She has worked in over 70 films, both experimental and non-experimental, in additional to acting in a few non-Indian films. She is regarded as one of the most versatile Marathi actresses. Although born into a middle-class Maharashtrian family in Pune, Kulkarni was drawn to acting at an early age and had attended Satyadev Dubey's acting workshops. At the age of 18, she made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film Cheluvi (1992). Later, she debuted with Mukta (1994) in Marathi. This was followed by critical praise with Doghi (1995), Daayraa (1996), and Gharabaher (1999), the former earning her Maharashtra State Film Award and Filmfare Marathi Award. Subsequently, she starred in the Hindi filmsMission Kashmir (2000), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000), Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Taxi Number9211 (2006), and Singham (2011). She received further acclaim and a National Film Award for her portrayal of a powerful woman in the Marathi-language, short film Chaitra (2002).
Apart from acting, Kulkarni formerly wrote a weekly column for a supplement of the Marathi daily newspaper Loksatta titled So Kul. In 2010, she published her article book So Kul. She also formed So kul Productions, which produced the Marathi and English play WhileLily & Night.[1]
Early life
Kulkarni was born 3 November 1974[2] in Pune, Maharashtra. Her father is an engineer, and she has two older brothers, Sandeep and Sandesh. She attended Abhinava Vidyalaya and graduated from Fergusson College, where she majored in Political Science and received a scholarship in Marathi literature. She is trained in Bharatnatyam for eleven years and in classical music for four years. For her interest in acting, she attended a workshop by Satyadev Dubey, after which she and Sandesh formed a theatre group called Samanvay.[3] Sandesh is presently working as a director and is married to film and theatre actress Amruta Subhash.[4]
Acting career
Debut in Marathi and South cinema (1992–1999)
Kulkarni made her screen debut as the titular character in Girish Karnad's Kannada film Cheluvi. Karnad first saw her when she was still in college and approached her for the project. The film is based on A Flowering Tree: A Woman's Tale, in which she portrays a poor young woman with a hidden magical ability that allows her to shift into a tree that blooms with exotic flowers. When the film was released, it was also dubbed into Hindi.[5]
The first Marathi film to star Kulkarni was Mukta (1994), which was directed by Jabbar Patel. It is the narrative of an upper-caste girl and a lower-caste guy who struggle with their caste's contradictions. It is recognised as one of the most significant Marathi films made between 1993 and 1998.[6] The same year, she appeared in the Tamil romantic film May Maadham, which was a commercial failure. Mani Ratnam had recommended her name to the director.[7] She then acted in the NFDC-produced film Doghi (1995), for which she got Maharashtra State Film Award and Filmfare Marathi Award for Best Actress.[8]
In 1996, Kulkarni starred in the first installment of Amol Palekar's trilogy on sexuality, Daayraa.[9] The story revolves around a love relationship between a transvestite dancer and a gang-raped lady who starts dressing up as a male. The film had its world premiere at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival and was also shown at the London Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and Vancouver Asian Film Festival. However, due to its controversial topic, it was not screened in Indian theatres. The film received positive reviews and gained her widespread acclaim.[10] At the Festival de Valenciennes, she received the Best Actor Award—Grand Prix du Jury. Her other releases during this time were the English-language film Vrindavan Film Studios by Italian filmmaker Lamberto Lambertini and the award-winning Marathi political drama Gharabaher.
She also collaborated with Doordarshan on a Hindi film, Gulabari, which aired in 1995, as well as television shows such as Badalte Rishtey and Kata Rute Kunala in 1996. The latter received RAPA Awards for Best Television Performance of the Year. She was also seen in one episode (Kya Yahi Pyaar Hai - Directed by Tanuja Chaturvedi) of the Star Bestsellers TV Series, which ran on Star Plus from 1999 to 2000.[11][12]
Establishing in Hindi cinema and commercial setback (2000–2008)
In 2000, Kulkarni's first release was Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir. She portrayed the roles of Sanjay Dutt’s wife and Hrithik Roshan’s foster mother. Saisuresh Sivaswamy from Rediff, calling her a "real scene-stealer," wrote, "She excels in a role that brings out the entire gamut of a mother's emotions, and finally gives her life to save her husband's."[13]Filmfare critic Suman Tarafdar observed, "Kulkarni, as the belle from Lucknow, does the loving wife and mother with a touch of realism not generally seen in Indian mainstream cinema."[14] She was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at several award ceremonies, including the Filmfare awards, IIFA awards, and Screen awards. That same year, she saw the commercial release of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, an English-Hindi bilingual film on B. R. Ambedkar's struggle to liberate the downtrodden classes. She was cast as Ramabai Ambedkar, the first wife of Ambedkar, who was played by Mammootty. This was her second project with Jabbar Patel.[15]
In 2001, she appeared in two successful Hindi films: Rajat Mukherjee's romantic thriller Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, which received critical acclaim and grossed ₹ 281 million (US $3.5 million) at the box office,[16] and Farhan Akhtar's coming-of-age comedy-drama film Dil Chahta Hai, in which she starred opposite Saif Ali Khan and the film went on to become the year's fifth highest-grossing film.[17]
