Actor couple Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s daughter Esha Deol followed in their footsteps and debuted as an actor in 2022 with Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. While everyone assumes it might have been smooth sailing for her, given her lineage, the actor told Hauterrfly it was anything but that. 

‘He wanted me to get married’

Esha told the publication that her father Dharmendra wanted her to get married at 18 instead of entering films. She said that because of his orthodox background, he wasn’t game with her acting but shared that she was inspired by mom Hema’s career.

She said, “He didn’t want me to enter films. He was rightfully orthodox because he was a Punjabi, so he wanted me to get married and settle down at 18 because that was his conditioning, he’s coming from there. The women in his family are brought up that way. But my upbringing was very different in my house, seeing my mom act in films and her dance gave me a direction. It was ingrained inside me that I wanted to do something.”

Esha also revealed that it took a ‘long time’ to convince him that she didn’t want to get married but have a career instead. “It took a long time to convince him, it was not easy, but today is a different story. In the interview, Esha also said that despite being inspired by Hema, she ‘wasn’t prepared’ for the comparisons between her and her mother that followed. She also admitted to ‘feeling uncomfortable’ with Hema, asking her not to pay heed and telling her she was in the ‘wrong profession’ if she cared.

Esha Deol’s career

Esha took a hiatus from acting after the 2011 film Tell Me O Kkhuda and married Bharat Takhtani in 2012 in Mumbai. She gave birth to their daughters, Radhya and Miraya, in 2017 and 2019. In February this year, the couple announced their separation. After the 2015 film Kill Them Young, Esha is looking to make a comeback with films titled Main and Hero Herroine.

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