Supriya Pathak

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Supriya Pathak was a shy and religious girl Supriya Pathak is the daughter of famous character actress Dina Pathak ( Amol Palekar’s aunt in the film Gol Maal) and younger sister of Ratna Pathak Shah ( Famous actress of Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai fame). When she was born, her mother was a popular actress in Gujarati Theater and also a known character actress in Bollywood. Her father was India’s first desire who designed cloths of famous Bollywood stars like Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar and others. Her parents were very social and the house would have lot of parties. While her elder sister Ratna was tomboyish right from her childhood hence she would enjoy the parties but Supriya was shy and introvert. She would avoid parties and stay in her room. She was neither good at studies nor at extracurricular activities. Hence her parents were worried about her future. Since she was religious, would go to temple, adhere to all fast and do household chores hence her parents decided to wed her soon so that she could lead a decent married life.

Supriya Pathak and Pankaj Kapur both had failed marriages When Supriya Pathak was 22 year she had gone to Ahmedabad to complete her Ph.D in competitive dance. There she married the son of her mother’s close friend but within one week the marriage proved kaput and the two separated amicably. Similarly Pankaj Kapur had a failed marriage with TV actress, Neelima Azeem. The duo had a son, Shahid Kapur from their wedlock and he lived with Kapur. During the making of Sagar Sarhadi's film Agla Mausam, Pankaj Kapur and Supriya came together. They had a two year courtship and later married.

After her father’s death Supriya Pathak’s life changed completely At the age 17 years Supriya’s life took a 360 degree change. Her father suddenly died due to heart attack at the age of 52. He was under huge debts. Her sister Ratna was studying at NSD (National School of Drama) hence Supriya decided to shed off her inhibition and help her mother in supporting the house and pay off all the debts of her father. She started working. Meanwhile her mother decided to revive her own Gujarati play Mena Gurjari, which was a huge hit during her time and had made her a star. Hence everybody advised her to stage the play again. Her close friends suggested her to direct the play and cast Ratna in lead role but since the play had strong religious contour hence her mother decided to cast Supriya in the lead as her personality suited the character. Supriya agreed and the play was a run-away hit, making Supriya a star in Guajarati Theatre world. Shashi Kapoor spotted Supriya at Prithvi Theatre Supriya Pathak was doing her Hindi play Biwiyon Ka Madersa at Mumbai’s renowned Prithvi Theatre. Incidentally, Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer saw the play and were impressed by Supriya’s histrionics. They were making Kalyug and were looking for a fresh face. Hence the couple recommended Shyam Benegal, the film director, to watch the play and if interested cast Supriya in the film. However to the dismay of Shashi Kapoor, Shyam Benegal did not approve Supriya. In her place another girl was selected but as destiny would have, the girl quit out from the film last minute. The set was ready and the shot was to be shot and the new girl did not appear. Hence Shashi Kapoor, who was the producer of the film, immediately contacted Supriya and cast her in the role. Readers would be surprised to know that Shyam Benegal, who had declined to cast her for the film was left dumbfounded when she gave her first shot without a single cut! And that’s not all; she went on to win the prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Kalyug (1982) !!! Supriya Pathak won her second consecutive Filmfare award in Bazaar Supriya Pathak proved her critics wrong who wondered that her first Filmfare award in Kalyug was a fluke as she won her second consecutive Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress in her next film Bazaar (1983). After two Filmfare awards in her kitty, Supriya Pathak became a name to reckon in Bollywood. She was signed in Arjun as Sunny Deol’s sister. The film was hit. Later she was signed as Amitabh Bachchan’s sister in Shahenshah. However soon after she declined typical sisters’ role. She did few memorable films with good directors like Vijeta (1982), Masoom (1983) and Mirch Masala (1985), Gandhi (1982). She also did a French film, The Bengali Night. Supriya Pathak’s became a household name after her TV serial Khichdi After taking a break from films, Supriya attempted TV and won instant fame. She began with the TV serial Darpan (1985). Later she did many TV serials like Idhar Udhar, Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Chanchan among others. With the TV serial Mohandas B.A.L.L.B, Supriya became TV producer and started her own TV production house, Grass Company. However she won maximum popularity with her TV serial Khichdi in which she played the humorous character of Hansa Parekh, (2002-2004). The TV serial was so hit that it was soon revived as Instant Khichdi(2005–2006) and later even made into a Bollywood film with same name. As Hansa Parekh she became a household name in India and abroad.