Esha Deol

As Hema Malini celebrates her 69th birthday on Monday, October 16, daughter Esha Deol has posted a heart-warming message on social media. She posted a beautiful black and white picture on her Instagram. She wrote: "Happy birthday mamma! May God bless you! Stay happy & healthy always! We all love you very much ❤️❤️❤️ @dreamgirlhemamalini" [sic.]

The first full-length biography of Hema Malini, also a BJP MP, will also be launched today.

Talking about her pregnancy, an excerpt from Beyond The Dream Girl, by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, says:

'Feeling the child growing within me was a wonderful sensation. Both Dharam-ji and I had dreamt of getting the best of everything for the baby, so much so that we even considered having the delivery abroad. But then things didn't work out. So instead I took off to Bangalore in my seventh month. From there I decided to go to Ooty to rest. But I did a very foolish thing. Before going on the long drive from Bangalore to Ooty, I had a very heavy meal. Those hours on the road were killing. By the time we reached, I was in a terrible state.

I had the most acute cramps in my stomach and was rolling in agony. I felt as though I would deliver any minute. And yet I wasn't quite sure whether they were genuine labour pains. Oh, it took them ages to locate a doctor in that place and I, of course, wanted the best. Luckily nothing happened and I miraculously survived those pains. It's only later that it dawned on me what a stupid thing I'd done, taking off to Ooty like that. Of course, by then everyone knew I was pregnant. I really had a tough time hiding it from the world.

I remember during those early days, at the shootings too, I just couldn't stop eating. I would keep asking for all kinds of sweets and I'm sure, although they didn't say it, everyone must have guessed my secret. But I realised only later what problems I'd caused, for I wasn't really sure about the date of delivery. My calculations were two weeks off the mark. It was only when they did a sonography in the later stages that we realised that I was due almost twenty days before the date I'd believed to be the D-day. 'On the night of 1 November, Dharam-ji was going for a film preview,' she continues. 'I pestered him to take me along. He refused, because he didn't think I was in a condition to see a film. He was right. As soon as he left, I had to be rushed to the hospital.

They didn't take me in my usual van to avoid recognition. We went in another car. My doctor was already with me, apart from the others. Generally, I can cope with any situation. But this one time I couldn't. I was suddenly very scared. I lay quiet, my head in my doctor's lap. Dharam-ji was called back from the preview. I wasn't getting the pains so they had to induce labour. My one distinct memory during my most agonising pains was a shrill cry - the cry that brought with it so much solace and made me a mother! In a matter of minutes, my entire family was by my side, but nobody told me that I had given birth to a girl because they felt it might upset me. But when I saw her, I forgot everything else. The first thing I noticed about her was her hair. Unlike me, she wasn't bald at birth. She means more to me than any son!'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a foreword for Hema Malini's book.

"Hema-ji has distinguished herself as one of the leading Indian actors of our times. Her cinematic brilliance has spanned several films through the various decades. Her many roles have connected and endeared her to a wide range of cinema lovers. The efforts of Hema-ji to popularize Indian classical dances, particularly among youngsters, are deeply commendable," Modi says in his foreword to Beyond The Dreamgirl.

The book has been written by former editor of Stardust and producer Ram Kamal Mukherjee. Its launch also marks the celebration of Hema Malini's five decades in show business.

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