Hema Malini Says Was Never Highest Paid Actress Got Me Fee In An Envelope Like Bhiksha

Hema Malini hasn’t acted in a Hindi film for over a decade now. Her last release was Ramesh Sippy’s 2020 romantic comedy Shimla Mirchi, which was also shot six years before that, and didn’t find any buyers since 2014. Now, stressing that she doesn’t want to do more films, unless somebody offers her a “good role”, Hema has also put to rest a long-lasting rumour about her remuneration when she was at the peak of her career in the 1970s.

In a recent interview, Hema rubbished the rumour that she was once the “highest paid actress” of Hindi cinema. “No, no, not at all. Who told you that? I used to get a very small amount. I never got so much,” Hema shot back. She clarified that while the filmmakers of that time “liked me a lot”, she never worked for the money.

Hema agreed that she followed in the footsteps of her late husband and legendary actor Dharmendra by never increasing her fees voluntarily and always charging only what the producer could afford to pay. “If the producer wanted to give (a high price), he was most welcome. Otherwise we never demanded that we wouldn’t do the film if we weren’t paid this much. I never did that,” Hema maintained.

Hema also revealed why she stepped back from films in the past decade. “I’ve done too many already. I’ve worked in the golden period. We’re all lucky, the artists who have worked in the ’70s and ’80s, when we got such great songs and the opportunity to work with such great actors. You can’t compare that time with today. Today, it’s different,” argued the veteran actor.

She also clarified that since a lot of good films are being made today, she doesn’t want to say today’s cinema is inferior to that of the 1970s and the 1980s as they’re both “hatke” (different) in their own right. “The golden period happens only once. It can’t come back again,” she added. “If they offer me some nice role, I’ll see. Maybe I’ll do it,” assured Hema.

Hema is mostly busy with her classical dance recitals, her duties as a Member of Parliament, and spending time with her family. “I make time to go to my constituency. I have to stay amid the public and get their work done. I’ve to get roads and flyovers made for them. It’s also a pleasure to do such things. I’m looking into the floods now. You wonder, ‘What will I do?’ But they’ll demand from me as an MP. I’m learning so many things and helping so many people. That’s a good thing too. Since I’m busy with all of this, working on a film looks difficult,” explained the actor-turned-politician.

Hema began her career as a dancer in the early 1960s, before making her Hindi cinema debut with Mahesh Kaul’s Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968). After breaking through with Vijay Anand’s 1970 spy film Johnny Mera Naama, she went on to deliver memorable performances in Sippy’s Andaz (1971), Seeta Aur Geeta (1973), Sholay (1975); Gulzar’s Khusboo (1975) and Meera (1978), Pramod Chakravorty’s Dream Girl (1977), Yash Chopra’s Trishul (1978) and Veer-Zaara (2004), Ravi Chopra’s The Burning Train (1980), Manoj Kumar’s Kranti (1981), Manmohan Desai’s Naseeb (1981), Raj N Sippy’s Satte Pe Satta (1982), Kamal Amrohi’s Razia Sultan (1983), and BR Chopra’s Baghban (2003).

Hema joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 2004. After serving as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 2003 till 2009, Hema became the political party’s general secretary in 2011. She subsequently contested the Lok Sabha Elections in 2014, winning the seat in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh by a huge margin. She’s gone on to retain her seat for the next two terms.