Urmila Matondkar

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Urmila Matondkar was born in a Maharashtrian family in Mumbai. Her father is a lecturer. Urmila has two more siblings an elder brother Kedar who is with the Indian Air Force as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician while her younger sister Mamta is also an ex-actress. Urmila’s mother tongue is Marathi . She passed out her 10th grade in 1984. Urmila as a child was good at academics in school and has been awarded the scholorship (State wide conducted examination) in the 4th grade .

She bears striking resemblance to actress Geeta Bali so much that Geeta Bali’s husband Shammi Kapoor commented on the resemblance to the Media. Her sister Mamta Matondkar is a Television artist and is popular in the soap Riste Naate. Urmila Matondkar married Kashmir based businessman and model Mohsin Akhtar Mir in early 2016 in a small private ceremony and celebrations. She started her career in the films as a Child artist on the celluloid with the film Kalyug in 1980 when she was barely 11 years old. She has worked with some of the top actresses like Sridevi, Manisha Koirala, Mahima Chaudhry, Juhi Chawla, Shabana Azmi, Rekha and is well known for her dance numbers.

Urmila Matondkar made her acting debut as a Child artist in the year 1980 in the Marathi film Zaakol and in 1981 she had her first film with Bollywood in the film Kalyug. She later gained recognition for her child role for the much acclaimed award winning film Masoom in 1983 . She played the role of Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin’s elder daughter a family drama on illegitimate child and family drama. As an adult star, Urmila Matondkar’s first film was in the Malayalam film Chanakyan in 1989 which was a blockbuster film and it was followed by her film Narsimha in 1991 in Bollywood. After a successful beginning to her career not only as a childstar but also an adult star when she had believed to get the right footing in the film industry, her career went in for a toss with series of critical and commercial failures one after another that failed to propel her career forward. Urmila then went on to do the fantasy film Chamatkaar in 1992 with the then debutant Shahrukh Khan followed by Shreeman Aashique in 1993 a comedy film on male chauvinism opposite to Anupam Kher and Rishi Kapoor and then a crime film Drohi released in 1992. She did some meaningful roles with good banners and was getting popular as a star but her films failed at the box office and success seems to have got away without her. Urmila Matondkar then got a major break in the musical romantic dance film Rangeela in 1995 by Ram Gopal Varma. A tale of a girl’s journey in the film industry. The film was opposite to Aamir Khan and Jackie Shroff and was a refreshing change and the film was a super hit film particularly for Urmila’s magnificent performance on A.R. Rehman’s music, Asha Bhosle’s songs and designer Manish Malhotra who transformed the Middle class Maharashtrian girl into a sexy and glamorous actress in the film. With this film Urmila oozed out the sex appeal with her sensuality on the Indian Cinema. Urmila had established herself as one of the most sensuous actress with this one film wonder. Ever since this phase she has been associated closely with Asha Bhosle voice and till date is remembered for her sizzling dance performances in the film with her stunning looks. In 1998 Urmila Matondkar once again surprised the media and public by her performance in the film Satya in 1998 and proved that she is not just a good look actress but a powerhouse of talent and skills that showed on screen with a terrific performance packed film to her credit, she began to play more roles with depth and substance making impact in her films thereafter . Some of the films she acted were in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya in 2001, Om Jai Jagadish in 2002, Pinjar in 2003, a film based on India’s partition was Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara in 2005 and Banaras in 2006. During this period Urmila had acquired several assignments and she was once again working in collaboration with Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay in 2006 . The audience were eagerly waiting for this film to be released. In the same year she also did Onir’s Bas Ek Pal . Urmila has always been known as Bollywood’s most versatile actress who has played the most varied characters during her short span of career in the film industry. One of her most successful films was Judaai in 1997 with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. For her role in this film as the other woman she received widespread praise and the film did extremely well in at the box office. The music score was good, and a film that is remembered by her fans. After her role in the film Satya in 1998, Matondkar shifted her move to regional films and achieved success in Telugu and Tamil cinema with her films like Antham in 1992, Gaayam in 1993, Indian in 1996 and Anaganaga Oka Roju in 1997. She had once again gathered critical acclamation for her role in the 1999 thriller Kaun followed by her role in the 2001 thriller Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya as an obsessive lover . In the film Bhoot a 2003 horror film she is the possessed woman for which she has won the Filmfare Critics Award for the Best Actress in a violent avenger film in 2004 thriller Ek Hasina Thi. Urmila Matondkar has also played role of leading lady in less known films like Tehzeeb and Pinjar in 2003, Naina in 2005, Bas Ek Pal in 2006 and a Marathi film Ajoba in 2014. The actress is a recipient of numerous accolades including Filmfare Awrads . She is particularly remembered as a sexy actress who has appeared in four language films Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Marathi and has worked with mostly thriller films. She is the one of the few actresses who has the on screen persona that leaves a lasting impression in the minds of her fans and is much loved for her intense style and dancing skills.