Karishma Kapoor

Karisma Kapoor, nicknamed "Lolo", born 25 June 1974 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is a National Film Award-winning popular Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. Making her film debut in 1991, Kapoor went on to become one of the most popular actresses of her generation. During her career years, she has been part of many commercially and critically successful films, Raja Hindustani being the most notable of them, as it was her biggest commercial success, and won Kapoor her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. She surprised critics and audiences with her performances in art films such as Fiza (2000) and Zubeidaa (2001), for which she earned a Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) awards at the Filmfare ceremony. Since then, she has worked in several films though most of them performed poorly at the box office. In 2003, Kapoor took a break from cinema and is likely to make her comeback very soon.
She is from the renowned Kapoor Family of Bollywood.She is the daughter of Randhir Kapoor, an actor popular during the 1970s and 80s, and actress Babita. Her sister is actress Kareena Kapoor.Raj Kapoor is Karishma Kapoor's Grandfather and renowned actors Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor are her uncles.

She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai until grade six.

Karishma made her debut in the 1991 movie Prem Quaidi and has since then acted in sixty five movies.

She did many films which went on to become hits or do average at the box office. Films like Andaz Apna Apna, Raja Babu, Saajan Chale Sasural and Coolie No. 1 did well at the box office and enhanced her in the industry. She starred in the hit Raja Hindustani with Aamir Khan. The movie was one of the biggest hits of the year and she won her first Filmfare award. She achieved critical acclaim with film such as Zubeidaa, Shakti: The Power and Fiza.
She temporarily retired from the industry after her marriage.

Her movie Mere Jeevan Saathi was released in 2006, and marked her comeback.
Balancing commercial crowd-pleasers and art-house dramas, Kapoor has garnered four Filmfare Awards to date including Filmfare Best Actress Award for Raja Hindustani (1996) and Fiza (2000), Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for Shyam Benegal's Zubeidaa. She also won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dil To Pagal Hai and an IIFA Best Actress Award for her work in Fiza, 2000.

In 2005, an American rock singer named Don Hammontree paid tribute to Karishma on "Karishma Comes to Lowell," a song about a Bollywood-oriented concert the actress performed at in 2000 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The track was released on the singer's 2005 CD "The Mumbai EP," which also pays tribute to another Bollywood actress "Juhi Chawla" on a track by the same name.

On 29 September 2003, she married industrialist Sunjay Kapur, CEO of Sixt India, according to Sikh marriage rites. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter name Samaira, on 11 March 2005. Ever since they had some widely publicized marital problems, they reconciled. Prior to her marriage to Sunjay Kapur, she was also engaged to Abhishek Bachchan, the scion of the Bachchan Family, and also dated Ajay Devgan.

Career

Karisma made her debut in the 1991 movie Prem Qaidi, which was a semi-hit. Although most of her multiple releases from 1992-1996 failed to do well at the box office, she had some success with films like Jigar (1992), Anari (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996) and Jeet (1996). In 1996, Kapoor played the female lead in Dharmesh Darshan's Raja Hindustani opposite Aamir Khan. The movie was the highest grossing film of the year and she won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. The following year, she won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Yash Chopra's super-hit, Dil To Pagal Hai opposite Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. Kapoor took a year break from films in 1998. Her diminutive comeback in 1999 proved to be good as she took part in the year's most successful films. Kapoor starred in four absolute hits. David Dhawan's comedy Biwi No.1 opposite Salman Khan became the biggest hit of the year. She proved to have success with comedy films, as David Dhawan's another film Haseena Maan Jaayegi did fairly well at the box office. Kapoor also collaborated for the first time with the Rajshri Productions banner with Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United which also resulted in a hit. Her last release, Jaanwar opposite Akshay Kumar, was another box office hit, making her the most successful actress of the year. In 2000, she won her second Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Khalid Mohammed's Fiza. Her performance in the film was much appreciated as she surprised the audiences and the critics showing great emotional range and depth. She also achieved critical acclaim for her role in the film, Zubeidaa (2001), which garnered her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Her performance in Shakti - The Power (2002) was highly appreciated and earned her many nominations in the Best Actress category. In 2003 she played the leading role in the television series Karishma: A Miracle of Destiny. After her film, Baaz: A Bird In Danger which also released in 2003, she took a sabbatical from full time acting for three years. Her most recent release was the delayed film, Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006) in which she played a negative role.

Personal life

Karisma Kapoor with husband Sanjay Kapur at the Arena Polo Cup match (2008).

