Kajol Devgan, born August 5, 1975 in Mumbai, is popularly known as
Kajol, and is a
bollywood actress.
Kajol made her acting debut in the film
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. She has been part of many critically and commercially successful films, and is highly regarded as one of India's most successful actresses
Touted as one of the best actresses in
Bollywood of all time,
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 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 MukherjeeKajol'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.
Kajol left her school St. Joseph’s convent at Panchgani and started her career at the age of seventeen. Although her debut film,
Bekhudi (1992) was not a great success at the
box office, 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 proved to be 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 this film. She next starred in her first Yash Raj Film, the romantic drama
Yeh Dillagi, co-starring opposite
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
Kajol her first nomination for
Best Actress award at the Filmfare.
1995 proved to be a very good year for
Kajol. 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 three of her next releases that year failed at the box office, her last release, Aditya Chopra's directorial debut,
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, was not only the biggest hit of that year, but one of the biggest hits of
Hindi cinema ever. The film has entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters,
grossing over 12 billion rupees overall, making it one of the biggest film 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 My Name is Khan
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. She next starred in
Hamesha. Like
Karan Arjun, the film dealt with the topic of reincarnation. However, unlike the latter, it was a box office failure. 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 last release that year was the romantic-comedy
Ishq, where she was paired with her then future husband,
Ajay Devgan, which did well at the box office.
Kajol had further success in 1998, as she 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. Additionally, 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.
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.)
Kajol's latest release,
U, Me aur Hum, which released on April 11, 2008, marked her husband
Ajay Devgan's directorial debut.
Kajol is currently working on
Karan Johar's new movie
My Name is Khan, which is based on a true story, against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post September 11. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and is scheduled for release in November 2009.
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