Kajol Devgn (née Mukherjee) (born 5 August 1974),[1] known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian film actress. She has received six Filmfare Awards from eleven nominations, and along with her late aunt Nutan, holds the record for most Best Actress wins at Filmfare, with five.[2] In 2011, the Government of India awarded her with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of the country.
Born to actress Tanuja and film director Shomu Mukherjee, Kajol made her acting debut with Bekhudi
(1992) while still in school. She quit her studies to pursue acting,
and had her first commercial success with the 1993 thriller Baazigar. She subsequently earned wide public recognition for playing leading roles in several blockbuster family dramas, including Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001). She earned critical appreciation for playing against type in the 1997 mystery film Gupt and the 1998 psychological thriller Dushman. Following a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001, Kajol returned to film with the 2006 romantic thriller, Fanaa. She continued working infrequently through the rest of the decade, and earned critical acclaim for her work in U Me Aur Hum (2008) and My Name Is Khan (2010). She, thus, established herself as one of India's most successful female actors.[3][4]
Kajol is a social activist and is noted for her work with widows and children, for which she received the Karmaveer Puraskaar in 2008. She has featured as a talent judge for Zee TV's reality show, Rock-N-Roll Family (2008) and holds a managerial position at Devgn Entertainment and Software. Kajol has been in a relationship with actor Ajay Devgn since 1995. In 1999, they married, and she gave birth to their daughter, Nysa, in 2003 and their son, Yug, in 2010.
Kajol began dating fellow actor, Ajay Devgn, in 1994, while filming for Gundaraj.[12] Members of the media, however, labelled them as an "unlikely pair" due to their contrasting personalities.[86]
Devgn explained their relationship by saying, "We never resorted to the
usual 'I Love you' routine. A proposal never happened. We grew with
each other. Marriage was never discussed, but it was always imminent".[87] They subsequently got married on 24 February 1999 in a traditional Maharashtrian style ceremony at the Devgn house.[88]
The wedding was subject to wide media scrutiny, as certain members of
the media criticised Kajol's decision to settle down at the "peak of her
career".[89] Kajol, however, maintained that she would not quit films, but would cut down on the amount of work that she did.[54][90]
Following her marriage, Kajol moved in with Devgn and his parents at
the latter's ancestral house in Juhu. While media members speculated
about a lack of compatibility between her in-laws and her, Kajol
clarified that they were "like parents to me" and encouraged her to
continue working in films.[12] Tabloids
have often romantically linked Devgn with other Bollywood actresses,
and have reported about an imminent divorce. Refuting the rumours, Kajol
stated, "I don't believe in those rumours because I know the way this
industry functions. [...] You cannot continue a marriage without the
basic trust. Frankly, I don't care for such talk."[71]
In 2001, Kajol was pregnant with her first child. However, due to an ectopic pregnancy, she suffered from a miscarriage.[91] On 20 April 2003, Kajol gave birth to a daughter, Nysa.[92] Seven years later, on 13 September 2010, she gave birth to a son, Yug.[93] She described motherhood as "fab" and added that her kids brought out "the best in her".[85]
Kajol was born in Mumbai to the Mukherjee-Samarth film family of Bengali-Marathi descent. Her mother, Tanuja, is an actress, while her father Shomu Mukherjee was a film director and producer.[5] He died in 2008, after suffering from a cardiac arrest.[6] Her younger sister, Tanisha Mukherjee is also an actress. Her maternal aunt was the late actress Nutan and her maternal grandmother, Shobhna Samarth, and great grandmother, Rattan Bai, were both involved in Hindi cinema. Her paternal uncles, Joy Mukherjee and Deb Mukherjee, are film producers, while her paternal grandfather, Sashadhar Mukherjee, was a filmmaker. Kajol's cousins Rani Mukerji, Sharbani Mukherjee and Mohnish Behl are also Bollywood actors; whereas another cousin of hers, Ayan Mukerji is a director.[7] [8][9]Kajol describes herself as being "extremely mischievous" as a child. She added that she was stubborn and impulsive from a very young age.[10] Her parents separated when she was young; but according to Tanuja, Kajol was not affected by the split as "we never argued in front of [her]".[11] In the absence of her mother, Kajol was looked after by her maternal grandmother, who "never let me feel that my mother was away and working".[12] According to Kajol, her mother inculcated a sense of independence in her at a very young age. Growing up between two separate cultures, she inherited her "Maharashtrian pragmatism" from her mother and her "Bengali temperament" from her father.[12]