She was born on June 25, 1974 to Randhir Kapoor, an actor popular during the 1970s and 80s, and actress Babita. Her sister is actress Kareena Kapoor. She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai until grade six. Her grandfather is actor Raj Kapoor. Karisma does not like to talk about her personal life but she has been romantically involved with Ajay Devgan and Abhishek Bachchan. She announced her engagement to Bachchan in October of 2002 on the 60th birthday of Abhishek's father, Amitabh Bachchan. Four months later in February 2003, they split up. On 29 September 2003, she married industrialist Sanjay Kapur, CEO of Sixt India. In typical Kapoor tradition, Karisma was married at her grandfather, the late Raj Kapoor's home, R K Cottage. The couple opted for an hour-long Sikh ceremony. The couple has one daughter named Samaira, who was born on 11 March 2005. After the birth of her daughter, there was considerable rift between her and her husband. The couple has subsequently patched-up.

Awards

National Film Awards

• 1998: Silver Lotus Award, Best Supporting Actress for Dil To Pagal Hai

Filmfare Awards

• 1997: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Raja Hindustani
• 1998: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Dil To Pagal Hai
• 2001: Filmfare Best Actress Award for Fiza
• 2002: Best Actress (critics) for Zubeidaa

Zee Cine Awards

• 1998: Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female for Dil To Pagal Hai
• 2001: Zee Premiere Choice- Female for Fiza

IIFA Awards

• 2001: IIFA Best Actress Award for Fiza

Bollywood Movie Awards

• 2001: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for Fiza
• 2003: Bollywood Movie Award - Most Sensational Actress for Shakti: The Power

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

• 2001: Best Actress (Hindi Movies) for Fiza

Filmography as Actor

Zamaanat (2008) - Kajol

Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006) - Natasha

Baaz: A Bird in Danger (2003) - Neha Chopra

Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya (2002) - Pooja Kashyap

Rishtey (2002) - Komal Singh

Shakti: The Power (2002) - Nandini

Aashiq (2001) - Pooja

Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001) - Nisha Thappar

Zubeidaa (2001) - Zubeidaa

Fiza (2000) - Fiza

Chal Mere Bhai (2000) - Sapna Mehra

Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge (2000) - Sapna (as Karishma Kapoor)

Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000) - Geeta Kapoor

Shikari (2000) - Rajeshwari Rawal

Biwi No. 1 (1999) - Pooja

Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) - Ritu Verma

Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999) - Sapna

Jaanwar (1999) - Sapna

Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (1999) - Vanshikha Mathur

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) - Nisha

Hero No. 1 (1997) - Meena Nath

Judwaa (1997) - Mala

Lahu Ke Do Rang (1997) - Heena

Mrityudaata (1997) - Reenu

Ajay (1996) - Manorama 'Rama'

Bal Bramhachari (1996) - Asha Rana

Jeet (1996) - Kajal

Krishna (1996) - Rashmi

Megha (1996) - Megha

Papi Gudia (1996) - Karisma

Raja Hindustani (1996) - Aarti Sehgal

Rakshak (1996) - Suman Sinha

Saajan Chale Sasural (1996) - Pooja

Sapoot (1996) - Pooja

Coolie No. 1 (1995) - Malti

Jawab (1995)

Maidan-E-Jung (1995) - Tulsi

Aatish (1994) - Pooja

Andaz (1994) - Jaya

Andaz Apna Apna (1994) - Karishma/Raveena (as Karisma Kapooor)

Dulaara (1994) - Priya Chauhan

Gopi Kishan (1994) - Barkha

Khuddar (1994) - Pooja

Prem Shakti (1994) - Gouri/Karisma

Raja Babu (1994) - Madhoo (as Karishma Kapoor)

Suhaag (1994) - Pooja (as Karishma Kapoor)

Yeh Dillagi (1994) - Girl on the road (uncredited)

Anari (1993) - Rajnandini

Dhanwaan (1993) - Anjali Chopra "Anju"

Jaagruti (1993) - Shalu

Muqabla (1993) - Karisma

Sangram (1993) - Madhu

Shaktiman (1993) - Priya

Deedar (1992) - Sapna Saxena

Jigar (1992) - Suman

Nishchaiy (1992) - Payal (Singh's daughter)

Police Officer (1992) - Bijali

Sapne Sajan Ke (1992) - Jyoti

Prem Qaidi (1991) - Neelima