How Hinduja Brothers supported Dharmendra and other patrons of Bollywood

Hindi Cinematic world has always been a dreamy place where stories are presented beautifully on screens. But Bollywood is more than just the glitterati. There are lots of people behind the screen that has made Hindi film industry a global name and maintain its legacy. Amongst them are the Hinduja Brothers who not only supported the films financially but also helped them reach the other parts of the world. Even the legendary actor Dharmendra Deol called them as the ‘pillars of strength’ who helped to keep the film industry afloat during its most difficult times. 

During the late 1970s and early 80s, the Hindi film industry was going through difficult times where producers were struggling with finances and banks were also reluctant to lend. There were even that had to put on hold midway due to lack of finances. The Hinduja Brothers stepped in and provided their support with open hearts. Dharmendra Deol, who recently passed away on 24th November 2025, fondly recalled them as the true supporters, and how they helped them through his worries. They even backed Sunny Deol’s debut film Betaab (1983) which shows their commitment towards nurturing talent as well.  

The Hinduja Brothers didn’t just financed movies; they had a global vision to take these on a global platform. They even played an important role in releasing Ramanand Sagar’s Arzoo worldwide, which also created a great buzz all around. The film was successful at the box office even in those countries where the producers could not have imagined it. The film went to all the five continents as well as to the South American countries. It even did a good business the Middle East and Suriname. Prakash P Hinduja also came up an idea of 'live manual dubbing' of the movie in Malaysia. During this, the soundtrack of the dialogues of the film's cast was turned off and the male modulator would translate the dialogues for all the male characters and the female modulator would do it for all the female characters in their native language.  

In the book, ‘Hindujas and Bollywood’ by Ajit Rai, Late Dharmendra also shared his memories of traveling with the Hinduja Brothers to Iran highlight their warm hospitality and friendship. They not only played the role of financier, but also became family friends, seeing to it that the film units are taken care of abroad. Their work facilitated the international shoots of other films like Ankhen in the year 1968, which was among the films whose arrangements were done by them in Tehran. Not only this, they even provided international contacts to the film producers.  

The Hinduja Brothers also made it so that creativity is not restricted by financial means. To Dharmendra and many others, they were not mere investors, they were close friends who were convinced by the capability of the Indian film industry to elevate to the international level.