Kajol left her school St. Josephs convent at Panchgani
and started her career at the age of seventeen.
Although her debut film, Bekhudi (1992) was a box
office failure, her performance was noticed and she
went on to work with big production houses in
India. In 1993, she shot to fame with her second film,
Baazigar. The film was her first major hit, and her
pairing with Shahrukh Khan was appreciated. She later
went on to make a popular pairing with him in a number
of films, all of which were box office
successes.[4] Her first release in 1994, Udhaar Ki
Zindagi, was a box-office failure.[5] Despite that, her
performance in the film was much appreciated by
critics, and she won the BFJA Best Actress Award for
her performance. She next starred in her first Yash Raj
Film, the romantic drama Yeh Dillagi, co-starring
Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. The film was a box
office success and her performance as Sapna, a strong
dreamy girl who leaves her paternal home to make her
own life in the big city, earned her a first nomination
for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards. The year 1995
proved to be very successful for Kajol, as she went on
to star in two of the year's biggest hits. Her first
release was Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun. The film,
which dealt with reincarnation, became the second
biggest hit of the year.[6] While her next three
releases that year failed at the box office, her last
release, Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, was not only the biggest
hit of that year, but one of Hindi cinema's biggest
hits.[7] In 2008, the film entered its twelfth year in
Mumbai theaters, grossing over 12 billion rupees
overall, making it one of the biggest blockbusters in
Bollywood.[8] Kajol's performance in the film was
praised, and she received her first Filmfare Best
Actress Award. Kajol had only one release in 1996,
Bambai Ka Babu, opposite Saif Ali Khan, which was a box
office failure.[9] In 1997, Kajol starred in Gupt: The
Hidden Truth. Co-starring actors Bobby Deol and Manisha
Koirala, the film was one of the highest grossing films
of that year.[10] Apart from that, her performance was
a significant development for female actors in
Bollywood; she was the first female actor to win the
Filmfare Best Villain Award. Her next film release that
year was Hamesha. Like Karan Arjun, the film dealt with
the topic of reincarnation. However, unlike the latter,
it failed at the box office.[10] She next starred in
her first Tamil film, Minsaara Kanavu. The film was a
major critical success and Kajol won her first Best
Actress award at the Filmfare Awards South ceremony.
Her final release of that year was the romantic-comedy
Ishq, where she was paired with her then future
husband, Ajay Devgan. It performed well at the box
office.[10] Kajol had further success in 1998, as she
was the main lead starred in three of the year's
biggest hits.[11] She first starred opposite Salman
Khan in the comedy Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. The film
was the fourth highest grossing film of the year. Her
next release, Dushman alongside Sanjay Dutt, did
moderately well at the box office. She had a double
role in the film, and won her first Star Screen Award
for Best Actress for her performance. She next starred
opposite Ajay Devgan in the romance Pyaar To Hona Hi
Tha, which was the second biggest hit of that year.
However, her biggest success that year came with her
last release, Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai, which went on to become the biggest hit
of the year in both India and overseas.[12] She won her
second Filmfare Best Actress Award for her
performance.Kajol's first release in 1999 was the drama
film Dil Kya Kare. She played the supporting role of
Nandita Rai, which was well received. She had a hit
with her second release, the family drama Hum Aapke Dil
Mein Rehte Hain. Starring alongside Anil Kapoor, Kajol
received another Best Actress nomination at the
Filmfare.[13] She had an unsuccessful year in 2000, as
her only release that year, Raju Chacha went
unnoticed.[14] Kajol had only two films released in
2001. She first played a double role in the drama Kuch
Khatti Kuch Meethi, which was a commercial failure.
However, she reinvented her success in her second
venture with Karan Johar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,
which was one of the biggest hits of the year,[15] and
for which she won several Best Actress awards,
including her third Filmfare Best Actress Award and her
second Star Screen Award for Best Actress. Critic Taran
Adarsh, wrote of her performance in the film, "Kajol is
first-rate in the role of a typical Chandni Chowk lass.
Her Punjabi dialect will win her immense praise. The
sequence when she seeks Amitabh's aashirwad, without
him knowing about it, is terrific."[16] Following the
success of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kajol took a
sabbatical from full time acting for five years. She
gave birth to her daughter Nysa in 2003. She made a
successful comeback in 2006 with Kunal Kohli's drama
Fanaa, one of the highest grossing films of the
year.[17] Portraying a blind Kashmiri girl who falls in
love with a Kashmiri terrorist (played by Aamir Khan)
in the film, she won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress
Award, which placed her at par with two famous
Bollywood actresses, Meena Kumari and Madhuri Dixit,
each of whom holds 4 Best Actress awards from Filmfare.
(Kajol's late aunt, Nutan currently holds the record
for five such awards.) U, Me aur Hum, which released
on 11 April 2008, marked her husband Ajay Devgan's
directorial debut. The film performed moderately at the
box office and Kajol was critically praised for her
sensitive portrayal as an Alzheimer patient. For her
performance in the film, she received her tenth
Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. Raja Sen wrote
in his review, ""... Kajol ... can span through
happy-breezy with her eyes closed, and so the first
half doesn't even pose her a challenge, but when
Alzheimer's strikes Piya and she begins to forget all
that matters in her life, Kajol raises the bar
strikingly high."[18] Kajol was recently seen in Karan
Johar's new movie My Name Is Khan, which is based on a
true story, against the backdrop of perceptions on
Islam post 11 September. Filming commenced in December
2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. The film
was released on 12 February 2010.[19] Her movie
Toonpur Ka Superhero which is a live-action/animated
film with her husband is in the post-production phase
and will be releasing in Summer 2010.[20] On October
9, 2009, Kajol started filming for the remake of the
Hollywood movie Stepmom (1998); she will be seen
alongside Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film is
directed by Siddharth Malhotra and is produced by Karan
Johar.

Film Actress