Veteran Bollywood icon Dharmendra, who passed away on November 24, 2025, at the age of 89 after a prolonged battle with age-related illnesses, once poignantly articulated a sense of unacknowledged contribution from his illustrious family to Indian cinema. In a candid interview with Times Now, the actor known as the "He-Man" of Hindi films expressed that neither he, his son Sunny Deol, nor Bobby Deol had received the recognition their body of work deserved.

Dharmendra attributed this perceived oversight to the Deol family's deliberate avoidance of self-promotion, emphasizing that they preferred their performances to stand on merit rather than through aggressive marketing. He highlighted Sunny Deol's pivotal roles in two of Bollywood's all-time biggest blockbusters—Ghayal and Gadar: Enemy at the Gates—yet noted that his son had never sought to amplify these triumphs publicly.

"But my family has never been given our due," Dharmendra remarked, underscoring a quiet acceptance of the industry's selective acclaim. He affirmed that the unwavering affection from fans sustained them far more than formal accolades, adding that they harbored no resentment toward Hindi cinema for undervaluing their generational impact.

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The actor further illustrated his point with a personal grievance from his storied career: his critically acclaimed portrayal in the 1969 classic Satyakam, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and co-starring Sharmila Tagore, Ashok Kumar, and a young Sanjeev Kumar, went unrecognized by major awards bodies despite its enduring artistic merit.

Dharmendra's passing at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital, where he had been on ventilator support following complaints of breathlessness, has prompted widespread tributes celebrating his six-decade legacy of over 300 films. His reflections now resonate as a poignant coda to a career defined by resilience, reminding the industry of the Deols' profound yet often unsung influence on Bollywood's golden era.

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