THE EARLY STAGE

The Govinda we know today was not made in a day. Nothing came easy for this boy born in Punjab and brought up in Virar, a suburb of Mumbai, and not a posh one either.  Govinda lived in chawls and dreamed big.  His parents had some connection with the film world, which made dreaming easy for him.  He started working as early as 1977 when he was barely 14, in roles of a younger brother or son in family dramas that were de riguer then.  In 1986, when he was 23, he made his full fledged debut with Love 86.  It had two poor boys (Govinda and Rohan Kapoor) in love with two rich girls (Neelam and Farha).  The movie was popular among the younger crowd.  It was the time when established stars like Amitabh and Jeetendra were on their last legs.  The industry was dying for some fresh blood.  Aamir Khan was still a new guy on the block and choosy about his films. Sanjay Dutt was also just starting out, but had a problem with drugs. So the slot was wide open for new actors.  Govinda's next Ilzaam co-starred again with his early favorite Neelam.  It was a thriller and fared well at the box office.

It was still the time of family socials.  Stories of large families that face trouble and threat from outside and learn how to cope with it.  Usually a younger son or brother did all the legwork in pulling the family out of crisis and bringing it back to its former glory.  If it was not that, then it was some kind of a masala movie with proper villians and dhishum dhishum to be done before the heroine and her pa were won over and peace restored in smallsville.  Govinda tried to cope with such movies and they followed one upon the other. Marte Dam Tak, Khudgarz, Pyar Karke Dekho, Sindoor.

HERO OF THE COMMON MAN

Govinda acted well, danced very well and was able to play the younger sibling to established stars or take the lead with equal ease.  An onscreen EASE was his USP actually.  He was getting very popular as a the common man's HERO. And he was ALL OVER. Right in his debut year (1986) he had 5 releases.  Most of the established artists had 5 releases in their peak years.  He had 6 releases in 1987, 9 in 1988, 15 in 1989 and 10 in 1990.  It surely sounds like some kind of a World Record.  He must have been all over the cinema halls, one release after the other.  The aam junta was lapping him up.

The classy viewers looked down upon him and his antics. There was not an iota of sophistication in him, his clothes were just too flashy. He was downmarket to the boot.  Govinda could do no right as far as they were concerned. The class went 'ugh' at his movies.

AAM HERO TURNS KHAS

In 1993 Aankhen happened.  Aankhen brought together Anees Bazmee (as a writer), David Dhawan and Govinda.  A lethal combo, as we know now.  The movie broke all time records for collections at box office, and made Govinda hot like never before. This movie established the fact that as a comedy actor, there was no one to beat Govinda.  It was as if Mehmood has suddenly sprouted enough charisma to be the film's hero as well. With David Dhawan, it was as if midas himself had blessed the box office.  Together David and Govinda crafted many classics like Dulhe Raja, Hero No 1, Haseena Maan Jayegi, Jodi No 1, Ek aur Ek Gyarah .. to mention very few.

Suddenly Govinda spelt magic.  The classy audiences were eager to endorse him, his very clothes which made them go 'chi chi' were suddenly cool.  In fact, Govinda was supposed to wear outre clothes. His over the top antics were FUN, and his name became synonymous with 'ENTERTAINMENT'.

TU MERA HERO NO 1

This even brought out another facet of Govinda.  Any heroine who aspired for the top spot vied to be seen with him. First it was Karishma who took the khatiya shortcut with Govinda.  Suddenly the pastry faced, ruffle clad Karishma took a makeover with Manish to look better, and pranced around a khatiya with Govinda for a quick climb to the top spot. Later, it was Raveena, Rani, Twinkle, Lara, Katrina who were vying to be in a popular movie with Govinda. He is supposed to have said 'When I see a heroine eager to work with me, I see her eagerness to be a successful star'.

CO-STAR NO 1

Even established stars looked to team up with Govinda to resurrect their magic at the Box Office.  Sanjay Dutt teamed up with Govinda in Haseena Maan Jayegi, Jodi No 1 and Ek aur Ek Gyarah. When Amitabh's star was down, he had teamed up with Govinda in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.  The story was reversed somewhat when Govinda was attempting a comeback in Salaam E Ishq, but everyone was unanimous that he was the best thing about the movie.  Similarly in Partner, Govinda overshadowed Salman.  Akshay Kumar is a past master at comedy now, but Govinda had not forgotten his tricks, as could be seen in Bhagam Bhag.

