Neena Kulkarni is a popular Indian theatre, film and television actress. She is best known for her role as “Madhvi Vishwanathan Iyer” in the popular television series “Yeh Hai Mohabbatein” (2013) aired on Star Plus.
Wiki/Biography
Neena Kulkarni was born on Wednesday, August 15, 1955 (64 years old in 2019) in Pune, Maharashtra. Her star sign is Leo. She attended Canossa High School in Mahim, Mumbai. Later, she joined Elphinstone College, Mumbai, to pursue a degree in Arts, graduating with a major in French.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 5″
Eye color: dark brown
Hair color: gray and white
Family and caste
Neena was born into an upper middle class family. Her father Dr. VG Joshi and mother Kamal Joshi are both doctors.
Relationships, husbands and children
She was in a relationship with late Marathi actor Dilip Kulkarni for nearly six years and they got married on October 25, 1980. They have two children, Sohaa Kulkarni and Divij Kulkarni. Sohaa works in television production and Divij works in an advertising agency. On December 22, 2002, Nina’s husband died of a massive heart attack.
Profession
During college, she started modeling in various fashion shows. She has appeared in various television commercials including Kalnirnay, Bisleri, Sprite, Mother Dairy, Cadbury and Life Insurance Corporation.
In 1970, she met Indian theatre director and actor Satyadev Dubey. She received her initial acting training from him. Later, she acted in many popular Marathi and Hindi plays such as Mohan Rakesh’s Adhe Adhure, Shankar Shesh’s Mayavi Sarovar, Willie Russell’s Educating Rita and Ajit Dalvi’s Mahatma Versus Gandhi.
In 1978, Indian Marathi film and theatre director Vijaya Mehta chose her to play the role of “Shabbo” in Anil Barve’s play Hamidabai Chi Kothi. Neena acted in many of Vijaya Mehta’s (Bai) theatre productions and later assisted her in various acting workshops.
She made her Bollywood debut in the 1987 film Mirch Masala, playing a pepper factory worker. She played supporting roles in many Bollywood films such as Daayraa (1996), Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), Hungama (2003), Paheli (2005) and Guru (2007).
She is a famous Marathi actress. Her career as a Marathi film actor began with the 1992 film Hach Sunbaicha Bhau. She has played prominent roles in many Marathi films including Pachhadlela (2004), Sarivar Sari (2005), Shevri (2006), Gandha (2009) and Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande (2019).
Besides acting in theatre and films, she has also acted in many television serials like Saarrthi (2004), Baa Bahoo Aur Baby (2005), Kayamath (2007) and Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (2013).
In 2006, she formed her own film production company, Upstage Film Company, and produced the Marathi film Shevri, which won the National Film Award for Best Marathi Feature Film in 2007.
In 2012, she starred in the Hollywood movie “The Grand Hotel”. In 2016, she starred in the French movie “Wedding”.
In 2020, she starred in the Hindi short film Devi alongside actors like Kajol, Shruti Haasan and Neha Dhupia.
Facts/Trivia
- In 1970, her name appeared in the Bagpiper calendar.
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- She has many tattoos on her body, including one on her right arm and another on her left hand.
- Her hobbies include reading and listening to music.
- She has won many prestigious awards for her outstanding performances in many films and dramas.
- She has been the ‘Antarang’ columnist for the Marathi newspaper ‘Loksatta’ for nearly three years.
- She loves dogs very much and has two dogs.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education