Soni Razdan

Last updated

Soni Razdan
Soni Razdan.jpg
Born
Birmingham, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • film director
Years active1981–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1986)​
Children2, including Alia Bhatt
Family Bhatt family

Soni Mahesh Bhatt, born and known professionally as Soni Razdan, is a British actress and film director who works in Indian Hindi-language films. [1] She had established herself as a leading actress of the 1980s and early 1990s and is part of the Bhatt family of Indian cinema.

Contents

She made her acting debut as Rosemary in 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981). She also played roles in films such as Mandi , Trikal , Khamosh , and Saaransh where she earned a nomination for the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also starred in OTT series including, The Verdict - State vs Nanavati , Out of Love , This Way Up , and Call My Agent: Bollywood .

Early life

Soni Razdan grew up in Bombay, India. [2]

Career

Early work and debut (1991–1998)

Razdan with Kalpana Lajmi at PETA Anniversary Soni Razdan, Kalpana Lajmi at PETA Anniversary.jpg
Razdan with Kalpana Lajmi at PETA Anniversary

Razdan debuted in Hindi films in a supporting role with the 1981 film 36 Chowringhee Lane starring Jennifer Kendal. It also marked the directorial debut of Aparna Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. [3] Razdan garnered mainstream attention for her appearance in the film. 36 Chowringhee Lane was also entered in the first edition of the Manila International Film Festival, where it won the top prize. Scholar Wimal Dissanayake sees the film as a portrayal of the patriarchal social system: "The film portrays the plight of a lonely woman in a society that cares little for questions of female subjectivity and self-fulfillment. In popular culture the title of the film has become symbolic of the city of Kolkata, particularly its cuisine. A Bangalore restaurant is called 36 Chowringhee Lane. [4] A fast-food chain in Delhi is called 34 Chowringhee Lane. [5] Then she also appeared in Ahista Ahista directed by Esmayeel Shroff. [6] It is a remake of the Kannada film Gejje Pooje . [7]

In 1983, she appeared in film called Mandi directed by Shyam Benegal. Based on a classic Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, the film narrates the story of a brothel, situated in the heart of a city, an area that some politicians want for its prime locality. [8] The film is a satirical comedy on politics and prostitution. Her major breakthrough came in 1984 film Saaransh . It is about an elderly Maharashtrian couple living in Mumbai who come to terms with the loss of their only son. It was directed by her now husband Mahesh Bhatt. It was also chosen as India's official entry for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but it was not nominated. Her performance in the film was critically appreciated by the audience for which she earned a nomination for the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. [9] In 1985, Razdan had two release in the year which was the Historical drama Trikal (alongside Leela Naidu, Naseeruddin Shah and Neena Gupta) and the Thriller Khamosh (alongside Shabana Azmi and again with Naseeruddin Shah), both of which were critically and commercially successful. [10] In 1986, Razdan starred in an English-language Indian film named On Wings of Fire . [11] From 1990-1993, Razdan appeared in 6 films. Including — Daddy , Sadak , Saathi , Sir , Gumrah , and Gunaah . Mostly she appeared as a supporting roles. [12] [13]

In 1998, Razdan appeared as a lead in the Canadian film named Such a Long Journey , co-starring Roshan Seth and directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. [14] The story, based on the novel of the same name written by Rohinton Mistry. [15] The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. [16] [17]

Career slump and hiatus (2001–2019)

In 2001, she appeared in the comedy film, Monsoon Wedding . Monsoon Wedding premiered in the Marché du Film section of the 2001 Cannes Film Festival [18] [19] and went on to win the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and receive a Golden Globe Award nomination while grossing over $30 million internationally at the box office. A musical based on the film premiered on Broadway in April 2014. [20] In 2017, IndieWire named it the 19th best romance of the 21st century. [21] Between 2004-2013, she appeared in many films including, Dobara , [22] Page 3 , [23] Jaan-E-Mann , Dil Dosti Etc , Patiala House , [24]

Razdan directed a film called Love Affair that was expected to be released in 2016, but did not. [25] [26] She acted in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi which also starred her daughter Alia in the lead role. This was the first time when she shared the screen with Alia where she played the character of Alia's mother. [27] Soni played the lead role in the film Yours Truly where she portrayed the character of a lonely middle-aged government employee Mithi Kumar. [28] Reviewer from The Quint writes, Sanjoy Nag uses silence as a tool to help us understand Mithi better, and Razdan embraces that silence. She is brave yet afraid, stoic yet vulnerable, lonely yet hopeful. [29]

In 2019, she appeared in Noblemen , No Fathers in Kashmir and War . [30] [31]

Personal life

Razdan and her family attend the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre Alia Bhatt and her family attend the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.jpg
Razdan and her family attend the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre

She is the mother of Shaheen Bhatt and actress Alia Bhatt, step mother of Pooja Bhatt & Rahul Bhatt. [32]

Razdan has stated that she has lived in India since she was a 3 month old and that she carries an Overseas Citizenship of India. [33]