COMEDY CIRCUS

Now what was it about Govinda's comedy that turned his movies into gold?  First it was Govinda's body language.  He is one the rare actors who uses his entire body like a prop while acting. His laconic one liners were delivered casually, while he used his body to twist and turn to convey the funny in it. 'Hamare joote kahan hai?' he yawns when he wakes up in Raja Babu, conveying perfectly the spoilt nawab.  He was ably supported by some sidekick, either Johnny Lever, Kader Khan or the famous Shakti Kapoor (who first uttered his trademark 'owwwooo' in Raja Babu).  The heroine would step in, and attaining her would take up the rest of the movie.Usually it was the parents who were the spoilsports, sometimes it would be a villian who would set off a comedy of errors, as in Aankhen.

Comedy in a Govinda movie gave a new meaning to the phrase 'rolling in the aisles'.  The only time a hanky was needed in his movie, was to wipe tears after a hearty laugh.  The audiences came out de-stressed and fortified to deal with real life once again.  No wonder Govinda movies were a surefire hit all through the 90s.

SONG AND DANCE

Much before he was known for his inherent knack for comedy, Govinda was seen a great dancer.  His early movies, where he was the younger brother or the son, had atleast one song where he took his girl (usually Neelam) out dancing on grassy slopes.  In these badly choreographed dance numbers, he managed to shine as much as he could.  Later he had special item numbers like in Gambler he wore the weirdest imaginable outfits to sing 'Meri Marzi', which was a big charttopper.  Quite like his movies, his songs too were huge hits.  With Karishma he sang 'Sarkailo Khatia', 'Tu mera Hero No 1', 'Me to bhel puri kha raha tha', 'What is your style number' 'Sona kitna sona hai' and 'Kisi Disco me jayeen' with Raveena.  Even  in the recent Bhagam Bhag the title track was a big hit. In 'Soni de nakhre sone lagde' from Partner with Katrina and Salman, he grooved to his heart's content. It was clear that age had'nt stiffend his joints yet.

WANING AND WAXING

Govinda's film career waned somewhat when he dabbled into Politics.  He won his election with a good margin, though he was not seen as a very effective Member of the Parliament.  Now he is back into reckoning with a lukewarm Salaam E Ishq, successful Bhagam Bhag and a superhit Partner.

GOSSSSSIP

Govinda was first linked romantically with Neelam.  He was quite determined marry her.  His mother put her foot down and insisted he marry a girl of his choice.  So now it is Sunita Ahuja who rules his roost.

He was linked with other heroines as well, notably Rani Mukherjee who starred in quite a few of his films.  But both the parties denied it vehemently.

He is trying to launch his daughter into movies and is convinced she will make a name for herself here.

