Back to the Main Bollywood Stars Actress Gallery Page
|
Back to the Main Bollywood Stars Actress Gallery Page
Kajol Devgan Mukherjee , 5'2' tall - born
August 5, 1975 - in Mumbai, India, popularly known as
Kajol, is an award-winning popular Hindi film actress.
Kajol made her acting debut with Bekhudi (1992) and
had her first hit with her second film Baazigar (1993)
along with Shahrukh Khan, with whom she later went to
deliver some of the biggest Bollywood hits like
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota
Hai (1998). Her performances in both the films were
praised and earned her two Filmfare Best Actress
Awards. After the successful Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
released in 2001, she took a sabbatical from full time
acting for five years. She made a successful comeback
with Kunal Kohli's Fanaa (2006), for which she
received her fourth Best Actress award at the Filmfare
ceremony. During her career years, she has been part
of many critically and commercially successful films,
and is regarded as one of India's most successful
actresses.
Touted as one of the best actresses in Bollywood,
Kajol, who is of Bengali-Marathi descent, in fact
belongs to a family tree with a long respectable
history in the Indian cinema. Her mother Tanuja is a
renowned award-winning actress, whilst her father
Shomu Mukherjee is a film producer. Her late maternal
aunt, Nutan, was one of the most acclaimed actresses,
and is the record holder for the most (five times)
Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. Late maternal
grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother
Rattan Bai had both been influential figures in the
early stages of Hindi cinema.
Her paternal uncles are film producers; Joy Mukherjee
and Deb Mukherjee. Kajol's paternal grandfather,
Sashadhar Mukherjee, was a filmmaker. His wife
Satirani Devi, Kajol's paternal grandmother, was the
sister of three famous 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
married Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan on February 24,
1999. On April 20, 2003, she gave birth to a daughter
named Nysa, which means Goddess of purity. On April
10, 2008, Kajol's father passed away after suffering
from a cardiac arrest. His funeral was held the same
day and was attended by other Bollywood personalities.
BIO #2
Filmfare Best Actress Award for 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (1995), Filmfare Best Villain Award and Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Negative Role for 'Gupt' (1997), Filmfare Best Actress Award and Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ' (1998), Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dushman (1998), Filmfare Best Actress Award and Star Screen Award Best Actress for 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001), Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance- Female for 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001).
Kajol, one of the most successful actresses of Bollywood, was born to actress Tanuja and producer Somu Mukherjee. She comes from a filmy family, her grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother Rattan Bai have been major figures in Bollywood. Famous star of yesteryears, Nutan is her aunt and Rani Mukherjee, another equally successful actress, is her second cousin. Her childhood was laden with happiness and material prosperity.
Though she has the girl next door image and is not as glamorous as the others in her field, Kajol is outstanding in her acting. The flexibility of her acting can be seen from the various characters done by this natural actress. She gives more attention to her acting than the financial success of a film.
Kajol debuted with the flop film 'Bekhudi' (1992), but she made an impact with her second film 'Baazigar' (1993). This was followed by a fabulous performance in the family drama, 'Udhaar Ki Zindagi' (1994) for which she received rave reviews. Her next movie was 'Yeh Dillagi' (1994) where she showed her full range of acting along with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. In 1995, she had a hit 'Karan Arjun', with Shahruk Khan. The same year she paired with Ajay Devgan, in two action thrillers 'Gundaraj' and 'Hulchul'. Her 'Dilwale Dulahaniya Le Jayenge'(1995) with Shah Rukh Khan shot her to the top most position in Bollywood. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in this film.
Kajol did not do many films in the year 1996. In 1997, she played a villainous role in Rajiv Rai's murder mystery 'Gupt' and became the first woman to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award. Then she was again paired with Ajay Devgan in Indra Kumar's romantic comedy, 'Ishq' which was a huge commercial hit. But the same year, 'Sapnay', a remake of the Tamil hit 'Minsaara Kanavu' with Arvind Swamy and Prabhu Deva, failed at the box office.
The Year 1998 was good for Kajol with three successive hits such as 'Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha' with Ajay Devgan, 'Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya' with Salman Khan and 'Dushman' with Sunjay Dutt. But the real blockbuster of the year happened towards the end, with Karan Johar's 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' where her character Anjali played a frivolous role with her boyish look in the first half and a very different sophisticated role in the second. Then came movies like 'Dil Kya Kare' (1999), 'Hote Hote Pyar Hogaya' (1999) etc which failed to draw the same response at the box office.
Kajol got married to actor Ajay Devgan on February 24, 1999 and a daughter Nysa was born to them in April 2003. After her marriage she became selective in her roles and joined Ajay Devgan's production company. She was seen in films like 'Raju Chacha' (2000), 'Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi' (2001), Karan Johar's 'Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham' (2001) and 'Kal Ho Na Ho' (2003). She won the third Film Fare award for her brilliant performance in 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham'. After this movie, she stayed away from the film industry for a while. In 2006, she came back enacting the role of a blind Kashmiri girl with Aamir Khan in Kunal Kohli’s 'Fanaa'. Aamir and Kajol showed sparks of brilliance and created an incredible chemistry between their characters.
Charming Kajol, with her simplicity, girl next door attitude and exceptional acting talent has won over the audience and has a steady fan following. She is the brand ambassador of Whirlpool products along with her husband. Her younger sister Tanisha appeared in films like 'Neal 'n' Nikki', 'Sarkar' etc. Kajol's eventful journey from 'Bekhudi' to 'Fanaa', shows the power of her versatility, sheer hard work and dedication towards art behind all of her roles. She doesn't give more importance to publicity or celebrity because she believes acting is purely a profession. No wonder then that Kajol is rated as superb among her generation of leading ladies...