Filmography

Films

YearFilmRoleNotes
1981 36 Chowringhee Lane Rosemary Stoneham
Ahista Ahista Deepa
1983 Mandi Nadira
1984 Saaransh Sujata SumanNominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
1985 Trikaal Aurora
Khamosh Herself
1986 On Wings of Fire Thais
1998 Such a Long Journey Dilnavaz Noble
1990 Daddy Priya
1991 Sadak Special appearance
Saathi Tina
1993 Sir Shobha Verma
Gumrah Angela
Gunaah Gloria
2001 Monsoon Wedding Saroj Rai
2004 Dobara Mrs. Devika Mehta
2005 Page 3 Anjali Thapar
Nazar —Director
2006 Jaan-E-Mann Mrs. Goel
2007 Dil Dosti Etc Apurv's Mother
2011 Patiala House Dimple Bua
Love Breakups Zindagi Guest at wedding
2013 Shootout at Wadala Manya's mother
2016 Love Affair —Director; Unreleased
2018 Raazi Teji Khan
Yours Truly Mithi Kumar
2019 Noblemen Shruti Sharma
No Fathers in Kashmir Halima
War Nafeesa Rahmani
2021 Sardar Ka Grandson Simi Netflix film
2023 Pippa Maati
2025 Abir Gulaal ††TBAPost-Production
TBA Songs of Paradise †TBA [34]

Television

YearShowRolePlatform
1986 Buniyaad Sulochana (Lochan) DD National
1994-98 Junoon DD Metro
1995-96 Saahil DD Metro
2017 Love Ka Hai Intezaar Rajmata Rajeshwari Ranawat Star Plus
2019 The Verdict - State vs Nanavati Mehra Nanavati ALTBalaji and ZEE5
Out of Love Mrs. Kapoor Hotstar
This Way Up Kavita, Vish's mother Channel 4
2021 Call My Agent: Bollywood Treasa Netflix
2024 Tanaav SonyLIV season 2

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
1985 Filmfare Awards Best Supporting Actress Saaransh Nominated [35]
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Best Actress Nominated [36]
2024 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress - OTT Pippa Won

References

  1. ↑ "Soni BHATT". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. ↑ expressindia, daily news (30 January 2001). "I'll voice the worries of Kashmiri muslim". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Sen, Aparna. "'If I'd made more compromises I may have been more successful' – Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Aparna Sen" . Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "36 Chowringhee Lane in BTM Layout 1st stage, Bangalore – Buzzintown". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "34, Chowringhee Lane". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ahista Ahista is a celluloid edifice built on prefabricated blocks of tear-jerker tragedy". India Today . 15 December 1981. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Eight Sandalwood films that have been remade in other languages". The News Minute . 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Mandi". IMDb.
  9. ↑ "Anupam Kher talks about how Mahesh Bhatt's Saaransh changed his life". The Times of India. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Verma, Sukanya (6 June 2013). "Khamosh: Revisiting Vidhu Vinod Chopra's brilliant whodunit". Rediff.com . Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Dawar, Rati (31 July 1986). "On Wings of Fire: Cyrus H. Bharucha's film on Zoroastrianism generates heat among orthodoxy". indiatoday.in . Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Goyal, Divya (17 April 2018). "Pooja Bhatt On The Irony Of Having Saved' An Alcoholic Father In Daddy Only To Battle Drinking Problem Herself". NDTV . Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Mallepuvvu: Movie Review". Telugucinema.com . 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2024. Sridevi starrer Gumrah (1993). (which was feemake of Bangkok hilton (1989) tv mini series)
  14. ↑ Scott, A. O. (26 March 2000). "'Such a Long Journey': A Life as Topsy-Turvy as the Streets of Bombay". NY Times . The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  15. ↑ Walz, Eugene P. (1 January 2002). Canada's Best Features: Critical Essays on 15 Canadian Films. Rodopi. p. 383. ISBN   9789042012097 – via Google Books.
  16. ↑ "Such a Long Journey". Faber & Faber . Retrieved 30 June 2019.[ dead link ]
  17. ↑ "Such A Long Journey". Chocolate Moose Media. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "Sony Classics, USA turn up Cannes buying heat". Screen International.
  19. ↑ "rediff.com US edition: Monsoon Wedding heads for the US". Rediff.com .
  20. ↑ Garima Sharma (12 December 2012). "Monsoon Wedding to make Broadway debut in April 2014". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  21. ↑ Thompson, Michael Nordine, Anne. "Best Romance Movies of the 21st Century, Ranked | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved 12 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ "What was Shashi Ranjan thinking?". Rediff.com . 24 September 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  23. ↑ "Madhur Bhandarkar proves himself again!".
  24. ↑ "Patiala Hoes: Complete Cast & Crew Details". Bollywood Hungama . Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  25. ↑ "Soni Razdan's directorial venture to go on floors in 2016". The Indian Express . 5 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Soni Razdan's Love Affair put on hold, to do a TV series first?". 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  27. ↑ "Raazi movie: Soni Razdan explains why she wanted to hug daughter Alia during the shoot". Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  28. ↑ "In Yours Truly, Soni Razdan Shines In An Elegant Ode To Middle-Aged Longing". Film Companion. 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  29. ↑ "'Yours Truly' is a Silent Lonely Voice, Screaming to Be Heard". The Quint. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  30. ↑ "Kunal Kapoor will teach Shakespeare's plays in Vandana Kataria's The Noblemen". Hindustan Times. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Censor Woes for No Fathers In Kashmir Are Over, Ashvin Kumar's Film Released on April 5". News18. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  32. ↑ "Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Soni Razdan". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  33. ↑ Razdan, Soni [@Soni_Razdan] (16 April 2019). "I do actually. My father is Indian. Lived in India since I was 3 months old. Pay taxes. Hold an Overseas Citizen of India card. If my hard earned income is good enough to be used to better this nation then I have a right to voice my opinions too. #VoteOutHate" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ↑ "Saba Azad to play Raj Begum in Danish Renzu's Songs of Paradise - Exclusive". The Times of India. 25 September 2022.
  35. ↑ "All Filmfare Awards Winners". Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  36. ↑ "BENGAL FILM JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION". 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
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