FILMOGRAPHY

•  Partner (2007) .... Bhaskar
•  Salaam-E-Ishq (2007) .... Raju
•  Bhagam Bhag (2006) .... Babla
•  Sandwich (2006) .... Sher 'Sheru' Singh/Shekhar
•  Ssukh (2005) .... Chandraprakash Sharma
•  Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen (2005) .... Raja/Vicky
•  Raja Bhaiya (2003) .... Raja Bhaiya
•  Ek Aur Ek Gyarah: By Hook or by Crook (2003) .... Tara
•  Chalo Ishq Ladaaye (2002) .... Pappu
•  Waah! Tera Kya Kehna (2002) .... Raj Oberoi/Banne Khan
•  Akhiyon Se Goli Maare (2002) .... Raj Oberoi
•  Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai (2002) .... Sunder
•  Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya (2001) .... Bhimsha
•  Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001) .... Raj Malhotra
•  Albela (2001) .... Tony
•  Jodi No.1 (2001) .... Veeru
•  Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (2001) .... Prem
•  Beti No. 1 (2000) .... Bharat Bhatnagar
•  Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain (2000) .... Ganga
•  Shikari (2000) .... Om Srivastav/Mahendra Pratap Singh
•  Kunwara (2000) .... Rajoo
•  Joru Ka Ghulam (2000) .... Raja
•  Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000) .... Raj Malhotra/Raj's Mother/Raj's Father/Raj's Sister/Raj's Grand Pa/Raj's Grand Ma
•  Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain (1999) .... Rahul Kumar
•  Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) .... Monu
•  Rajaji (1999) .... Rajaji
•  Anari No. 1 (1999) .... Raja/Rahul Saxena
•  Pardesi Babu (1998) .... Raju Pardesi
•  Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) .... Pyare Mohan/Chotey Miyan
•  Maharaja (1998) .... Kohinoor Karan
•  Dulhe Raja (1998) .... Raja
•  Achanak (1998) .... Arjun Nanda
•  Aunty No. 1 (1998) .... Gopi/Aunty
•  Deewana Mastana (1997) .... Bunnu/Police Commisioner of Mumbai
•  Gambler (1997) .... Inspector Dayashankar Pandey
•  Do Ankhen Barah Hath (1997) .... Sagar
•  Agnichakra (1997) .... Amar
•  Hero No. 1 (1997) .... Rajesh Malhotra 'Raju'
•  Banarasi Babu (1997) .... Gopi
•  Bhoot Bhungla (1997) .... Dewan
•  Dil Deewana Maane Na (1997)
•  Kaun Rokega Mujhe (1997)
•  Loha (1997) .... Govinda
•  Naseeb (1997) .... Krishna Prasad
•  Chhote Sarkar (1996) .... Amar/Rohit
•  Zordaar (1996) .... Ravi
•  Maahir (1996) .... Bhola
•  Apne Dam Par (1996) .... Special appearance
•  Saajan Chale Sasural (1996) .... Shyamsunder
•  Rock Dancer (1995) .... Guest
•  Coolie No. 1 (1995) .... Raju
•  Hathkadi (1995) .... ACP Suraj Chauhan/Rajnikant
•  Andolan (1995) .... Aniket
•  Kismat (1995) .... Ajay
•  Brahma (1994)
•  Aag (1994) .... Birju
•  Prem Shakti (1994)
•  Dulaara (1994) .... Raja
•  Raja Babu (1994) .... Raja Singh
•  Beta Ho To Aisa (1994) .... Raju
•  Bhagyawan (1994) .... Inspector Amar
•  Ekka Raja Rani (1994) .... Sagar
•  Khuddar (1994) .... Police Inspector Siddhant Sure
•  Muqabla (1993)
•  Aadmi Khilona Hai (1993) .... Sharad Verma
•  Aankhen (1993) .... Bunnu/Gulshan/Gaurishankar
•  Prateeksha (1993) .... Raja
•  Zakhmo Ka Hisaab (1993) .... Suraj Kumar
•  Jaan Se Pyaara (1992) .... Inspector Jai/Sunder
•  Shola Aur Shabnam (1992) .... Karan
•  Radha Ka Sangam (1992)
•  Zulm Ki Hukumat (1992) .... Inspector Pratap Kohli
•  Bhabhi (1991) .... Amar/Nakadram
•  Karz Chukana Hai (1991) .... Ravi
•  Hum (1991) .... Vijay
•  Swarg (1990) .... Krishna
•  Maha-Sangram (1990)
•  Apmaan Ki Aag (1990)
•  Awaargi (1990) .... Dhiren Kumar
•  Izzatdaar (1990) .... Vijay
•  Kali Ganga (1990)
•  Khatarnaak (1990) .... Dancer in song "Jeena Hai Humka.."
•  Naya Khoon (1990) .... Dr. Anand
•  Raeeszada (1990)
•  Taqdeer Ka Tamasha (1990)
•  Paap Ka Ant (1989)
•  Gentleman (1989)
•  Jung Baaz (1989) .... Arjun Srivastav
•  Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni (1989) .... Ravi Verma
•  Billoo Badshah (1989)
•  Aakhri Baazi (1989) .... Ram Kumar
•  Gair Kaanooni (1989) .... Om Narayan
•  Farz Ki Jung (1989) .... Vishal
•  Dost Garibon Ka (1989)
•  Asmaan Se Ooncha (1989) .... Vikram Malik (Vicky)
•  Do Qaidi (1989) .... Kanu
•  Gharana (1989) .... Ravi Mehra
•  Sachai Ki Taqat (1989) .... Sagar Singh
•  Taaqatwar (1989) .... John D'Mello
•  Teri Payal Mere Geet (1989) .... Premi
•  Paap Ko Jalaa Kar Raakh Kar Doonga (1988) .... Deepak Malhotra
•  Halaal Ki Kamai (1988)
•  Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani (1988) .... Amar Dhanraj
•  Hatya (1988)
•  Dariya Dil (1988) .... Ravi
•  Ghar Mein Ram Gali Mein Shyam (1988) .... Amar
•  Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988) .... Iqbal Ali
•  Pyaar Mohabbat (1988)
•  Shiv Shakti (1988)
•  Sindoor (1987) .... Ravi
•  Pyaar Karke Dekho (1987)
•  Dadagiri (1987) .... Suraj
•  Khudgarz (1987) .... Kumar Saxena
•  Marte Dam Tak (1987) .... Jai
•  Mera Lahoo (1987) .... Actor
•  Tan-Badan (1986) .... Ravi Pratap
•  Ilzaam (1986) .... Ajay Kumar
•  Duty (1986)
•  Love 86 (1986) .... Vikram Doshi
•  Sadaa Suhagan (1986) .... Ravi
•  Mit Jayenge Mitane Wale (1977)