Kajol studied at the St Joseph Convent boarding school in Panchgani, where she was appointed as the head girl. Apart from her studies, she participated in extra-curricular activities, such as dancing.[13] It was in school that she began to form an active interest in reading fiction, as it helped her "through the bad moments" in her life.[14] At the age of sixteen, she began work on Rahul Rawail's film Bekhudi, which according to her was a "big dose of luck". She initially intended to return to school after shooting for the film during her summer vacations. However, she eventually dropped out of school to pursue a full-time career in film. On not completing her education, she quoted, "I don't think I am any less well-rounded because I didn't complete school".[12]
1992–96: Breakthrough and success
Bekhudi, which released in 1992, turned out to be a commercial failure.[15] However, her performance in the film was noticed and she was signed for Baazigar (1993), a thriller by Abbas-Mustan, which emerged as a major commercial success.[3] The film, which also starred Shahrukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty and Siddharth Ray, saw her portray the leading role of Priya Chopra, a girl who falls in love with her sister's killer. The film marked the first of her many collaborations with Khan.[16]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Bekhudi | Radhika | |
| 1993 | Baazigar | Priya Chopra | |
| 1994 | Udhaar Ki Zindagi | Sita | |
| 1994 | Yeh Dillagi | Sapna | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1995 | Karan Arjun | Sonia Saxena | |
| 1995 | Taaqat | Kavita | |
| 1995 | Hulchul | Sharmili | |
| 1995 | Gundaraj | Ritu | |
| 1995 | Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge | Simran Singh | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1996 | Bambai Ka Babu | Neha | |
| 1997 | Gupt: The Hidden Truth | Isha Diwan | Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role |
| 1997 | Hameshaa | Rani Sharma/Reshma | |
| 1997 | Minsara Kanavu | Priya Amalraj | Tamil Film |
| 1997 | Ishq | Kajal | |
| 1998 | Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya | Muskaan Thakur | |
| 1998 | Duplicate | Cameo appearance | |
| 1998 | Dushman | Sonia/Naina Saigal | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1998 | Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha | Sanjana | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1998 | Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | Anjali Sharma | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1999 | Dil Kya Kare | Nandita Rai | |
| 1999 | Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain | Megha | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1999 | Hote Hote Pyar Ho Gaya | Pinky | |
| 2000 | Raju Chacha | Anna | |
| 2001 | Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi | Tina/Sweety Khanna | |
| 2001 | Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... | Anjali Sharma Raichand | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2003 | Kal Ho Naa Ho | Special appearance in song "Maahi Ve" | |
| 2006 | Fanaa | Zooni Ali Baig | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2006 | Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | Special appearance in song "Rock N Roll Soniye" | |
| 2007 | Om Shanti Om | Herself | Special appearance in song "Deewangi Deewangi" |
| 2008 | U Me Aur Hum | Piya | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2008 | Haal–e–dil | Special appearance in song "Oye Hoye" | |
| 2008 | Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi | Special appearance in song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" | |
| 2009 | Vighnaharta Shree Siddhivinayak | Cameo appearance | |
| 2010 | My Name Is Khan | Mandira Khan | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2010 | We Are Family | Maya | |
| 2010 | Toonpur Ka Super Hero | Priya | |
| 2012 | Makkhi | Mother (voice) | Cameo appearance |
| 2012 | Student of the Year | Special appearance in song "Disco Deewane" | |
| 2013 | Koochie Koochie Hota Hai | Angie (voice) | Delayed |