She made her Gujarati cinema debut in 2005 with Love Is Blind, which went on to win eleven Gujarat State Film Awards.[24] Her next film was Fuoco Su di Me, an international Italian language film in which she co-starred alongside Omar Sharif and Massimiliano Varrese.[25] For her portrayal, she was awarded Best Actress at the 2006 Milan International Film Festival.[26]
Unconventional roles and critical acclaim (2009–2013)
Kulkarni had eight releases in 2009, the first of which was Gajendra Ahire's Gulmohar, in which she portrayed a devoted and supportive wife. Gabhricha Paus, written and directed by Satish Manwar, was her next release. The film depicts the suicides of cotton farmers in Maharashtra's Vidarbha area. Gabhricha Paus was highly appreciated at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and it became the only Indian film to get a distribution prize of 15,000 Euros from the Hubert Bals Fund.[30] Following its premiere, it was chosen for several film festivals, including the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Durban International Film Festival, the Goa Marathi Film Festival, and the Kolhapur International Film Festival.[31] She next played an Indian television star newsreader in Delhi in the highly praised Mohandas, a nightmarish drama of identity theft that culminates into a humiliating betrayal of governmental corruption and conspiracy. The film got nominations at both the South Asian International Film Festival and the Fribourg International Film Festival. Later, she co-starred alongside Milind Soman in the short story Aushadh Ghenara Manus in the anthology film Gandha, a combination of three separate stories linked by the common component of the human sense of smell.[32]Well Done, Abba, Love Khichdi, and Shadow are among her other films from the year.[33][34]
In 2010, she appeared in films such as Ringa Ringa and The Camp.[35] In 2011, Kulkarni earned her second nomination for an IIFA award for her performance in Rohit Shetty's Singham as an honest inspector's wife seeking justice for her husband's suicide. Komal Nahta of Koimoi found her "excellently restrained."[36] Next, her role in Deool as Vahini, a simple woman with a strong faith in God and a commitment to her family, was a box-office blockbuster.[37] The romantic thriller Pratibimb, starring Ankush Chaudhari, was her last release of the year. She was pregnant at the time of the shoot.[38] She won the Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for Best Actress for the film.
In 2013, she worked with debutant director Nikhil Mahajan in the thriller Pune 52, as the frustrated wife of an unsuccessful man. The film was a commercial hit.[37] Then she reprised the role of Sharmila Tagore from the original in Konkanastha, a remake of director Mahesh Majrekar's own film Viruddh.[39] Her last release was the Gujarati film, The Good Road. It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, becoming the first Gujarati film ever selected.[40]
Following that, Kulkarni appeared in Dr. Prakash Baba Amte-The Real Hero, Aga Bai Arechyaa 2, and Sugar Salt Ani Prem. The former received critical praise and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Mandakini Amte, a real-life medical practitioner and social worker, in the biopic.[41] Surabhi Redkar of koimoi stated, "Sonali lives up to it as she easily gets into the character of Manda, who is a lovable character in the film."[42] Mihir Bhanage of TOI noted, "It is one of those roles that utilised her acting prowess to the fullest."[43] The film was one of the top Marathi hits of 2014.
In 2017, Kulkarni featured in Govind Nihalani's Marathi film Ti ani Itar, which was a screen adaptation of Manjula Padmanabhan's play Lights Out.[44][45] Her second release was Prasad Oak's directorial black and white filmKachcha Limboo, based on Jaywant Dalvi's novel Runanubandha. The film, set in the 1980s, is about a couple's ongoing battle to care for their 15-year-old mentally challenged child, who begins to develop sexual impulses. She portrayed a simple, family-oriented woman opposite Ravi Jadhav. Both the film and her performance received great acclaim.[37] TOI's Mihir Bhanage writes, "Kulkarni pulls off a rather complex character with grace..."[46] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu praised her for "bringing out the requisite nuances and predicaments of her character."[47] Her performance earned her third Filmfare Marathi Award and her second Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar in the category of Best Actress.[48] She also acted in Poster Boys, the Hindi remake of the Marathi film of the same name, starring Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.[49]
In 2018, her chemistry with Siddharth Chandekar in Gulabjaam was praised. Mihir Bhange of TOI called the film "a tasty meal that leaves a sweet aftertaste," adding, "she [Kulkarni] is the salt in the film; that bit without which the recipe would be bland and incomplete."[50] Yogesh Pawar of DNA stated, "She brings to her Radha Agarkar an organic vulnerability and strength that sets the tone for her character's trajectory."[51] Alok Deshpande, The Hindu reviewer, wrote: "Kulkarni has delivered one of the best performances of her career in Gulabjaam. Her anger, helplessness, rare smiles, and surrendering to the past, paint a memorable Radha."[52] Her subsequent films, Hope Aur Hum and Madhuri, garnered mixed reviews, although her acting was praised.[53][54] She then portrayed veteran Hindi and Marathi actress Sulochana Latkar in the biography Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar.[55]
Kulkarni has been in a number of theater plays throughout the years. She played Laxmi in Sakharam Binder, the most controversial play by Vijay Tendulkar, which was directed by her brother Sandesh Kulkarni and featured Sayaji Shinde as the title character.[60]
In 2014, Kulkarni founded her production company, Sokul, and produced the plays White Lilly & Night Rider in Marathi and Hinglish, in which she also performed.[61][62] Later, during Baba Amte's centenary year, she presented a special show called Karunopanished.[63] As a tribute to Baba Amte's literary legacy, Kulkarni and Sachin Khedekar recited portions from novels written by him.
