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TO THE MANOR BORN
Kajol was not beautiful in the conventional sense. She refused to tame her uniline eyebrows and was not model thin either. Her hair was not too long, was rather bushy. She wasnt too fair and not too tall. On the other hand her eyes were large, light brown and warm. The best part, they were very expressive.
Her great-grandmother Rattan Bai was one of the first women in Bollywood. Her grandmother, Shobhna Samarth was a famous actress. Her mother Tanuja had been the tomboy of the silver screen during the 60s and 70s. Her aunt, Nutan was a much acclaimed actresses. From her father's side, Her grandfather S Mukherjee was a much respected producer. Her grandmother was the sister of Ashok, Kishore and Anoop Kumar. Her father Shomu Mukherjee was a producer too.
QUICK SUCCESS
Although her debut movie with Kamal Sadannah, Bekhudi flopped on its face, Kajol was noticed for her good performance. In her debut scene she was seen playing basketball. It is almost as if a tone was set. Here was a cute girl, not a gorgeous beauty, but warm and personable, a bit of a tomboy.
In her next film she teamed up with Shahrukh Khan, himself a new actor then. He was fresh from the success of Deewana, and Kajol had yet to prove herself. In Baazigar she played the young tomboy who falls head over ears for the handsome Baazigar because she loves his 'pyar ka andaz'. The movie was big hit, and so were the songs. 'Baazigar o baazigar' and the club song 'Yeh kaali kaali ankhen' were a big rage.
In Yeh Dillagi she made a young pair with Saif Ali Khan. For most part of the movie, she tries to reform Saif, but falls for his elder brother, Akshay. This movie was based on Sabrina, and old classic starring Bogart and Audrey Hepburn.
LADDER OF SUCCESS
In Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun, she co-starred once again with Shahrukh. The movie was a big success. The naughty Kajol made 'Jaati hoon main, jaldi hai kya' look more fun than sexy, though it was a 'rolling in the hay song' But it was obvious that the viewers were in love with the Shahrukh Kajol jodi.
Although, Kajol starred with Ajay Devgan in Hulchul and sang 'I am sixteen going on seventeen' with him, the movie did not do much. Back then Ajay was percieved as wooden. Similar fate met Gundaraj.
Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhaniy Le Jayenge was the story of two NRI's who are attracted to each other. Simran (Kajol) is whisked back to India to marry a pre-ordained boy. Raj follows her and woos her relentlessly in all the right and wrong ways. He tries to impress her father (the right way), he helps her break her karva chauth fast by tricking her fiance (wrong way). Anyhow, love wins and in a painful climax where Kajol has to run after a train, they reunite.
The movie is an all time blockbuster and is still running in a cinema hall in Mumbai. It never did get as big as this again. Raj and Simran will remain etched in the minds of movie goers of this generation.
FLOPS AND UP AGAIN
Bambai ka Babu, Sapnay and Hamesha flopped. Then came the Rajiv Rai directed Gupt. It was a thriller about a woman obsessed with a man and killing all the people who tried to get close to him, or tried to harm him. Kajol put in a great performance in this negetive role. The movie was a hit.
Her next outing with Ajay Devgan, and Amir-Juhi was the young romance, Ishq. It was a big hit. Here she had little to do but to prance around romantically,
She co-starred with Salman Khan in Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya. While he danced shirtless to 'O O Jaane jana', she ran through the fields and sang 'Odh li chunariya' This movie was a big hit too.
Tanuja Chandra's Dushman offered her a meaty double role of a brave girl killed by a ganglord. The shy identical twin then comes forward to find strength within herself to face and kill the ganglord. Her co-star was the hunky Sanjay Dutt who played a blind man who trains Kajol in martial arts. The movie fared well.
Then came Pyar To Hona Hi Tha, a movie with Ajay Devgan. This time the jodi got lucky and the movie was a big hit. They played a young couple thrown together by the circumstances to travel together. They start out by disliking each other, and after a while, fall in love.
