with Meena Kumari in 'Kaajal' (1965), 'Phool Aur Patthar' (1966), 'Poornima' (1965) and 'Main Bhi Ladki Hoon' (1964); with Mala Singh in 'Pooja Ke Phool' (1964) and in 'Anpadh' (1962) and with Saira Banu in the 1964 film titled 'Ayee Milan Ki Bela' and in 'Shaadi', the 1962 film. He displayed great on screen chemistries with actresses such as Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Sharmila Tagore, Rekha, Saira Banu, Meena Kumari, Asha Parekh and Mumtaz. Dharmendra and Hema Malini was the most successful on-screen pairing that time and together they gave several hits which include 'Raja Jani', 'Sharafat', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Tum Haseen Main Jawaan', 'Dost', 'Jugnu', 'Charas', 'Chacha Bhatija', 'Maa', 'Sholay' and 'Azad'. He has been a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India, representing Bikaner constituency in Rajasthan from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2012, he was honoured India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.