Personal life and Career
Born in August 5, year - 1975 in
Personal life and Career She had an unsuccessful year in year - 2000, as her only release that year, Raju Chacha went unnoticed. Kajol had only two films released in year - 2001. She first played a double role in the drama Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi, which was a major 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 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 year - 2003. She made a successful comeback in year - 2006 with Kunal Kohli's drama Fanaa, one of the highest grossing films of the year. 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 other 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, year - 2008, marked her husband's directorial debut; the film performed moderately at the box office.Her fourthcomiing film is Khan with his favourite pair Shahrukh and the film will be directed by Karan Johar and seen will be seen in the cameo role in Haal-e-dil. Touted as one of the best actresses in Bollywood, Kajol, who is of Bengali-Marathi descent, in fact belongs to a family tree with a long respectable history in the Indian cinema. Her mother Tanuja is a renowned award-winning actress, whilst her father Shomu Mukherjee is a film producer. Her late maternal aunt, Nutan, was one of the most acclaimed actresses, and 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, year - 1999. On April 20, year - 2003, she gave birth to a daughter named Nysa, which means Goddess of purity. On April 10, year - 2008, Kajol's father passed away after suffering from a cardiac arrest. His funeral was held the same day and was attended by other Bollywood personalities. In year - 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 year - 2006, titled Freedom, along with actress Preity Zinta. By Taran Adarsh, April 11, year - 2008 - 08:49 IST Aamir Khan has raised the bar with TAARE ZAMEEN PAR. Comparisons between Aamir and Ajay Devgan, who makes his directorial debut with U ME AUR HUM, would be erroneous, but you can't turn a blind eye to the fact that the viewer would expect an encore with U ME AUR HUM. Will U ME AUR HUM live up to the humungous hype and expectations? Does Devgan have the trappings of a fine storyteller? Oh yes, he does! Let's come to the point right away. Devgan needs to be lauded for choosing a daringly different theme in his debut film and most importantly, doing justice to it, handling it with extreme care. We know him as a powerful actor, now there's yet another designation added to his name -- avant-garde director. Let's move on to the next query! Is the real-life couple -- Ajay and Kajol -- as dynamic yet again? The answer is, they're electrifying. Both pitch in bravura performances, reaffirming the fact that this jodi is amongst the finest of this generation. One of the prime reasons why U ME AUR HUM works, and works big time, is because it's aimed at the heart. Anyone who's into relationships, anyone who believes in love, anyone who thinks from the heart, anyone who has watched his/her partner grapple a grave disease, will identify with a film like U ME AUR HUM. To cut a long story short, U ME AUR HUM marks the birth of a powerhouse of talent. Watch U ME AUR HUM for various reasons, but most importantly, watch it for a new director who respects your 2.30 hours and the hard-earned bucks that you invest on watching his movie. It's time to fall in love with love… again! The first time Ajay [Ajay Devgan] saw Pia [Kajol], she served him drinks. She affected him more than the alcohol, it was love at first sight. The first time Pia saw Ajay, he had a drink too many. She watched him make a fool of himself and was relieved when he passed out. Ajay is on a cruise with his friends -- Nikhil [Sumeet Raghavan] and Reena [Divya Dutta], unhappily married, and Vicky [Karan Khanna] and Natasha [Isha Sharwani], happily unmarried. Ajay is having a wonderful time dealing with martial strife, lots of bad language and huge hangovers, when he finds Pia and time stands still. After a disastrous first meeting, Ajay tries everything to woo her. He wants her, by hook, crook or even her little private notebook. She's not an easy catch at all, but finally, by sheer perseverance, he dances his way into her heart. Ajay and Pia develop a strong and special bond. Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry. And Ajay-Pia love each other dearly, but no marriages can be complete without problems, and Ajay and Pia have also have to face hurdles. Kajol is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. How does the couple face the crisis? The one thing you must carry when you set out to watch U ME AUR HUM is a kerchief. For, this film makes you shed a tear at times, cry at places and weep in at least two vital sequences. But it's not just rona-dhona that you get to see in U ME AUR HUM. The first hour, strictly average in terms of writing, has several sunshine moments. It's breezy, funny, at times silly, but interesting. What also catches your eye is the eye-filling cinematography [Aseem Bajaj in top form, yet again] on the cruise. The songs, the glam look, the subtle humor… you don't take to the film instantly, but you know for a fact that a volcano is brewing. And the volcano does erupt in the second hour! Ajay Devgan, the director, shows his expertise in this hour as the story does an about-turn, exposing the delicate, sensitive and fragile relationships. Devgan reserves the best for the concluding reels and you finally get the answers in the end. U ME AUR HUM is more of a director's film, than anyone else's. A theme like the one projected in this film could go dangerously haywire if entrusted in inept hands, but Devgan seems to have done his homework well. The only glitch is the length in its second hour. A shorter narrative would've only helped! Robin Bhatt, Sutanu Gupta and Akarsh Khurana's screenplay casts a hypnotic spell in the second hour. Sure, the germ stems from THE NOTEBOOK [year - 2004; James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams], but the writers have altered the screenplay keeping Indian sensibilities in mind. It works! Ashwani Dhir's dialogues touch the core of your heart. Every spoken sentence has a meaning. Vishal Bhardwaj's music may not be a chartbuster, but it alternates between soulful and melancholic beautifully. Aseem Bajaj's cinematography is topnotch. Monty Sharma's background score is effective. Now to the performances! U ME AUR HUM is like a medal that glimmers on Ajay Devgan's body of work. He's exceptional! Kajol, well, what can you say of an actress who has proved herself time and again? That she's undoubtedly the best has been proved yet again. Sumeet Raghavan is first-rate. Divya Dutta gets into the groove in the subsequent portions. Karan Khanna and Isha Sharwani are okay. Sachin Khedekar does a fine job. Aditya Rajput and Hazel get minimal scope. On the whole, U ME AUR HUM is a well-made, absorbing love story that's high on the emotional quotient. And that holds tremendous appeal for ladies/families mainly. At the box-office, it's the kind of film that will gather more and more speed with each passing show. Its business at multiplexes should be fantastic. Overseas too should be excellent. Very strongly recommended!
