India, Dec. 18 -- Columnist and author Shobhaa De has claimed that veteran actor Hema Malini was "completely sidelined" by Dharmendra's first family following his death. She revealed that it was the reason she was absent from Dharmendra's prayer meet, which was organised by his first wife Prakash Kaur and sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.

During an interview with Barkha Dutt, Shobhaa De spoke about the family dynamics of late actor Dharmendra's family. Shobhaa De claimed that Hema Malini was left out by Prakash Kaur's (Dharmendra's first wife) family.

She said, "Must have been a particularly difficult and hard decision. To be totally left out by the first family from something that she had spent 45 years of her own life. Nourishing, cheri...