Kajol

Lore & Background

Kajol was born in Mumbai to actress Tanuja and film director Shomu Mukherjee. Her parents separated when she was young, and she was raised by her maternal grandmother. She made her acting debut at age 17 in the 1992 romantic drama Bekhudi while still in school, but later dropped out to pursue a full-time film career. Her early commercial successes included Baazigar (1993) and Yeh Dillagi (1994).

Starring roles in the top-grossing romances Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) established her as a leading star in the 1990s, earning her two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. She also gained critical appreciation for playing a psychopathic killer in Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997) and an avenger in Dushman (1998). After the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), she took a sabbatical from full-time acting.

Kajol won two more Best Actress awards at Filmfare for Fanaa (2006) and My Name Is Khan (2010). Her highest-grossing releases include the comedy Dilwale (2015) and the period film Tanhaji (2020). She has since starred in streaming projects such as Tribhanga (2021), The Trial (2023), and Do Patti (2024). She has been married to actor Ajay Devgn since 1999 and has two children.

Reader's Guide

Kajol's significance lies in her status as one of the most successful and highest-paid actresses of her era in Hindi cinema. Her performances in iconic romantic films of the 1990s, particularly Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, helped define the decade's popular cinema and earned her lasting recognition. She demonstrated versatility by taking on negative and dramatic roles, such as in Gupt: The Hidden Truth, for which she became the first female actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role. Her career longevity, marked by a sabbatical and later returns to both theatrical and streaming projects, underscores her adaptability. Beyond acting, she is noted for social activism focused on widows and children, and for serving as a talent judge on the reality show Rock-N-Roll Family in 2008. Her receipt of the Padma Shri in 2011 reflects her broad cultural impact.

Did You Know?

• Kajol is known mononymously as Kajol.
• She received the Padma Shri in 2011, the fourth-highest civilian award by the government of India.
• She was the first female actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role, for Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997).
• Her film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) became the longest-running Indian film ever, surpassing 1000 weeks of screening in Mumbai.