Dharmendra: He-Man who loved like a poet, fought like a hero, lived like a legend

Veteran actor Dharmendra, one of Indian cinema's most beloved and enduring stars, died on Tuesday, November 11, at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital. He was 89. The actor, who had been admitted for respiratory issues and was on ventilator support, leaves behind an extraordinary legacy that spans more than six decades -- one that redefined heroism and masculinity on the Hindi screen.

Born Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol on December 8, 1935, in the village of Sahnewal near Ludhiana, Punjab, he grew up far removed from the glamour of Bombay. In several interviews over the years, Dharmendra often recalled his modest beginnings -- a boy who would walk miles to school and daydream about films. "I was just a boy from the soil who wanted to see myself on the screen," he once told Filmfare , adding,