RAVEENA TANDON TURNS 36 TODAY

Today, Bollywood Actress, Raveena Tandon turns 36 who born on 26 October 1974 is a National Film Award winning Indian actress, producer, and a former model. She has primarily worked in Bollywood films, though she appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu movies as well.

Raveena made her acting debut with Patthar Ke Phool (1991), and won a Filmfare Lux New Face Award for her performance in the film. During the 90s, she was part of several commercial successes such as Mohra (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Ziddi (1997), among others. Despite attaining popularity, she was not particularly recognised as an actor. This however changed in the early 2000s, when she ventured into more serious roles and turned towards arthouse and parallel cinema. She got high critical acclaim for her performances in films like Aks (2001) and Satta (2003), and had the peak of her career in 2002, when she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lazmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001).

EARLY LIFE:-

Raveena Tandon was born in Mumbai, to filmmaker Ravi Tandon and Veena. Her name is an amalgamation of her parents' name. She attended Jamnabai Narsee School inJuhu and studied at Mithibai College. She completed her first and second years at the college. During her time as an intern, she got her first film offer from Shantanu Sheorey which she accepted. She dropped out of college and decided to pursue her film career.Her father was a producer and director of some films in the 1970s and 1980s. She has a brother named Rajiv Tandon. Her cousin, Kiran Rathod is a South Indian actress.

HER CAREER:-

Raveena Tandon debuted with the film Patthar Ke Phool (1991) which was a hit; she received the Filmfare Lux New Face Award for her debut performance. Her next films Mohra (1994) and Dilwale (1994) were big hits at the box office whilst Laadla (1994), although an average performer, still earned her a Filmfare nomination as best supporting actress. Mohra was the second biggest hit of 1994.Her other releases of that year included the thriller Imtihaan and the comedy Andaz Apna Apna. The former was an average performer whilst the latter was unsuccessful at the box office but has since gained a strong cult following over the years. She reportedly got into a fight with her co-star Karisma Kapoor on the sets of the film. In 1995, she starred with Shahrukh Khan for the first time in Zamana Deewana; the film failed to do well.Her next few films also failed to do well at the box office and her career saw a drop in her success. Her career was back on track with hit films like Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996)and Ziddi (1997), both being big hits each of its respective year.In 1997, she was to play her first villainous role in Dus but the film was shelved after the director's death when 40% of the film's shooting had been completed.

In 1998, Tandon had eight releases. Her last release of that year Bade Miyan Chote Miyan co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda turned out to the second biggest hit of the year.Coincidentally, Tandon was offered the second lead in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai which went on to be the biggest hit of 1998, but she turned it down.In the 2000s, Tandon turned her career professionally. She went on to work more with art film directors and realistic cinema. It proved to be a good turning as films like Shool (1999), Bulandi (2000) and Aks (2001) won her huge acclaim. She won many awards as well as the Filmfare Special Performance Award for her performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Aks.

Her years in the industry paid off when she won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lazmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001), where she played a battered wife to an abusive husband.She surprised critics and audiences with her performance in the film and received much appreciation for her work. Critic, Taran Adarsh said, "Raveena Tandon lends credibility to the role of a battered wife and walks away with the honours. The pathos she conveys through her expressions makes you realise that she's a performer of substance".

Since then, she has starred in a number of critically acclaimed films, such as Satta (2003) and Dobara (2004), but has not had much box office success. Her role as a middle class woman thrust into the world of politics in the former was praised. Critic, Taran Adarsh wrote, "Raveena Tandon delivers a bravura performance. The actress takes giant strides as a performer, giving the right touches to her character. Here's a performance that's bound to be noticed".Her role as a schizophrenic in Dobara was also praised with one critic saying, "Raveena is in sync with her character, essaying her part with elaan".Her last release was Sandwich in 2006 which opened to poor reviews and reception.She has not acted in films since. Tandon has also produced the films Stumped (2003) and Pehchaan: The Face of Truth (2005), neither of which had much success at the box office.

PERONAL LIFE:-

She adopted two children Pooja and Chhaya as a single mother in the 1990s. Tandon previously dated actor Akshay Kumar and was set to be engaged to him, however they broke up soon after.
Tandon began dating film distributor Anil Thadani during the making of her film Stumped (2003). Their engagement was announced in November 2003.She married Thadani on 22 February 2004 in Jag Mandir Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan according to Punjabi style.She gave birth to a baby girl called Rasha on 16 March 2005. She gave birth to her second child, a baby boy named Ranbir on 12 July 2007.

AWARDS:-

1992: Filmfare Lux New Face Award, Patthar Ke Phool
2002: Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Best Supporting Actress, Aks
2002: National Film Award for Best Actress, Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence
2002: Filmfare Special Performance Award, Aks
2002: Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress, Aks
2002: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Supporting Actress, Aks
2002: Bollywood Movie Award - Critics Award Female, Aks
2002: Awadh Samman by the Government of Uttar Pradesh