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So So Proud: Hema Malini Shares Joy As Dharmendra Receives Padma Vibhushan

Khushi Srivastava | January 25, 2026 11:39 PM CST

Bollywood’s He-Man, Dharmendra, has been honoured with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the Padma Awards 2026 winners on Sunday. The honour recognises his outstanding contribution to Hindi cinema. His wife, veteran actress Hema Malini, expressed an emotional response to the recognition given to Dharamji.

For the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards including two duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. Nineteen of the awardees are… pic.twitter.com/8DDKIRpPTM
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2026

Soon after the announcement, she took to her X handle and tweeted, "So so proud that the govt has recognised Dharam ji’s immense contribution to the film industry by bestowing on him the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award."

So so proud that the govt has recognised Dharam ji’s immense contribution to the film industry by bestowing on him the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award? pic.twitter.com/5zJnA53MT0
— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) January 25, 2026

She described the honour as a moment of great pride and applauded his long and remarkable journey in Indian cinema. Along with her message, she shared a joyful throwback photograph of the late legend.

The Padma Awards are among the country’s highest civilian honours. The government presents them in three categories—Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The President of India confers these awards at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, usually around March or April each year.

Dharmendra’s career reflects lasting talent and deep commitment. He never limited himself to one genre and built wide popularity by performing equally well in romance, action, comedy and social drama. This versatility made him one of the most commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. His last film, Ikkis, was released on December 25. The legend left his legacy behind in November 2025.