Failure
Is
A
Stepping
Stone
To
Success
The
actress
was
considered
for
a
Tamil
film
when
she
was
15
only
to
be
rejected
by
director
Sridhar.
The
actress
reveals,
"The
director
shot
with
me
for
15
days
and
then
replaced
me
without
informing
me.
I
was
barely
13-14
year
old
when
this
happened
to
me
and
I
went
into
depression.
But
I
did
not
become
a
victim
of
depression
because
I
had
no
idea
what
depression
was
all
about.
The
director,
Sridhar
even
changed
my
name
and
named
me
Sujata.
He
realised
much
later
that
I
was
not
fit
for
the
role.
I
wasn't
a
trained
actress
back
then
and
I
took
up
the
opportunity
at
the
behest
of
my
mother,"
Five
years
later, producer
Ananthaswamy
offered
her
a
dream
role
opposite
Raj
Kapoor
in
1968
film
Sapnon
Ka
Saudagar.
She
Is
Very
Un-Filmi
In
an
interview
with
Cineblitz
magazine
in
1976,
Dharmendra
said,
"The
first
and
foremost
thing
about
Hema
is
that
she
is
very
un-filmi.
You
know,
even
today
she
is
one
of
our
leading
ladies
who
has
not
acquired
any
of
the
starry
airs.
You
know
the
kind
-
over
made
up,
with
the
pallu
of
the
saree
falling.
If
there
is
one
thing
I
hate
in
a
woman,
it
is
this
stratagem
of
exhibiting
herself,
inviting
hungry
eyes
to
rove
over
her
person.
Actually
when
I
met
Hema
for
the
first
time
I
was
struck
by
her
shy
and
withdrawn
demeanour
and
behaviour.
That
is
what
made
me
want
to
know
this
girl
a
lot
more."
Dharmendra's
Father
Was
Very
Fond
Of
Hema
In
her
biography,
'Hema
Malini:
Beyond
The
Dream
Girl',
the
actress
recalled,
"He
would
drop
by
and
meet
my
father
or
brother
for
chai.
Instead
of
shaking
hands
he
would
arm-wrestle
them,
and
after
defeating
them
he
would
jokingly
say,
'Tum
log
ghee-makkhan-lassi
khao,
idli
aur
sambhar
se
taqat
nahi
aati
(Have
butter,
lassi,
ghee.
Idli
and
sambhar
won't
make
you
strong).My
father
would
join
in
the
laughter.
He
(Dharmendra's
father)
was
a
very
jovial
person.'
All
Hearts!
In
a
Filmfare
interview
in
2011,
Dharmendra
was
quoted
as
saying,
"There's
something
divine
about
her.
She's
very
dignified.
She's
the
prettiest
woman."
The
actor
even
narrated
a
couplet
especially
written
for
his
dream
girl
which
read-
'Berukhi
se
unki
rukh
na
moda
maine,
Zid
ko
unki,
zid
se
apni
toda
maine,
Aayee
na
maathe
pe
shikan,
jo
dikshikni
se
unki
muskarakar
gaye
lipat
kehte
huwe,
'Besharam
kahin
ke'.