Writing
Kulkarni began writing for Viva, a supplement to the Marathi daily newspaper Loksatta, in June 2005 and continued till May 2007.[64] She used to write a column every week called So Kul. Her articles for the modern Maharashtrian lady have received a lot of attention throughout the years. The newspaper and Rajhans Prakashan combined those writings and released a book, So kul..., in 2010. Nana Patekar said during the book's launch, "Whenever I read her articles, I feel she is talking to me. There is so much simplicity in her writing."[65]
Personal life
After a brief relationship with Nachiket Pantvaidya, the current head of Sony Entertainment Television, she married him in 2010.[66] The couple has a daughter, Kaveri, born in 2011.[67]
Sonali Bendre is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Telugu films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with Aag (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of the Year. Bendre is a recipient of several accolades, including two Filmfare Awards and four Screen Awards.
Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, known professionally as Tabu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished actresses in Hindi cinema, and has often played troubled women, from fictional to literary, in both mainstream and independent cinema. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards, and two Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian honour.
Urmila Matondkar is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare Award and the Nandi Award. Having established a distinctive on-screen persona, she is known for her acting skills, style statements and dancing skills.
Ayesha Azmi is an Indian former actress and model who worked predominantly in Hindi films. Takia made her debut in 2004 with the action thriller Taarzan: The Wonder Car for which she won the Filmfare Best Debut Award and IIFA Award Star Debut of the Year Female. She then subsequently appeared in several successful films including Socha Na Tha (2005), Salaam-E-Ishq (2007), Wanted (2009), and Paathshaala (2010). She is the recipient of the Bengal Film Journalists' Association awards and Screen Awards.
Smita Patil was an Indian film and theatre actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi films. Regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Patil appeared in over 80 films, in a career that spanned over a decade. Patil was the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards Marathi. She received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Amruta Khanvilkar Malhotra is an Indian film and television actress and producer. She primarily works in Marathi and Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Marathi industry.
Tisca Zareen Chopra is an Indian actress, author and film producer who has appeared in over 45 feature films, predominantly in Hindi language.
Yami Gautam Dhar is an Indian actress known predominantly for her work in Hindi films. A daughter of Punjabi film director Mukesh Gautam, she began her career as a model, and starred in television soap operas such as Chand Ke Paar Chalo (2008–2009) and Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam (2009–2010). In 2012, she had her first Hindi film release in the comedy-drama Vicky Donor, which won her the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut.
Sonalee Benodekar is an Indian actress who mainly acts in Marathi and Hindi-language films. She is the recipient of several awards including two Filmfare Awards Marathi. She is noted for her lavani dance song, "Apsara Aali" in the Marathi film Natarang,.
Huma Saleem Qureshi is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Hindi-language films. Her accolades include a Filmfare OTT Award along with nominations for three Filmfare Awards.
Amruta Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi and Hindi films, television, and theatre. She is a graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. She has received several awards, including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards, and a Filmfare OTT Award.
Sai Tamhankar is an Indian actress known for her work in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam language films and television. She is the recipient several awards including a Filmfare Award and three Filmfare Marathi Awards.
Dr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero is a Marathi film starring Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni and Mohan Agashe in lead roles. It is a biopic on the lives of Dr. Prakash Baba Amte, the son of the social worker Baba Amte, and his wife Mandakini Amte. Dr. Prakash Amte is a doctor and social worker who devotes his life to the development and uplifting of the tribal people in the forests of eastern Maharashtra state.
Shriya Pilgaonkar is an Indian actress, director, producer who primarily works in Hindi films and web shows. Born to actors Sachin Pilgaonkar and Supriya Pilgaonkar, she made her acting debut with the Marathi film Ekulti Ek (2013) for which she won the Best Debut Actress at the Maharashtra State Film Awards.
The Filmfare Marathi Awards are presented annually to both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Marathi film industry of India. The ceremony had been sponsored by various private organisations in the past as well as in present provisions. During several years in 1990s, a live ceremony was broadcast to television audiences but was later discontinued due to unknown reasons. In 1963 the awards were extended to Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali languages. The presentation of the awards has been inconsistent throughout its inception. Presently, a recorded and edited version of the awards ceremony is televised.
Mithila Palkar is an Indian actress known for her characters in the TV series Girl in the City and Netflix's Little Things. She rose to prominence in March 2016 with her Marathi version of the "cup song". She has received several awards including a Filmfare Award Marathi and two Filmfare OTT Awards.
The 1st Filmfare Marathi Awards is a ceremony, presented by Ajeenkya DY Patil University, honored the best Indian Marathi-language films of 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
