Kajol Devgan

Original Name: Kajol Mukherjee

Date of Birth (Birthday): 5 August, 1975

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Height: 5' 5

Hair Color: Black

Birth Place: Mumbai

Marital Status: Married

Languages: Hindi, English

Contact Address: Sea Cliff, 1st Floor, Gandhigram Road, Juhu, Mumbai 400 049

Mother's Name: Tanuja

Sister(s): Tanisha

Spouse: Ajay Devgan

Daughter: Nysa

Debut Film: Bekhudi

Other Facts: Kajol considers acting as a hobby and gives it the respect of an artform

Kajol made her acting debut in the film Bekhudi (1992) and had her first commercial success

with her second film Baazigar (1993) along with Shahrukh Khan, with whom she later went to

deliver some of Bollywood's biggest 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 comeback with Kunal

Kohli's Fanaa (2006), for which she received her fourth Best Actress award at the Filmfare

ceremony. Kajol is highly regarded as one of India's most successful actresses.

Family and background Main article: Mukherjee-Samarth family

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. 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 died after suffering from a cardiac arrest. 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 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.[5] 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 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 signs autographs 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.[16] 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. 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 ninth Filmfare Best Actress 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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

Note : The 'Karmaveer Puraskar' is a national award for Social Justice & Citizen Action being commissioned to recognize individuals who have been pivotal for leading change beyond their business as usual by being committed on individual levels to work on social issues. The awards are given to individuals from various sectors for their contribution to promote social justice and action.

The award is instituted by iCONGO – A confederation of NGOs and the Khemka Foundation with partners like TISS, BCCI, NASSCOM FOUNDATION, Outlook, Business World, etc.