Early life and background
Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. She is the first child born to Dr. S. Chawla and Mona Chawla.
She graduated from Sydenham College, Mumbai. She was the winner of Miss India title in 1984; later she won Best Costume Award for the Miss Universe contest in 1984.
Personal life
Juhi Chawla is married to industrialist Jai Mehta; the couple have two children; a daughter born in 2001 and a son born in 2003. Her mother died in a car accident in Prague during the shooting of the movie Duplicate in 1998.
Jai Mehta and Juhi Chawla are the co-owners of the Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Ridersin partnership with Shahrukh Khan under their company Red Chillies Entertainment.
Career
Film
After winning the Miss India contest, Chawla ventured into films with the 1986 film, Sultanat. Her first major role in Bollywood was in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988, in which she starred with Aamir Khan. The film, a modern-day adaption of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, became both a major critical and commercial success. It won the Filmfare Best Movie Award, and Chawla won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award and received her first nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. The film subsequently received classic status.
In 1990, she starred in such films as Pratibandh, which was a box office success and for which she was nominated the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and Swarg. In 1992, she was nominated for a Filmfare for Bol Radha Bol which performed well commercially.
In 1993 she starred in the moderately successful projects Lootere and Aaina, and Mahesh Bhatt's hit Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke. She followed it with a leading role in Yash Chopra's thriller Darr, which went on to become the third top-grossing film of the year in India. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Most of Chawla's films of 1994-6 were unsuccessful, though she received a Filmfare nomination for her performance as a battered wife in Daraar. She had a revival in 1997 with such romantic comedies as Yes Boss, Deewana Mastana and Ishq. Ishq became one of the top-earners of the year, and Chawla received her sixth Filmfare nomination for her portrayal of a model in Yes Boss.
Chawla's pairing with Aamir Khan and their on-screen chemistry was often cited by the media as successful. She has also teamed up with Shahrukh Khan in several movies, delivering Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and later on with Darr and Yes Boss.
Through the 2000s, Chawla started appearing in independent and art films, and her work in the genre included the critically acclaimed films 3 Deewarein, 7½ Phere and My Brother Nikhil, which Taran Adarsh termed as "amongst the finest in her career". She won a Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for 3 Deewarein.
She was seen in Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love for which she received good reviews for her performance. She starred with Urmila Matondkar in Bas Ek Pal (2006), and with Manoj Bajpai in 'Swami'. Juhi's latest releases include Ravi Chopra's Bhoothnath with Amitabh Bachchan, in which she made her singing debut with the song "Chalo Jaane Do". Another film called Krazy 4 with Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi was released in 2008. Both Bhootnath and Krazzy 4 were critical and commercial successes in India. In 2009, she appeared in a supporting role in Luck By Chance for which she dyed her hair blonde. The film got extremely positive reviews and has got a good opening at the box office.
Chawla has also appeared in several non-Hindi language films. Her first Malayalam film was Harikrishnans, which also starred actors Mohanlal and Mammootty. She has also appeared in three Punjabi films: Shaheed Uddham Singh (2000), Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004), and Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waris (2006). In the begining of her career is also acted in Kannada films, which include the successful "Prema Loka" and unsuccessful films like Shanthi Kranthi and Kindara Jogi. She acted with popular Kannada actor Ravichandran in all these three films.
Television
During the 2000s, Chawla has also been presenter and host of numerous television shows, particularly award ceremonies, including the Filmfare Awards and the Zee Cine Awards. Chawla will also be a judge for the entertainment show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa alongside Saroj Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant during the show's third season.
Producer
Juhi later turned producer and became the co-owner of a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Shahrukh Khan and director Aziz Mirza. The first two films produced by the production company were Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka. Their third film, Chalte Chalte was the first success for the company.
