Although October 16 this year is Hema Malini’s 70th birthday, October 2018 is rather special in her life as it also marks half a century of her journey as the film industry’s “Dream Girl” –  a name she was given in 1968 when she made her debut in Bollywood opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapno ka Saudagar.

B Ananthaswamy, the producer of the film designed its posters and added the words “Raj Kapoor’s Dream Girl” below Hema’s face in the posters. After the film was released in October 1968, she started being called “Dream Girl” by the media as well as her fans. The film was neither directed nor produced by Raj Kapoor.

In fact, he was almost forty-five years old when he appeared as the first hero that the young and breathtakingly beautiful Hema was to act opposite to in her career in Hindi films. The film did not do well, though the songs were well-received. However, the name “Dream Girl” stayed with Hema Malini. In the 1970s, she even starred in a film called “Dream Girl” opposite Dharmendra. This strengthened her image as the only Dream Girl of Bollywood.