Kitu Gidwani

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Kitu Gidwani
Kitu Gidwani.jpg
Giddwani in 2013
Born
Kaushalya Gidwani

(1967-10-22) 22 October 1967 (age 56) [1]
Occupation(s)Actress, model, dancer
Years active1984–present

Kaushalya "Kitu" Gidwani (born 22 October 1967) is an Indian actress and model. She has starred in several movies and serials on Indian television.

Contents

Kitu played the role of Svetlana in Swabhimaan which brought recognition for her. Then she signed Shaktimaan and played the role of "Geeta Vishwas", a news channel reporter who stand for the truth. She left the show after a few episodes and later became popular after a TV series, Air Hostess aired on Doordarshan in 1986, and received critical acclaim for her roles in Dance of the Wind (1997), Deepa Mehta's Earth (1998), Govind Nihalani's Rukhmavati Ki Haveli (1991), Kamal Haasan's Abhay and Deham (2001). [2]

Early and personal life

Gidwani was born in Mumbai. Her Sindhi parents migrated from Pakistan after the partition. They lived in a refugee camp in Worli. [3] She has a brother.

She studied in Fort Convent School, Mumbai. She graduated in Commerce and has an M.A. in French. [4] She started acting in French plays. Soon she was acting in English plays directed by Janak Toprani. She acted in some television serials and subsequently acted in a French film Black (1987), where she dared to be topless which was unusual during that time, playing a Brazilian girl in it. [5]

Acting career

Gidwani made her television debut in 1984 on the TV soap Trishna, and during the 1980s and '90s, gave some memorable performances in TV serials like Swabhimaan , Air Hostess and Junoon. [6] She caught a lot of attention after her kissing scene in bed with actor Tom Alter in Junoon. In 1997, she was doing four serials at one time, besides Swabhimaan and Junoon, she was also acting in Saahil, Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum. [7] She recently appeared in multi-starrer Hindi serials Kaashish and Kulvadhu.

In 1997, she played the role of a Hindustani classical singer, Pallavi, who struggles to get her voice back after losing her mentor/mother, in Dance of the Wind. The role won her Best Actress Award at Three Continents Festival, Nantes. [8] In Pankaj Butalia's Shadows in the Dark she played Lajma, a middle-aged woman living in present-day Pakistan. [5] In the 2010s she played small roles in Fashion , Dhobi Ghat and Student of the Year . [6]

In 2001, in conjunction with Wills Lifestyle, an apparel chain owned by ITC Limited, she promoted Wills Sport Lifestyle brand of clothing. [9] In 2006, she also acted in a play, Your Place or Mine by Darshan Jariwala. [10]

She also did a play, Sock ’em With Honey, where she played a traditional Parsi woman from Pakistan, whose daughter falls in love with a Jew, prompting her first trip abroad. [11]

Awards

In 1997, Gidwani won the Best Actress Award at the Three Continents Festival, Nantes, France. The award recognized her outstanding achievement for the role of Pallavi in Dance of the Wind. [12]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984 Holi
1985 Janam Television film
1985 Wisdom Tree Short film
1985 Trishna RoohiTV series
1986Air HostessTV series [13]
1987Black'French film [13]
1991 Rukmavati Ki Haveli Kittu Gidwani
1991 The Khajuraho Short film
1994 Junoon Mini AgrawalTV series [14]
1994 Tehkikaat Kavita DeshpandeTV series
1995–1996 Saahil PrernaTV series
1995–1997 Swabhimaan Svetlana BanerjeeTV series
1997KarvaanLajma
1997 Dance of the Wind Pallavi Sehgal
1998 Earth Bunty Sethna [15]
1998 Shaktimaan Geeta VishwasTV series
2001 Deham Jaya [16]
2001 Abhay Jayanti
2001 Aalavandhan JayanthiTamil film
2002 Nazarana Ishita's motherTelevision film
2004 Kesar Pam MallyaTV series
2005 Kasshish RatnaTV series
2006–2007 Kulvaddhu Antra Singh RathodTV series
2006 Dil Diya Hai Michelle
2007 Strangers
2008 Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na Sheela Pariyar
2008 Fashion Anisha Roy
2009 Phir Kabhi Divya Singh
2010 Hello Zindagi Dr. Sadhana
2011 Dhobi Ghat Vatsala
2011 Monica Pamela Garewal [17]
2012 Student of the Year Manini Banerjee
2013 Ek Bura Aadmi Rukmi Devi
2015 Wedding Pullav
2016 Traffic Rehan's mother
2017 Ok Jaanu Tara's Mother
2018 Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai Sameer's step paternal GrandmotherTV series
2019 Fittrat Pinky KapoorWeb series released on ALTBalaji and ZEE5
2020 Ghost Stories Dhruv's mother
2023 Hum Rahe Na Rahe Hum [18] Damayanti Barot / "Rani Sahiba"/ Queen of Ranak Garh

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References

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