The death of Dharmendra in November 2025 triggered widespread rumours regarding the dynamics between his two families, particularly focusing on whether Sunny and Bobby Deol maintained a warm relationship with Hema Malini and her daughters Esha and Ahana Deol. Public attention intensified when the family organised two distinct memorial services with Hema Malini notably absent from the gathering arranged by Sunny Deol’s side at Taj Lands End in Mumbai. She instead held her own remembrance ceremony in Delhi for the late actor. To counter the growing narrative of family discord, Hema Malini recently granted an interview where she emphasised the strength of their familial bonds. According to her account, Dharmendra’s parting wish centred on keeping the family together and united. When discussing her relationship with her stepsons, she expressed her admiration to Hindi Rush stating: “They are wonderful boys. Very sweet. They both are nice. We don’t publicise these things but we are very much attached to each other emotionally.” During the same conversation, the actress also addressed the distress caused by premature reports of Dharmendra’s passing that circulated before his actual death, revealing how deeply the entire family was affected by this false information.
