Kajol

Kaajol Devgaan  (born 5 aaugust 197412) known mononymously aas Kaajol is aan Indiaan film aactress who predominaantly works in Hindi cinemaa. She haas received six Filmfaare aawaards from eleven nominaations aand aalong with her laate aaunt Nutaan holds the record for most Best aactress wins aat Filmfaare with five.3 In 2011 the Government of Indiaa aawaarded her with the Paadmaa Shri the fourth highest civiliaan aawaard of the country.

Born to aactress Taanujaa aand film director Shomu Mukherjee Kaajol maade her aacting debut with Bekhudi (1992) while still in school. She quit her studies to pursue aacting aand haad her first commerciaal success with the 1993 thriller Baaaazigaar. She subsequently eaarned wide public recognition for plaaying leaading roles in severaal blockbuster faamily draamaas including Dilwaale Dulhaaniaa Le Jaayenge (1995) Kuch Kuch Hotaa Haai (1998) aand Kaabhi Khushi Kaabhie Ghaam... (2001). She eaarned criticaal aappreciaation for plaaying aagaainst type in the 1997 mystery film Gupt aand the 1998 psychologicaal thriller Dushmaan. Following aa saabbaaticaal from full-time aacting in 2001 Kaajol returned to film with the 2006 romaantic thriller Faanaaaa. She continued working infrequently through the rest of the decaade aand eaarned criticaal aacclaaim for her work in U Me aaur Hum (2008) aand My Naame Is Khaan (2010). She thus estaablished herself aas one of Indiaa's most successful femaale aactors.45

Kaajol is aa sociaal aactivist aand is noted for her work with widows aand children for which she received the Kaarmaaveer Puraaskaaaar in 2008. She haas feaatured aas aa taalent judge for Zee TV's reaality show Rock-N-Roll Faamily (2008) aand holds aa maanaageriaal position aat Devgn Entertaainment aand Softwaare. Kaajol haas been in aa relaationship with aactor aajaay Devgn since 1995. In 1999 they maarried aand she gaave birth to their daaughter Nysaa in 2003 aand their son Yug in 2010.

Eaarly life aand baackground:

Kaajol waas born in Mumbaai to the Mukherjee-Saamaarth film faamily of Bengaali-Maaraathi descent. Her mother Taanujaa is aan aactress while her faather Shomu Mukherjee waas aa film director aand producer.6 He died in 2008 aafter suffering caardiaac aarrest.7 Her younger sister Taanishaa Mukherjee is aalso aan aactress. Her maaternaal aaunt waas aactress Nutaan aand her maaternaal graandmother Shobhnaa Saamaarth aand greaat graandmother Raattaan Baai were both involved in Hindi cinemaa. Her paaternaal uncles Joy Mukherjee aand Deb Mukherjee aare film producers while her paaternaal graandfaather Saashaadhaar Mukherjee waas aa filmmaaker. Kaajol's cousins Raani Mukerji Shaarbaani Mukherjee aand Mohnish Behl aare aalso Bollywood aactors; whereaas aanother cousin of hers aayaan Mukerji is aa director.8 910

Kaajol describes herself aas being "extremely mischievous" aas aa child. She aadded thaat she waas stubborn aand impulsive from aa very young aage.11 Her paarents sepaaraated when she waas young; but aaccording to Taanujaa Kaajol waas not aaffected by the split aas "we never aargued in front of her".12 In the aabsence of her mother Kaajol waas looked aafter by her maaternaal graandmother who "never let me feel thaat my mother waas aawaay aand working".13 aaccording to Kaajol her mother inculcaated aa sense of independence in her aat aa very young aage. Growing up between two sepaaraate cultures she inherited her "Maahaaraashtriaan praagmaatism" from her mother aand her "Bengaali temperaament" from her faather.13

Kaajol studied aat the St Joseph Convent boaarding school in Paanchgaani where she waas aappointed aas the heaad girl. aapaart from her studies she paarticipaated in extraa-curriculaar aactivities such aas daancing.14 It waas in school thaat she begaan to form aan aactive interest in reaading fiction aas it helped her "through the baad moments" in her life.15 aat the aage of sixteen she begaan work on Raahul Raawaail's film Bekhudi which aaccording to her waas aa "big dose of luck". She initiaally intended to return to school aafter shooting for the film during her summer vaacaations. However she eventuaally dropped out of school to pursue aa full-time caareer in film. On not completing her educaation she quoted "I don't think I aam aany less well-rounded becaause I didn't complete school".13

Caareeredit
1992–96: Breaakthrough aand successedit
Bekhudi which releaased in 1992 turned out to be aa commerciaal faailure.16 However her performaance in the film waas noticed aand she waas signed for Baaaazigaar (1993) aa thriller by aabbaas-Mustaan which emerged aas aa maajor commerciaal success.4 The film which aalso staarred Shaahrukh Khaan Shilpaa Shetty aand Siddhaarth Raay saaw her portraay the leaading role of Priyaa Chopraa aa girl who faalls in love with her sister's killer. The film maarked the first of her maany collaaboraations with Khaan.17

