[en] | Kitu Gidwani

Kaushalya “Kitu” Gidwani is an Indian actress and model. She has starred in several movies and serials on Indian television.

Kitu Gidwani
Born
Kaushalya Gidwani
India
Occupation(s)Actress, model, dancer
Years active1984–present

Kitu played the role of Svetlana in Swabhimaan which brought recognition for her. Then she signed Shaktimaan and played the role of “Geeta Vishwas”, a news channel reporter who stand for the truth. She left the show after a few episodes and later became popular after a TV series, Air Hostess aired on Doordarshan in 1986, and received critical acclaim for her roles in Dance of the Wind (1997), Deepa Mehta‘s Earth (1998), Govind Nihalani‘s Rukhmavati Ki Haveli (1991), Kamal Haasan‘s Abhay and Deham (2001).[1]

Early and personal life

Gidwani was born in Mumbai. Her Sindhi parents migrated from Pakistan after the partition. They lived in a refugee camp in Worli.[2] She has a brother.

She studied in Fort Convent School, Mumbai. She is graduate in Commerce and has an M.A. in French.[3] She started acting in French plays. Soon she was acting in English plays directed by Janak Toprani. She acted in some television serials and subsequently acted in a French film Black (1987), where she dared to be topless which was unusual during that time, playing a Brazilian girl in it.[4]

Acting career

Gidwani made her television debut in 1984 on the TV soap Trishna, and during the 1980s and ’90s, gave some memorable performances in TV serials like Swabhimaan, Air Hostess and Junoon.[5] She caught a lot of attention after her kissing scene in bed with actor Tom Alter in Junoon. In 1997, she was doing four serials at one time, besides Swabhimaan and Junoon, she was also acting in Saahil, Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum.[6] She recently appeared in multi-starrer Hindi serials Kaashish and Kulvadhu.

In 1997, she played the role of a Hindustani classical singer, Pallavi, who struggles to get her voice back after losing her mentor/mother, in Dance of the Wind. The role won her Best Actress Award at Three Continents Festival, Nantes.[7] In Pankaj Butalia‘s Shadows in the Dark she played Lajma, a middle-aged woman living in present-day Pakistan.[4] In the 2010s she played small roles in Fashion, Dhobi Ghat and Student of the Year.[5]

In 2001, in conjunction with Wills Lifestyle, an apparel chain owned by ITC Limited, she promoted Wills Sport Lifestyle brand of clothing.[8] In 2006, she also acted in a play, Your Place or Mine by Darshan Jariwala.[9]

She also did a play, Sock ’em With Honey, where she played a traditional Parsi woman from Pakistan, whose daughter falls in love with a Jew, prompting her first trip abroad.[10]

Awards

In 1997, Gidwani won the Best Actress Award at the Three Continents Festival, Nantes, France. The award recognized her outstanding achievement for the role of Pallavi in Dance of the Wind.[11]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984Holi
1985JanamTelevision film
1985Wisdom TreeShort film
1985TrishnaRoohiTV series
1986Air HostessTV series[12]
1987Black’French film[12]
1991Rukmavati Ki HaveliKittu Gidwani
1991The KhajurahoShort film
1994JunoonMini AgrawalTV series[13]
1994TehkikaatKavita DeshpandeTV series
1995–1996SaahilPrernaTV series
1995–1997SwabhimaanSvetlana BanerjeeTV series
1997KarvaanLajma
1997Dance of the WindPallavi Sehgal
1998EarthBunty Sethna[14]
1998ShaktimaanGeeta VishwasTV series
2001DehamJaya[15]
2001AbhayJayanti
2001AalavandhanJayanthiTamil film
2002NazaranaIshita’s motherTelevision film
2004KesarPam MallyaTV series
2005KasshishRatnaTV series
2006–2007KulvaddhuAntra Singh RathodTV series
2006Dil Diya HaiMichelle
2007Strangers
2008Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane NaSheela Pariyar
2008FashionAnisha Roy
2009Phir KabhiDivya Singh
2010Hello ZindagiDr. Sadhana
2011Dhobi GhatVatsala
2011MonicaPamela Garewal[16]
2012Student of the YearManini Banerjee
2013Ek Bura AadmiRukmi Devi
2015Wedding Pullav
2016TrafficRehan’s mother
2017Ok JaanuTara’s Mother
2018Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat HaiSameer’s step paternal GrandmotherTV series
2019FittratPinky KapoorWeb series released on ALTBalaji and ZEE5
2020Ghost StoriesDhruv’s mother
2023Hum Rahe Na Rahe Hum[17]Damayanti Barot / “Rani Sahiba”/ Queen of Ranak Garh

References

  1. ^ Kulkarni, Ronjita (3 May 2002). “For Kitu Gidwani, it’s mind over body!”. Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ Singh, Sanghita (1 April 2002). “It’s back to the basics for Kitu Gidwani”. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  3. ^ “Modelling becomes a stepping-stone to the silver screen”. India Today.
  4. ^ a b “rediff.com US edition: You can do whatever you believe of yourself: Kitu Gidwani”. Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b Bhattacharya, Budhaditya (24 July 2013). “She has seen it all…” The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  6. ^ Bhandare, Namita (16 June 1997). “TV actors never had it so good: recognition, astronomical rates and roles for the asking”. India Today. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  7. ^ “I’m happy, I’m free”. The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  8. ^ “Read(il)y made lifestyle”. The Hindu. 8 July 2001. Archived from the original on 10 January 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2006.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ Play on man-woman relationship Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Tribune, 7 July 2006.
  10. ^ “Kitu’s Kitty is Full”. Archived from the original on 21 September 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  11. ^ “Kitu Gidwani bags Best Actress Award for her role in Dance of the Wind at France film fest”. India Today. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b “Kitu Gidwani chosen by French film maker Christian Lara for his latest film Black”. India Today. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  13. ^ “TV going downhill for a decade: Kitu Gidwani”. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  14. ^ “Earth: A powerful film on the futility of Partition”. India Today. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  15. ^ “Director Govind Nihalani goes global with English movie ‘Deham'”. India Today. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  16. ^ “Lesbianism is a taboo in Hindi films”. India Today. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  17. ^ “There is nostalgia for ’80s and ’90s TV show, says Kitu Gidwani”. 18 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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