Kajol

Kajol was born in Mumbai of Bengali-Marathi descent, and belongs to a family tree with a long respectable history in the Indian cinema. Her mother Tanuja is a renowned actress, whilst her late father Shomu Mukherjee was a film producer. Her late maternal aunt, Nutan 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 whereas her cousin Ayan Mukerji is a director. Kajol's younger sister Tanisha Mukherjee is also an actress. Kajol married Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan on 24 February 1999. On 20 April 2003, she gave birth to a daughter named Nysa. On 10 April 2008, Kajol's father died after suffering from a cardiac arrest (heart attack). His funeral was held the same day and was attended by other Bollywood personalities.

Career

Kajol left her school St. Josephs convent at Panchgani and started her career at the age of seventeen. Although her debut film, Bekhudi (1992) was a box office failure, her performance was noticed and she went on to work with big production houses in India. In 1993, she shot to fame with her second film, Baazigar. The film was her first major hit, and her pairing with Shahrukh Khan was appreciated. She later went on to make a popular pairing with him in a number of films, all of which were box office successes. Her first release in 1994, Udhaar Ki Zindagi, was a box-office failure. Despite that, her performance in the film was much appreciated by critics, and she won the BFJA Best Actress Award for her performance. She next starred in her first Yash Raj Film, the romantic drama Yeh Dillagi, co-starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. The film was a box office success and her performance as Sapna, a strong dreamy girl who leaves her paternal home to make her own life in the big city, earned her a first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards. The year 1995 proved to be very successful for Kajol, as she went on to star in two of the year's biggest hits. Her first release was Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun. The film, which dealt with reincarnation, became the second biggest hit of the year. While her next three releases that year failed at the box office, her last release, Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, was not only the biggest hit of that year, but one of Hindi cinema's biggest hits. In 2008, the film entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters, grossing over 12 billion rupees overall, making it one of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood. Kajol's performance in the film was praised, and she received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. Kajol had only one release in 1996, Bambai Ka Babu, opposite Saif Ali Khan, which was a box office failure. In 1997, Kajol starred in Gupt: The Hidden Truth. Co-starring actors Bobby Deol and Manisha Koirala, the film was one of the highest grossing films of that year. Apart from that, her performance was a significant development for female actors in Bollywood; she was the first female actor to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award. Her next film release that year was Hamesha. Like Karan Arjun, the film dealt with the topic of reincarnation. However, unlike the latter, it failed at the box office. She next starred in her first Tamil film, Minsaara Kanavu. The film was a major critical success and Kajol won her first Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards South ceremony. Her final release of that year was the romantic-comedy Ishq, where she was paired with her then future husband, Ajay Devgan. It performed well at the box office. Kajol had further success in 1998, as she was the main lead starred in three of the year's biggest hits. She first starred opposite Salman Khan in the comedy Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. The film was the fourth highest grossing film of the year. Her next release, Dushman alongside Sanjay Dutt, did moderately well at the box office. She had a double role in the film, and won her first Star Screen Award for Best Actress for her performance. She next starred opposite Ajay Devgan in the romance Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, which was the second biggest hit of that year. However, her biggest success that year came with her last release, Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which went on to become the biggest hit of the year in both India and overseas. She won her second Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance. Kajol's first release in 1999 was the drama film Dil Kya Kare. She played the supporting role of Nandita Rai, which was well received. She had a hit with her second release, the family drama Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain. Starring alongside Anil Kapoor, Kajol received another Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare. She had an unsuccessful year in 2000, as her only release that year, Raju Chacha went unnoticed. Kajol had only two films released in 2001. She first played a double role in the drama Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi, which was a commercial failure. However, she reinvented her success in her second venture with Karan Johar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which was one of the biggest hits of the year, and for which she won several Best Actress awards, including her third Filmfare Best Actress Award and her second Star Screen Award for Best Actress. Critic Taran Adarsh, wrote of her performance in the film, "Kajol is first-rate in the role of a typical Chandni Chowk lass. Her Punjabi dialect will win her immense praise. The sequence when she seeks Amitabh's aashirwad, without him knowing about it, is terrific." Following the success of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kajol took a sabbatical from full time acting for five years. She gave birth to her daughter Nysa in 2003. She made a successful comeback in 2006 with Kunal Kohli's drama Fanaa, one of the highest grossing films of the year. Portraying a blind Kashmiri girl who falls in love with a Kashmiri terrorist (played by Aamir Khan) in the film, she won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award, which placed her at par with two famous Bollywood actresses, Meena Kumari and Madhuri Dixit, each of whom holds 4 Best Actress awards from Filmfare. (Kajol's late aunt, Nutan currently holds the record for five such awards). U, Me aur Hum, which released on 11 April 2008, marked her husband Ajay Devgan's directorial debut. The film performed moderately at the box office and Kajol was critically praised for her sensitive portrayal as an Alzheimer patient. For her performance in the film, she received her tenth Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. Raja Sen wrote in his review, ""... Kajol ... can span through happy-breezy with her eyes closed, and so the first half doesn't even pose her a challenge, but when Alzheimer's strikes Piya and she begins to forget all that matters in her life, Kajol raises the bar strikingly high." Kajol was recently seen in Karan Johar's new movie My Name Is Khan, which is based on a true story, against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post 11 September. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. The film was released on 12 February 2010. Her movie Toonpur Ka Superhero which is a live-action/animated film with her husband is in the post-production phase and will be releasing in Summer 2010. On October 9, 2009, Kajol started filming for the remake of the Hollywood movie Stepmom (1998); she will be seen alongside Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film is directed by Siddharth Malhotra and is produced by Karan Johar.

Media

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 this to a cancer hospital in Chennai. She has also appeared on Indian Idol, seasons one and two, as a guest judge. She appeared on Karan Johar's talk show Koffee with Karan with Shahrukh Khan on the first episode. She also appeared on the last episode of the Season 1 together with Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. 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 directorial debut Karan invited her along with Shahrukh and Rani Mukerji. She modeled and walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra's fashion display Fashion Week 2006, titled Freedom, along with actress Preity Zinta. In 2006, 4 miniature dolls under the name Bollywood legends were introduced. Besides Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan and Shahrukh Khan, she is one of the dolls. In 2008 she, her husband Ajay Devgan and her mother Tanuja were jury members in the TV show Rock'n'Roll Family. She appeared with Shahrukh Khan in the special anniversary issue of the Indian Vogue in October 2009.

Social work

Apart from being goodwill ambassador and patron of the Britain-based Loomba Trust - a charity devoted to educating widows' children, particularly in India, Kajol also works with an NGO called Shiksha. She is a recipient of the Karamveer Puraskar award (26 November 2008), which recognises individuals who have been pivotal in leading change beyond their business by being committed to social issues.