Kajol is well known for her acting prowess, exuberance and a family of successful filmi-types. At once, vulnerable, fierce and a complete natural.
The Fourth Generation :
Kajol was born to actress Tanuja and film producer Shomu Mukherjee on 5th August 1975. She was born into a Bengali-Marathi family. Her family reads like the who’s who of the film industry – great grandmother Rattan Bai; maternal grandmother Shobana Samarth; maternal aunt Nutan who won the five Filmfare Best Actress Awards; paternal uncles Joy and Deb Mukherjee who were producers; paternal grandfather Sashadhar Mukherjee, a filmmaker married to Satirani Devi, the sister of Ashok Kumar, Anup Kumar and Kishore Kumar; sister Tanisha; husband Ajay Devgan; cousins Rani Mukherji and Mohnish Behl.She did her schooling at St.Joseph’s in Panchgani till she was seventeen when she quit school to play actress.She married actor turned producer Ajay Devgan in 1999 and the couple had a daughter Nysa when she took a break from movies, making a comeback in 2006.
Making waves
1992 to 1997
Kajol made her debut with Bekhudi in 1992 in which her real life mother Tanuja played reel-life mommy. It was Baazigar in 1993 with Shah Rukh Khan that earned her recognition as an actress worth watching out for. Yeh Dillagi, a remake of Sabrina, in which she plays Sapna who is pursued by two brothers won her a nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. In 1995, she had quite a few releases that were average performers like Taaqat, Hulchul and Gundaraj. Karan Arjun did well. But it was Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jaayenge that broke records and is still running in theaters. The Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role as Simran was well-deserved. She enjoyed a good run of success in 1997 with Gupt for which she won the Filmfare Best Villain Award, Hamesha that was about re-incarnation, Ishq that was a romantic comedy where she paired off well with Ajay Devgan and the Tamil movie Minsaara Kanavu that won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.
1998 to 2003
The year 1998 was another big year as all her releases turned out to be hits. Pyaar Kiya Tho Darna Kya with Salman Khan; Dushman where she played a double role; Pyaar Tho Hona Hi Tha, a reworked version of the comedy French Kiss with Ajay Devgan; Kuch Kuch Hota Hai that saw her transform from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan and had Aman and Rahul swooning over her. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance as Anjali in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.She had three releases in 1999 with Dil Kya Kare, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehete Hai and Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya. In 2000, she played the lead Anna in Raju Chacha that was produced by Ajay Devgan. The movie did not meet the set expectations. Kuch Katti Kuch Meethi had her in a double role and Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, an opulent family drama won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award.
2006 to 2009
Kajol, after a break of three years, made a come back with Fanaa, a story about a blind girl Zooni who falls in love with a terrorist that was played by Aamir Khan. It won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She made some appearances in song sequences in Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, Om Shanthi Om and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. In 2008, she starred in U, Me Aur Hum which was directed and produced by Ajay Devgan and did reasonably well. She is currently working on another Johar movie My Name Is Khan with Shah Rukh Khan and Koochie Koochie Hota Hai which is an animated version of her hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Kajol More PicsWhile in conversation with him, we gradually went on to speak about the dancing talents in Bollywood. And, he bravely claimed, “Kajol is one of the best dancers we have! Nobody has tapped her dancing talent on screen as yet. I have seen her doing the salsa and have to say that she is simply superb. She can do hip-hop, folk, any form of dance with equal ease!†Ajay Devgan, it’s time to make a musical next and get wifey dearest dancing to your tunes all over again!
