Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress.

Juhi Chawla was born in Ambala, Haryana on 13 November 1967.

Her father was an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

She completed her schooling at Fort Convent School, Bombay (present-day Mumbai), and graduated from Sydenham College, Bombay.

She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s.

Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen persona, she is the recipient of several accolades, including two Filmfare Awards.

After winning the 1984 Miss India beauty pageant, Chawla made her acting debut with a brief appearance in the film Sultanat (1986), and had her breakthrough role in the tragic romance film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Chawla was the winner of the Miss India title in 1984.

She also won the Best Costume Award at the Miss Universe contest in 1984.

Chawla's debut role in Bollywood was a small part in the 1986 film Sultanat.

She got her first major role in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988, in which she starred with Aamir Khan.

The film, a modern-day adaption of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, was both a major critical and commercial success, with Khan and Chawla becoming "overnight stars".

It won the Filmfare Award for Best Film, and Chawla became the first actress to win the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year, also receiving her first nomination for Best Actress.

Chawla's pairing with Aamir Khan and their on-screen chemistry was often cited by the media as successful.

The film has since attained a cult status, with The Times of India ranking it amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films", calling it "one of the landmark films of Hindi cinema" and crediting it with making "Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla household names".

Premankur Biswas of First Post wrote in a retrospective review, "Juhi Chawla, with her flouncy ghagra and passive but assertive demeanor was an early predecessor to the sexually liberated Bollywood heroines of today. She wore what she wanted and initiated a relationship with the man she desired".

In 1990, she starred in Pratibandh.

She also received her second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for the film.

Her other releases that year included the family drama Swarg alongside Rajesh Khanna and Govinda, which marked the first of several collaborations with director David Dhawan.

In 1992, she appeared in Bol Radha Bol alongside Rishi Kapoor, for which she received her third Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

Another pairing with Aamir Khan in Daulat Ki Jung resulted in negative reviews.

The year 1993 was key in her career, as she gained recognition for her starring roles in Lootere, Aaina, Darr, and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the lattermost.

In 1993, Chawla appeared in four films.

Her first release was Lootere, directed by Dharmesh Darshan and starring Sunny Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Chunkey Pandey and Anupam Kher.

She played a young woman who receives witness protection through the service of a bodyguard, played by Deol, with whom she eventually falls in love.

She was cast in two movies produced by Yash Chopra.

The first was Aaina, which saw Chawla and Amrita Singh play sisters falling for the same man, played by Jackie Shroff.

Her third film that year was Mahesh Bhatt's romantic comedy Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke opposite Aamir Khan, which was a success with both critics and audiences.

Her performance as a Tamilian runaway, which required her to master Tamil language and dialect, met with acclaim and established her as a comic actress.

Writing for The Indian Express, Udaya Tara Nayar noted that she played her role "to perfection".

She won a Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her work.

The last film she appeared in that year was the thriller Darr, directed by Yash Chopra.

The film was one of the highest-grossing films of the year, making it Chawla's fourth consecutive box office hit of the year.

Chawla has been married to industrialist Jay Mehta since 1995, with whom she has two children.

Along with her husband and Shah Rukh Khan, she is the co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Further success came in 1997 with Deewana Mastana, Yes Boss, and Ishq.

She also starred in several Punjabi films, including the biopics Shaheed Udham Singh (2000), Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004), Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waaris (2006) and Sukhmani – Hope for Life (2010).

Along with Khan, she co-founded the production company Dreamz Unlimited, which produced three films, beginning with their self-starring Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000).

In the following decade, Chawla began playing against type in art-house projects, garnering critical acclaim for her performances in Jhankaar Beats (2003), 3 Deewarein (2003), My Brother Nikhil (2005), I Am (2011) and Gulaab Gang (2014).

Among her television work, she was a talent judge on the third season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2009) and had supporting roles in the streaming series Hush Hush (2022) and The Railway Men (2023).