Esha Deol wishes Dharmendra was there in his ‘crisp white shirt & blue suit’ to collect his Padma award

Hema Malini, Dharmendra and Esha Deol (Pictures via Instagram)

Late Bollywood legend Dharmendra was recently honoured with the prestigious Padma award, making his entire family and fans emotional and proud.

His actress daughter Esha Deol took to her social media to pen a heartfelt note remembering her father and expressing how deeply the family missed his presence during the special moment.

Sharing emotional glimpses from the ceremony, Esha wrote, "A moment of pride A moment of emotion, How we so deeply wished he was present today dressed in a crisp white shirt and blue suit looking as handsome as always with excitement of a young boy going to receive the prestigious award. Yesterday as my mother represented our family and received the award. And the youngest of us Ahana represented all the 6 of us his children & shed tears & clapped in honour of our father A man who we love, who we cherish, who we miss & who we proudly call our papa. Forever in our hearts (sic)"

On May 25, veteran actress and BJP MP Hema Malini received the prestigious honour on behalf of her late husband Dharmendra, through the hands of the country's honourable President Dr. Draupadi Murmu.

The actress looked graceful in a soft pink saree paired with elegant diamond jewellery, and seemed visibly emotional as she held the award close to her heart during the ceremony.

The emotional occasion also saw Dharmendra's youngest child, Ahana Deol representing all six siblings of the Deol family.

Esha, in her caption also revealed that Ahana broke down during the moment while applauding their father's incredible legacy and contribution to Indian cinema.

For the uninitiated, Dharmendra was touted to be Bollywood's most loved superstars.

The actor passed away in November last year after prolonged age-related health complications. His demise left the film industry and millions of fans heartbroken.

The actor, with a career spanning over 6 decades, went on to deliver superhits like ‘Sholay', ‘Chupke Chupke', ‘Satyakam', and ‘Phool Aur Patthar'.