Kajol Devgan, née Mukherjee (Bengali: কাজল দেবগন Kajol Debgôn, Marathi: काजोल देवगण, IPA: [kāɟol], ITRANS: kajol), born August 5, 1975 in Mumbai, India, popularly known as Kajol, is six-time Filmfare Award-winning popular Bollywood actress and is one of India's most successful actresses.
Kajol Devgan | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–2001, 2006–present |
| Spouse | Ajay Devgan |
Film Background
Main article: Mukherjee-Samarth family (film)
Touted as one of the best actresses in the Bollywood industry, Kajol, who is of Bengali-Marathi descent, in fact belongs to a family tree with a long respectful history in the Indian cinema.
Her mother Tanuja is a Marathi/Hindi actress whilst her father Shomu Mukherjee is a film producer.
Late maternal aunt Nutan is the record holder for the most (five times) Filmfare awards for an actress. Late maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother Rattan Bai had both been influential figures in the early Bollywood film industry.
Her paternal uncles are also film producers; Joy Mukherjee and Deb Mukherjee. Kajol's grandfather Sashadhar Mukherjee was a film director and producer who had left a great achievement in the Bombay film industry. His wife Satirani Devi, Kajol's paternal grandmother, was the sister of three great film personalities, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar.
Kajol's cousins Rani Mukerji, Sharbani Mukherjee and Mohnish Behl are also Bollywood actors. Kajol's younger sister Tanisha Mukherjee has recently started a film career.
Kajol is now married to Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan and have a daughter named Nysa means Goddess of purity
Career
Kajol left school and started her career at the age of seventeen. Her debut film was Bekhudi in 1992. It was not a great success at the box office, but Kajol was noticed and went onto become a successful actress with many box office hits to her credit.
Kajol shot to fame with her second film Baazigar in 1993 which was her first major hit. She went onto make a popular pairing with her Baazighar co-star Shah Rukh Khan in Karan Arjun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001).
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was so well received that, as of April 2007, it is still showing in a Mumbai cinema, an eleven-year continuous run. Kajol received her first Best Actress Award from Filmfare for her performance in the film.
In 1997 she starred in Gupt: The Hidden Truth which was one of the highest grossing films of that year and her performance raked a significant development for female actors in Bollywood; she was the first female actor to have won the Filmfare Best Villain Award. Her second Filmfare Best Actress Award was received for her performance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of that year.
She also made a successful screen couple with husband Ajay Devgan in movies such as Ishq (1997) and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998).
After the successful Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001 which she won several Best Actress Awards including her third Filmfare Best Actress Award, she took a sabbatical from full time acting for five years. She gave birth to her daughter Nysa in 2003. A few months after her delivery, she made a brief cameo appearance in the 2003 film Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Before her comeback to the silver screen, in 2005, Kajol had already started acting actively in advertisements, mostly with her husband Ajay Devgan. In May 2006, she made a successful comeback in Fanaa, one of the highest grossing films of the year. She won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in this movie, portraying a blind Kashmiri girl who fell in love with a Kashmiri independence fighter. Her fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award places her at par with other famous Bollywood actresses, Meena Kumari and Madhuri Dixit each of whom holds 4 Best Actress Awards from Filmfare. Kajol's late aunt, Nutan is holding the record for five such awards.
Later in August 2006, she made a brief appearance in her friend Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in the "Rock n' Roll Soniye" song. This was the film for which she was offered her comeback role, but which she declined over Fanaa instead.
Currently, she is working on her husband Ajay Devgan's directorial debut U Me Aur Hum which is set for release this year. She is also set to give a guest appearance in Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. It seems Kajol is poised for a very successful comeback with several projects in the near future in addition to U Me Aur Hum. Among them are Kunal Kohli's next as-yet untitled film where she will star alongside Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherji. The project may set off in October 2007. Then there is Rajkumar Santoshi's upcoming film Ramayan where she will star as Sita opposite her husband Ajay Devgan. In addition there are numerous reports and rumours abound that Kajol is all set to star in Karan Johar's next film opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Work is expected to begin on it towards early 2008.
Television
In 2005, she appeared on the TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian version of Who wants to be a millionaire?) hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. She was paired with her husband Ajay Devgan. They won 1 crore (10 million) rupees and donated them to a cancer hospital in Chennai. She has also appeared on Indian Idol, seasons one and two, as a guest judge.
She also appeared on Karan Johar's talk show Koffee with Karan with Shahrukh Khan on the first episode. Back again with Season 2 of Koffee with Karan, Karan's first episode started with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai reunion. After almost a decade since his directoral debut Karan invited her along with Shahrukh and Rani Mukerji.
Awards
Wins
- 1995, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
- 1997, Filmfare Best Villain Award, Gupt: The Hidden Truth
- 1997, Filmfare Best Actress South, Minsaara Kanavu
- 1998, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- 2001, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 2006, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Fanaa
Nominations
- 1994, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Yeh Dillagi
- 1998, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Dushman
- 1998, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Pyar To Hona Hi Tha
- 1999, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Hum Apke Dil Mai Rahtai Hai
- 1998, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Dushman
- 2002, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 2002, Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1, with co-star Shahrukh Khan for the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 1998, Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Negative Role, Gupt: The Hidden Truth
- 1999, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- 2002, Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance- Female, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 2007, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female, Fanaa
- 1999, Bollywood Movie Awards - Best Actress, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- 2002, Bollywood Movie Awards - Best Actress, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 1999, Best actress, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- 2002, Best actress, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
Other Awards
- 1995, Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, Best Actress (Hindi Movies), Udhaar Ki Zindagi [1]
- 1996, Giant International Award, DDLJ
- 1999, Style Awards' most stylish heroine
- 1999, Aashirwad Awards, Best Actress Award, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- 2002, 5th Annual Rajiv Gandhi Award, Excellence in active field
- 2002, Valenciennes International Festival of Action and Adventure Films, Best Actress, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
- 2006, European Bollywood Awards (Bollywood Bloggers), Best Actress Award, Fanaa
- 2006, indiaFM, Best Actress Award, Fanaa
- 2007, Hawa productions Awards, Best Actress Award, Fanaa
- 2007, Hawa productions Awards, Best jodi Award, Amir and Kajol Fanaa
- 2007, Radio Sargam Awards, Best Actress, Fanaa
- 2007, Annual Bollywood People's Choice Awards, Best Actress, Fanaa
Filmography
This article contains a list that has not been properly sorted. See MOS:LISTSORT for more information. |
See also
References
- ^ India FM, Ajay to direct a film with Kajol, Retrieved 2006-12-29