Juhi Chawla-The Vivacious Actress   

Byline: Ravi Valluri

It was aeons ago. In the bijou town of Ambala, in Haryana, a high spirited and effervescent girl was born to an officer of the high brow Indian Revenue Service.

The year was 1967 and the date 13November, when the cherubic baby, Juhi set her tender feet on the planet, spreading joy with her mirth.

This prepossessing girl was schooled at Fort Convent, Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College in Human Resources Management. It is possible she acquired exceptional skills upon graduating with a degree in this subject, for in her diverse and varied career she has launched into several frontiers and not confined herself to being merely in front of the camera. Apart from acting, she has configured film production houses, is on the jury of several shows on television and is the co-owner of a premier cricketing club.

The talented artiste has acted in over 80 films in Bollywood and provided oxygen to the coffers of cinema industry by smashing records through films such as ‘Love Love Love’, ‘Darr’, ‘Tum Mere Ho’, ‘Daulat ki Jang’, ‘Atank Hi Atank’, ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke’, ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Duplicate’, ‘Ishq’ and ‘Bol Radha Bol’ among others.

Following the stupendous commercial success of the film ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, a film critic was to succinctly comment, “Juhi Chawla already shows that she's here to stay. Not only is she naturally vivacious but she, in a wonderfully subtle way, displays Rashmi's innocence, childlikeness and determination.” It’s no surprise that since then Aamir and Juhi were a popular on-screen pair for the chemistry they shared. This was way back in the year 1988. The trouper had arrived to conquer Bollywood. Two years earlier, in 1986, she had made her maiden foray in the film world, acting in the movie ‘Sultanat’.

This actress, model, producer and co-owner of a cricket team won the prestigious 1984, Miss India Beauty Pageant. The gorgeous, beautiful and graceful actress, bestowed with an infectious smile has featured in Hindi, Bengali, Panjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu feature films. It is noteworthy to mention that the Sydenham College alumnus was feted with the Best Costume Award at the Miss Universe pageant in 1984. Juhi Chawla has also been feted with two Film Fare awards during the course of her career.

The erudite and master craftsman of film making, Hrishikesh Mukherjee addressed her as one blessed with a serene face. Others applaud her for quintessential comic timing, chirpy and comic Nirvana which not only enlivens the sets of a movie under production but also the movie itself.

The accomplished and well rounded personality is a gifted classical singer and a consummate Kathak dancer. This has positively added gravitas to her performances while essaying a variety of roles.

Divinity has bestowed upon humanity several characteristics. There are the average Joes. Others are talented, a few multi-task skilfully; amongst us are those blessed with virtuosity and adroitness, those who dream and achievers who translate their dreams into reality.

Juhi Chawla’s Holy Grail has not been merely to live in a world of illusion or chase a chimera. She dared to dream big and carve a niche for herself in the tinsel world. With co-actor ShahRukh Khan and director -writer-producer Aziz Mirza she went on to set up a production house called Dreamz Unlimited.

These prized and exclusive words ‘Dreamz Unlimited’ seemed to be the harbinger of meaningful and yet popular cinema. Soon the production house delivered ‘Asoka’, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ and earned its place under the radiant sun.

This chirpy dynamo of talent was catapulted to the stratosphere and parachuted to the apogee of the film world. She went on to establish Red Chillies Entertainment with friend and co-star Shah Rukh Khan. The company was to torrefy and singe the cash counters of multitudinous theatres by crafting movies like ‘Dilwale’, ‘Raees’, ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, ‘Ra-One’ and ‘Student of the Year’ among others.

This is not a hagiographic account of her aptitude and faculties. But there are varied dimensions to her personality. She is a host or is on the jury of numerous television shows such as Zee Cine Awards and Jhalak Dhikhla Ja among others. While she spawned into numerous areas, her heart was in the right place and she continued to churn out stellar performances on the silver screen.

A critic was to remark-Juhi Chawla as a normal middle-class working woman is delightful to see. She's got guts to charm everyone by her very sensitive and sensible acting- after ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’ scorched cinema halls and garnered enormous revenue and popularity.

Juhi Chawla is married to renowned industrialist, Jay Mehta of the Mehta conglomerate and the couple is blessed with a daughter (Jhanvi) and a son (Arjun).

But life is full of peaks and valleys and one is never on the summit for eternity. Life is a roller coaster ride, which Juhi Chawla appreciated as the lives of her siblings were snuffed out much too early by destiny. The proud owner of Kolkata Knight Rider’s lost her brother to a massive stroke and her sister succumbed to the lethal pestilence of cancer.

Perhaps this double whammy triggered in her the desire to work for society. In an unrelenting manner she tirelessly works for patients suffering from thalassaemia. She has been working with a missionary zeal to spread the word about the perils of mobile radiation. The actress assiduously and in an unflagging manner contributes to eye donation camps too.

For her social contribution to society she has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Award on Social Awareness.

Juhi is perhaps discovering her inner beauty after being the liege and suzerain of several hearts.