Dimple Kapadia is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood films. She was known for her glamorous looks, sex appeal and challenging roles. She has done variety of roles spanning from sex symbol icon of "Bobby" and "Saagar" to serious roles in "Rudaali".
Background
Kapadia is the eldest daughter of Gujarati entrepreneur Chunnibhai Kapadia and Betty, her younger siblings being late actress Simple Kapadia, a sister named Reem and a brother, Munna. The family resided on Ghodbunder Road in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, and she studied at St. Joseph's Convent High School. Due to her father's wealth and business, she has described her upbringing as "different".
Career
She was discovered by Raj Kapoor, who introduced her in his 1973 teen romance “Bobby”. “Bobby” was a major mainstream and critical success, and Kapadia was lauded for her performance, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Several of her lines in the film became popular. In 2008, Rediff.com ranked her performance in the film as the fourth best female debut of all-time in Hindi cinema. By the time “Bobby” released, Kapadia had married actor Rajesh Khanna in March 1973 at the age of 16, and left the film industry to raise her children. After Kapadia's separation, she returned to the film industry in 1984. In 1985, she appeared in the film “Saagar”, where she once again appeared opposite her “Bobby” co-star, Rishi Kapoor. The film was known for being quite controversial for several scenes featuring Kapadia, including one scene in which she was seen topless for few brief seconds. Kapadia's performance as Mona D'Silva, a young woman residing in Goa, who is torn between her friend and the man she loves, won her a second Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards. In 1987, Kapadia starred in Mahesh Bhatt's drama “Kaash”. Kapadia and Jackie Shroff starred as an estranged couple who, during a relentless legal battle over the custody of their only son, learn that the boy is suffering from leukemia, which makes them reunite to spend together the last months of his life. Kapadia's performance as Pooja received favourable comments. In 1988, she played the main protagonist in “Zakhmi Aurat” (Wounded Woman). She played a female police officer who gets gang-raped and, after the judicial system fails to convict the criminals, abandons the legal course and joins forces with other rape victims to get revenge by castrating the rapists. In the 1990s, Kapadia started venturing more into arthouse films, later citing an "inner yearning to exhibit my best potential”. These films include Govind Nihalani's “Drishti” (1990) and Gulzar's “Lekin...” (1991). In 1993, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Rudaali”, a drama directed by Kalpana Lajmi. The citation for the award described her performance as a "compelling interpretation of the tribulations of a lonely woman ravaged by a cruel society". She later appeared in Mehul Kumar's commercially successful “Krantiveer”, alongside Nana Patekar. She played journalist Meghna Dixit, a past rape victim who now tries to persuade an alcoholic and unemployed village man to be a champion of justice for those around him. For her performance, Kapadia received her fourth Filmfare Award, this time in the Best Supporting Actress category. She co-starred in Farhan Akhtar's directorial debut “Dil Chahta Hai” (2001). Depicting the contemporary routine life of Indian affluent youth, it is set in modern-day urban Mumbai and focuses on a major period of transition in the lives of three young friends. Kapadia played the role of Tara Jaiswal, a middle-aged alcoholic woman, an interior designer by profession, and a divorcee who is not allowed to meet with her daughter. In 2002, Kapadia portrayed the title role of Leela in “Leela”, an American production directed by Somnath Sen and co-starring Deepti Naval, Vinod Khanna and Amol Mhatre. Kapadia's role is that of a forty year-old married woman and a Bombay University professor, who, after the death of her mother, loses her sense of happiness and takes a job as a visiting professor of South Asian studies in California. In 2005, she once again starred with Rishi Kapoor in “Pyaar Mein Twist”. In 2006, she appeared in her first English-language film “Being Cyrus”. Kapadia's more recent work includes “Luck By Chance” (2009).