Dimple Kapadia is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Hindi films. [1] She was discovered by Raj Kapoor at age 14, who gave her the title role in his teen romance Bobby (1973), opposite his son Rishi Kapoor. [2] The film became a massive commercial success and made her an overnight star. [3] [4] Her role as a Christian teenager from Goa established her as a youth fashion icon and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. [5] [6] Kapadia retired from acting following her marriage to Indian actor Rajesh Khanna earlier in 1973, and returned to the film industry in 1984, after her separation from Khanna. [2] The release of her comeback film, Saagar , was delayed, with Zakhmi Sher becoming the second film of her career. [7] Released in 1985, [8] Saagar earned her a second Best Actress award at Filmfare, [9] and she went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema in the 1980s and early 1990s. [1] The early roles she played following her return included the Hitchcockian thriller Aitbaar (1985), for which she received positive reviews, and the commercially successful action films Arjun (1985) and Janbaaz (1986). [10] [11] [12] During this period, she acted in several films in South India, which she admitted to having made for financial gain and dismissed their quality. [11]
Many of Kapadia's early roles relied on her perceived beauty, and she would struggle to be taken seriously as an actress. [13] She made a decision to accept more serious roles, [14] and won acclaim for her role in the marital drama Kaash (1987). [13] [15] Financial success came with films like Insaniyat Ke Dushman (1987), Insaaf (1987), in which she played double roles; the controversial revenge saga Zakhmi Aurat (1988), in which she played an avenging rape victim; and Ram Lakhan (1989). [16] [5] She started the next decade by venturing into neorealist art films, known in India as parallel cinema, [17] including Drishti (1990), Lekin... (1990), and Rudaali (1993). [5] [18] All these films won her critical praise, and her role as a professional mourner in the latter earned her a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. She further essayed character parts in Prahaar (1991), Angaar (1992), Gardish (1993), and Krantiveer (1994), which garnered her a fourth Filmfare Award, in the Best Supporting Actress category. [19] [20] [5]
Kapadia became selective about her roles, and her work over the following decades was infrequent, with substantial gaps. [21] [22] She played the supporting part of a divorced alcoholic in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and was noted for her portrayal of the title role, a middle-aged professor, in the American production Leela (2002). [23] [24] In both films, she played women who are the object of younger men's desire, in roles written especially for her. [5] [17] Some of her later film credits include leading roles in Hum Kaun Hai? (2004), Pyaar Mein Twist (2005), Phir Kabhi (2008), Tum Milo Toh Sahi (2010), and her supporting roles included Being Cyrus (2005), Luck by Chance (2009), Dabangg (2010), Cocktail (2012) and Finding Fanny (2014). [25] [20] While Dabangg was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all-time, [26] [27] her roles in Luck by Chance and Finding Fanny earned her two Filmfare nominations. [9] [28] Kapadia was cast by Christopher Nolan in his action thriller Tenet , [29] which was the fourth-highest grossing film of 2020 and earned her positive reviews. [30] [31]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Tandav | Anuradha Kishore | Amazon Prime Video | [118] |
2023 | Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo | Savitri | Disney+ Hotstar | [119] |
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Dimple Kapadia is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father's efforts to launch her in the film industry. She was discovered at age 14 by the filmmaker Raj Kapoor, who cast her in the title role of his teen romance Bobby (1973), which opened to major commercial success and gained her wide public recognition. Shortly before the film's release in 1973, she married the actor Rajesh Khanna and quit acting. Their daughters, Twinkle and Rinke Khanna, both briefly worked as actresses in their youth. Kapadia returned to films in 1984, two years after her separation from Khanna. Her comeback film Saagar, which was released a year later, revived her career. Both Bobby and Saagar won her Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. Through her work over the next decade, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses.
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Rajesh Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, he is known as the first Superstar of Indian cinema. His accolades include five Filmfare Awards, and in 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.
Bobby is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor's son, Rishi Kapoor, in his first leading role, opposite Dimple Kapadia in her debut role. The film became a blockbuster securing the position of highest grossing Indian film of 1973, the second highest grossing film of the 1970s at the Indian box office, and one of the top 20 highest-grossing Indian films of all time. It also became an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union, where it drew an audience of 62.6 million viewers, making it one of the top 20 biggest box office hits of all time in the Soviet Union.
Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being director in Sholay (1975), which is regarded as one of the most influential films ever made in India. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2013.
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Geeta Bali was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Bali is regarded among the finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Bali acted in over 75 films in a career spanning over two decades. She was twice nominated for Filmfare Awards.
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Rudaali is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, written by Lajmi and Gulzar and based on a 1979 short story of the same name by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi. Set in a small village in Rajasthan, the film stars Dimple Kapadia as Shanichari, a lonely and hardened woman who, despite a lifetime of misfortune and abandonment, is unable to express grief through crying and is challenged with a new job as a professional mourner. Raakhee, Raj Babbar, and Amjad Khan appear in supporting roles. Produced by the National Film Development Corporation of India and Doordarshan, the film was labelled part of India's neo-realist parallel cinema, but it employed several of the common elements of mainstream Hindi cinema, including songs composed by Bhupen Hazarika.
Lekin... (transl. But...) is a 1991 Hindi drama mystery film, loosely based on the 1895 short story Kshudhit Pashaan by Rabindranath Tagore and directed by Gulzar. It stars Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Amjad Khan, Alok Nath, and Beena Banerjee, and features a special appearance by Hema Malini. The film tells the story of Reva, a restless ghost who seeks liberation and haunts the ancient palace of Raja Param Singh in Rajasthan when she is discovered by Sameer, a museum curator sent by the government to salvage valuables in the region. As she recreates a visual representation of the history of the palace which reveals her tragic story, Sameer becomes determined to help set her free.
Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, film producer, film director and screenwriter known for his work in Hindi cinema. Anand is considered one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Through a career that spanned over six decades, he worked in more than 100 films. Anand is a recipient of four Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. The Government of India honored him with Padma Bhushan, Indian third highest civilian honour in 2001 and with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002.
Drishti (transl. Vision) is a 1990 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Govind Nihalani, starring Dimple Kapadia, Shekhar Kapur and Irrfan. The film depicts the marital life of an urban couple from an upper-class milieu in Mumbai and follows their trials and tribulations, infidelity, divorce, and meeting after years of separation.
Insaaf (transl. Justice) is a 1987 Bollywood action film directed by Mukul Anand, starring Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia and Suresh Oberoi. The film was remade in Tamil as Chinnappadass with Sathyaraj. The film was the comeback film of Khanna after a hiatus.
Kali Ganga is a Bollywood action film released in 1990 and stars Dimple Kapadia in the title role of a dacoit, along with Govinda, Anuradha Patel, and Suresh Oberoi in pivotal roles.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar abbreviated as TJMM, is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Luv Ranjan and produced by Luv Films and T-Series Films. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles, alongside Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor and Anubhav Singh Bassi in supporting roles. The film marks the return of Shraddha Kapoor, after a three-year hiatus, and the acting debuts of Boney Kapoor and Anubhav Singh Bassi.
with movies like Kaash, Drishti, Lekin, Rudaali and Leela, she (Dimple) showed that off-beat films too are her forte.