TOMBOY TURNS TONY
Karan Johar chose a Archie comics theme for his debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Shahrukh played Rahul, a young collegiate who cant see that Anjali, his best friend, is in love with him. He falls for the new hottie, Tina who is all feminine and sexy. Anjali is heartbroken and leaves them. Tina leaves behind a young girl and dies. Anjali is no longer the tomboy she was in college and has turned into a graceful young woman. Now it is Rahul's turn to fall in love with her. The role was a breeze for talented Kajol who played both the Tomboy and the Tony with equal elan. Manish Malhotra aided her her by choosing her outfits and clothes with care.
The times were changing. Gone were the days when Kajol could carry off wearing electric blue mini as she did in - Yeh DillagiTere pyar me pagal hoon me subah sham. Not to mention the gypsy skirt in Karan Arjun's 'Jaati hoon main'. Now the viewers were more tuned in and wanted their stars well kitted out. All the other stars like Karishma and Twinkle were careful about what they wore and hired personal designers.
GIRL COMES OF AGE
Hum Apke Dil Me Rehte Hain was a romance co-starring Kajol and Anil Kapoor. She undergoes a trial marriage with Anil Kapoor and at the end of the 'term of agreement' finds herself pregnant. It was quite like the south-indian family melodrama. The movie was a big hit.
Raju Chacha with Ajay Devgan did not do well. It was a movie about orphan kids and greedy relatives out to cheat the children out of their money.
Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi was Do Kaliyan once again, except with a grown up girl. This movie too did not do well. Kajol co-starred here with Suniel Shetty.
EXTRAVAGANZA
Next up was Karan Johar's second movie, Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham. Kajol teamed up with the dependable Shahrukh to play a middle class exhuberant punjabi girl who steals the heart of the millionare heir, Shahrukh. It was an extravagant movie with lavish sets and accessories. As expected Kajol put in an excellent performance as the talkative Anjali.
Soon after, Kajol married her long term sweetheart and took time off from filmmaking to start a family.
Kajol's fans were thrilled when she decided to return to bollywood for selected projects. She teamed up Amir Khan to star in Kunal Kohli's second film Fanaa. The movie was about a blind Kashmiri girl who finds love on a tour to Delhi. She gains her eyesight but loses her love to find him again after 7 years in Kashmir. This time round, she discovers that he is a terrorist and it is up to her make a difficult choice.
This was the first time Kajol was paired with Amir. They were equally talented and despite some hackneyed turns that the story takes, they add an aura to the movie thanks to the amazing chemistry they share. The romantic sequences in the film are breathtaking. Kajol looks beautiful thoughout the movie and there is not a trace of the basketball playing tomboy that debuted in Bekhudi. Amir and Kajol put in an wonderful performance. The political issues that erupted over Amir Khan's stand on the Narmada waters led to a ban on the movie in Gujarat. On top of that, YR Films hiked the rates which irked the PVR into refusing to play the movie in their multiplexes. Despite these disturbances, the movie was one of the top grossers of the year.
Right now Kajol is working on U, Me and Hum, Ajay Devgan's directorial debut.
She also features in a number of television advertisements along with her hubby Ajay.
GOSSSSSIP
Not much gossip about Kajol. She started seeing Ajay Devgan early in her career and the couple quietly got married and embarked on a wonderful two month long honeymoon, travelling to all corners of the world. She willingly gave up work to have a baby. She is very fond of her daughter Nyasa.
Even on the sets during break, Kajol would put on her glasses and read a book quite unselfconciously, or knit. She never put on any starry airs.
She used to be blunt to the point of appearing rude.
Despite her immense talent, Kajol never worked in any arty movie. She is quite happy and content doing commercial cinema and excels in it too.
Her fan base is very wide and is frequently applauded as a good actress. Though she could be said to have inherited her acting prowess from her family, her younger sister, Tanisha has not been able to make a mark on the film world.
FILMOGRAPHY
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