Kirron Kher (Born was on June 14, 1955) is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.
Early life
Kirron Kher was born in Mumbai to Sikh parents, and brought up in Chandigarh , Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University , Chandigarh Punjab . Kirron also had a brother, painter Amandeep Singh, who passed away in 2003.
Career
Kirron Kher made her film debut in 1983 in the Punjabi feature film Aasra Pyar Da and received rave reviews for her performance. Though she soon took a hiatus from films, following her divorce, and in order to raise her son Sikander Kher, meanwhile she worked for her second husband Anupam Kher as a costume designer and suggested the title for his movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and appeared in only one film in between, Pestonjee in 1988, wherein she acted along side, her husband Anupam Kher.
Kirron Kher in Khamosh Pani (2003), which won her the Best Actress Leopard Award at the 56th Locarno International Film Festival (2003).Her return to acting came about with theatre, with the play Saalgirah from by playwright Feroz Khan, soon she hosted three television shows, starting with Purushkshetra on Zee TV which got her much acclaimed for bringing out the discussion of sexuality to the forum for the first time, while highlighting women's issues at the same time, Kiron Kher Today and Jagte Raho with Kiron Kher, before doing Bollywood films. Her comeback film was Karan Arjun (1995), followed by the acclaimed film by Shyam Benegal, Sardari Begum (1996), which won her the Special Jury Award at the 1997 National Film Awards.
In 2000, she appeared in film director, Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Bariwali 1999, to critical acclaim. Though when she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the film, a controversy arose as a Bangla film actress, Rita Koiral claimed that she had dubbed for the character of Kirron, making her an equal claimant to the award. Kirron however refuted the charges claiming she spent hours rehearsing for her dialogue delivery, and the award was eventually not shared.
In 2002, she appeared in Devdas (2002) alongside Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai, and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.
For her role in the film, Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) (2003), a film that portrays the plight of a woman abducted during partition of India in 1947, who not only refused to kill herself as suggested by her family, but marries her abductor and after his death makes an earning teaching Quran to local children, and how her life changes dramatically when her takes up Islamic extremism in 1979 during the rule of Zia-ul-Haq and his process of Islamization of Pakistan, she won the Best Actress Award, at Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, the Karachi International Film Festival, Karachi, and International Festivals at Ciepie in Argentina, and Cape Town in South Africa, while the film itself won the Best Film - Golden Leopard, Festival Grand Prize at Locarno. The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) 2004 paid tribute the actress during its annual festival.
In October 2004 she made a guest appearance along with her husband, in the American TV series ER playing Parminder Nagra's mother, Mrs. Rasgotra, in episode Damaged (Season 11) (2004).
In 2005, she essayed the role of role of Sunanda in the tele-serial Prratima on Sahara One channel, prior to which she had appeared in TV series like, Dil Na Jaane Kyon (Zee TV), Isi Bahane, and Chausath Panne. Despite playing mostly supporting roles, her list of successful movies includes, Main Hoon Na (2004), Hum Tum (2004) and Veer-Zaara (2004), and Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), where her performance drew rave reviews. Her work in Rang De Basanti (2006) was a huge hit and her performance got her second nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Her role in Fanaa (2006) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) also received appreciation. Adding to her list of comical roles in 2008 she appeared in Singh is Kinng, Saas bahu aur Sensex and Dostana.
Personal life
Her first marriage was with actor and businessman, Gautam Berry, with whom she has a son, actor Sikander Kher, before they divorced in 1985. She then married actor Anupam Kher, who she first met at Department of Indian Theatre in Chandigarh in 1974, which had Balwant Gargi has its head, though after which Anupam Kher went to Delhi and joined National School of Drama (NSD), while Kirron went to Bombay and got married to her first husband, subsequently they met while working together in a play called Chanadpuri Ki Champabai, and married in 1985, now they together run a production house.
In 2003, she changed her name from "Kiron" to "Kirron" due to beliefs in numerology.
Awards
1997: National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film): Sardari Begum
2000: National Film Award for Best Actress: Bariwali
2003: IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award: Devdas
2003: Locarno International Film Festival: Bronze Leopard Award : Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)
2003: Karachi International Film Festival: Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)
2006: Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress: Rang De Basanti
Nominations
2003: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Devdas
2007: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Rang De Basanti
Filmography
Film Role Notes
2000s
2008 Dostana Seema Released
2008 Saas bahu aur Sensex Binita Released
2008 Singh Is Kinng Rose Lady (Sonia's Mother)
2007 Mummy-ji
2007 Om Shanti Om Bela Makhija (Om's Mother)
2007 Apne Raavi Choudhary
2007 Just Married Mrs. Chaturvedi
2007 I See You Mrs. Dutt
2006 Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna Kamaljeet Saran
2006 Fanaa Nafisa Ali Begum (Zooni's mother)
2006 Rang De Basanti Mitro (DJ's Mother)
2005 Mangal Pandey: The Rising Lol Bibi
2004 Veer-Zaara Mariam Hayaat Khan (Zaara's Mother)
2004 Hum Tum Parminder Prakash aka Bobby (Rhea's Mother)
2004 Main Hoon Na Madhu Sharma
2004 Khamosh Pani: Silent Waters Veero/Ayesha
2004 Karz
2002 Devdas Sumitra
2002 Darmiyan Zeenat Begum
2002 Sardari Begum Sardari Begum won, National Film Award Special Jury Award
1990s
1988 Pestonjee Soona Mistry
1999 Bariwali Banalata Won, National Film Award for Best Actress