He was voted the tenth-greatest star of stage or screen in a BBC News online poll. Govinda a Member of Indian National Congress was elected the seventh member of the Parliament for the Mumbai North Constituency of Maharashtra , in the 14th Lok Sabha Elections in 2004 defeating Ram Naik of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The actor was a member of the Parliament of India from 2004 to 2009. Govinda is not only recognised for his acting in films but as a Comedian, a former Politician and his dancing skills.
Govinda was born to Actor Arun Kumar Ahuja and Singer Actress Nirmala Devi into a mix of Punjabi and Sindhi family. His father was best known for Mehboob Khan’s Aurat in 1940. He had produced unsuccessful films and became ill shortly thereafter. The family was living in a bungalow on Mumbai’s Carter Road but moved to Virar , a northern Mumbai Suburb where Govinda was born . The youngest of six children. The family spoke Punjabi at home. Govinda Received a Bachelor of Commerce degree but his father suggested a career in films for him. Around the time the film Disco Dancer. He practiced dancing for hours and circulated a promotional VHS Cassette. He was offered jobs in Fertilizer commercials and he did an Allwyn Advertisement too. He got married as on March 11th, 1987 with Sunita Ahuja.
Govinda’s first lead role was in the film Tan-Badan, directed by his uncle Anand. Govinda began shooting for his next film Love 86 in June 1985. Though he did the film Tan-Badan his first release was Ilzaam in 1986 and it did well at the Box Office and was considered to be the fifth biggest hit of the year. The ‘Street Dancer’ in which he break danced , with this he established himself as a Dancing Star. Govinda then appeared in series of films that gained mixed success and most of his earlier acting was in films that had action, romance or family dramas. He was often paired with Neelam Kothari, and they together appeared in Love 86 in 1986, Khudgarz in 1987, Hatya , Dariya Dil , Jeete Hain Shaan Se all in the year 1988 .In 1991 he acted opposite to her in a multi-starrer film Hum and all these films were successful family dramas with action. In 1987 he also did the film Marte Dam Tak and Jung Baaz in 1989. Govinda worked with David Dhawan for the first time in the 1989 action film Taaqatwar and worked in this film with actor Rajinikanth and Sridevi in Gair Kaanooni During the 1980’s Govinda ’s films spanned genres. He started out as an action hero in the early 80’s and reestablished himself as a comedy hero in 1990. At one time Amitabh Bachchan his co-star for his come back film to rejuvenate his base in the film industry but had failed miserably. Decades later he was recognized as the comic actor after playing a mischievous young NCC Cadet in the 1992 romantic film Shola Aur Shabnam with Divya Bharti. In 1990 Govinda starred in Cult classic with Awaargi , Swarg, Maha Sangram, Zulm Ki Hukumat. The actor also sang in some of his films and his ‘ Meri Pant bhi Sexy’ in Dulara was a hit song among the front benchers and in midst of whistles and adulation for their favourite star Govinda. He has also sang the song ‘ Gori Gori’ in Shola Aur Shabnam . His two favourite star pair is with Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon . Govinda had done lead roles in several commercially successful comedy films including Aankhen in 1993, Raja Babu in 1994, Coolie No. 1 in 1995, Hero No.1 in 1997, Haseena Maan Jayegi in 1999 , for which he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award and a Filmfare Special Award for the film Saajan Chale Sasural. Govinda has played dual roles in several films including Jaan Se Pyaara in 1992, Aankhen in 1993 , Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in 1998, Anari No. 1 in 1999 . The most challenging comedy role that he played was in Hadh Kar Di Aapne in which he played six roles that of the Hero, his father, his mother, his sister and his grandmother. After a number of box-office flops in the year 2000, his films received commercial success for his films, Bhagam Bhag in 2006, Partner in 2007, Life Partner in 2009 to name a few. Govinda’s career had a setback during the early 2000 after a series of commercially unsuccessful film. He had also given some successful hits in his career span which included Kunwara, Hadh , Kyo Kii Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta , Ek Aur Ek Gyarah. Although for these films he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Performance in Comic Roles for Kunwara, Jodi No.1, Kyo Kii Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta and Akhiyon Se Goli Maar , most of his films have been unsuccessful at the Box Office. He played a villain for the first time in his career in the film Shikari in 2000. The movie was not a commercial success, Govinda’s convincing portrayal of a Sociopathic murderer was critically acclaimed. He turned down roles in the films, Taal, Gadar Ek Prem Katha and Devdas all of which were successful films. The actor took a break from films from 2003 to 2005. He had no film releases though he had completed some of his films such as Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen in 2005 producd by Govinda and directed by his brother Kirti Kumar and in 2006 his film Sandwich was a flop at the Box Office. Govinda made a come back into the films after the break in late 2006 with the hit comedy film Bhagam Bhag directed by Priyadarshan in which he appeared with Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta His first release of 2007 was directed by Nikhil Advani’s big budget film Salaam-E-Ishq , A tribute to Love which was a multi star cast film with Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Govinda , Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Sohail Khan, Juhi Chawla, Shannon Esra, Ayesha Takia azmi, Vidya Balan, Ishaa Koppikar. Govinda played the role of a taxi driver and fall in love with Shannon Esra . The film was a box office disappointment despite some of the best actors including Govinda’s performance was much appreciated by the Media and audience. In 2014, Govinda appeared in A R Murgadoss, film ‘ Holiday ’ with Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha,. This was the 2nd film in collaboration with Akshay Kumar. He also did a film with Yash Raj , Kill Dil directed by Shaad Ali starring Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra,. Govinda plays the role of antagonist. He played another role of a Super Star in the film Happy Ending with Saif Ali Khan and Ileana D’Cruz in 2014. The film was a box office failure but Govinda’s performance was praised. In January 2014, it is reported that Govinda refused the remake of the Marathi film Shikshanacha Aaicha Gho in Hindi proposed by Mahesh Manjrekar. In 2015 Govinda appeared in Hey Bro, starring Nupur Sharma and Ganesh Acharya . In 2017 he ill be appeared in Anuraag Basu’s film Jagga Jasoos starring Katrina Kaif as Ranbir Kapoor’s stepfather.
| # | Released Date | Type | Credited As | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 Nov 2022 | Film | Actor | Naam Tha Kanhaiyalal |
| 2 | 01 Jan 2021 | Film | Actor | Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai |
| 3 | 01 Jan 2021 | Film | Actor | Afra Tafri |
| 4 | 18 Jan 2019 | Film | Actor Producer | Rangeela Raja |
| 5 | 12 Oct 2018 | Film | Actor | FryDay |
| 6 | 17 Mar 2017 | Film | Actor ProducerStory writer | Aa Gaya Hero |
| 7 | 06 Mar 2015 | Film | Supporting Actor | Hey Bro |
| 8 | 21 Nov 2014 | Film | Actor | Happy Ending |
| 9 | 14 Nov 2014 | Film | Actor | Kill Dil |
| 10 | 29 Aug 2014 | Film | Actor Producer | Abhinay Chakra |