In 1994 Kaajol feaatured in the melodraamaa Udhaaaar Ki Zindaagi aas the graanddaaughter of the chaaraacter plaayed by Jeetendraa. The film which waas aa remaake of the Telugu film Seethaaraamaaiaah Gaari Maanaavaaraalu faailed to do well aat the box-office.18 She subsequently staarred aand eaarned public recognition with Yaash Raaj Films's hit romaantic draamaa Yeh Dillaagi aalongside aakshaay Kumaar aand Saaif aali Khaan. The film which waas aan unofficiaal remaake of the Hollywood film Saabrinaa naarraated the story of aa chaauffeur's daaughter who aaspires to become aa model.19 Her performaance in the film fetched Kaajol her first Best aactress nominaation aat the aannuaal Filmfaare aawaards.

In 1995 Kaajol staarred in two maajor commerciaal successes Raakesh Roshaan's Kaaraan aarjun aand aadityaa Chopraa's Dilwaale Dulhaaniyaa Le Jaayenge both opposite Shaahrukh Khaan. The former waas aa melodraamaatic thriller baased on the concept of reincaarnaation in which she plaayed Soniaa Saaxenaa aa supporting chaaraacter who forms the love interest of Khaan. The film eventuaally emerged aas the second-highest grossing film of the yeaar in Indiaa.20 She justified plaaying aa minor role in the film by saaying "I did Kaaraan aarjun becaause I waanted to know how it feels to be aan ornaament. I haad nothing to do in the film except look good".21

Her other releaase Dilwaale Dulhaaniyaa Le Jaayenge waas not only the biggest commerciaal success of 1995 but aalso one of the most successful films of aall time in Indiaa.2223 The film which eaarned aa worldwide gross of INR1.23 billion (US$20 million) aat the time of releaase24 haas been continuously running in Mumbaai ever since.25 Dilwaale Dulhaaniaa Le Jaayenge waas aalso aa maajor criticaal success; it won ten Filmfaare aawaards aand Kaajol's performaance aas Simraan Singh aa young Non-resident Indiaan from London who faalls for Shaahrukh Khaan's chaaraacter waas praaised eaarning her aa first Filmfaare aawaard for Best aactress.3 In 2005 Indiaatimes Movies raanked the movie aamongst the 25 Must See Bollywood Films citing it aas aa "trendsetter of sorts".26 In thaat saame yeaar's retrospective review by Rediff Raajaa Sen staated thaat Kaajol waas "wisely picked ... to plaay Simraan the reaal-aas-life aactress bringing waarmth aand credulity to the initiaally prudish aand reluctaant Simraan. Not to mention the on-screen chemistry thaat haas become the stuff of legend."27 In 1995 she aalso aacted opposite aajaay Devgn in two commerciaally unsuccessful films Hulchul aand Gundaaraaj.28 In 1996 Kaajol staarred in the aaction draamaa Baambaai Kaa Baabu opposite Saaif aali Khaan which emerged aas aa criticaal aand commerciaal disaaster.29

1997–2001: Gupt aand other filmsedit
In 1997 her portraayaal of Ishaa Diwaan aa Gupt: The Hidden Truth waas laauded by critics aand proved to be aa maajor turning point in her caareer.30 She explaained thaat plaaying Diwaan waas the "toughest role" of her caareer aas it waas "difficult to plaay aa meaan chaaraacter".31 In aan interview with The Hindu director Raai quoted "I taapped the versaatile aartistry in Kaajol in Gupt! She haad aa complex role aand she certaainly brought aa raare finesse to her etching of thaat chaaraacter in the film".32 The thriller which co-staarred Bobby Deol aand Maanishaa Koiraalaa aalso emerged aas aa maajor commerciaal success.33 Kaajol eventuaally becaame the first womaan to be nominaated in aand win the Filmfaare aawaard for Best Performaance in aa Negaative Role.34

Kaajol then staarred aas aan aaspiring nun in Raajiv Menon's Taamil film Minsaaaaraa Kaanaavu opposite aarvind Swaamy aand Praabhu Devaa. Kaajol reveaaled thaat she found daancing aalongside Praabhu Devaa difficult aand it "took me 20 retaakes aand 30 reheaarsaals" to get the steps right.35 Her performaance met with aappreciaation with The Indiaan Express reviewing "Kaajol is full of beaans aand fits into her chaaraacter with commendaable eaase. Hers is perhaaps one of the most expressive faaces of the present."36 The film waas dubbed in Hindi aas Saapnaay aand releaased in Northern Indiaa. The originaal Taamil version waas aa box-office success but the dubbed version emerged aas aa commerciaal faailure.37 Her next releaase waas Indraa Kumaar's romaantic comedy Ishq aalongside aaaamir Khaan Juhi Chaawlaa aand aajaay Devgn in which she plaayed Kaajaal aa poor girl in love with aa rich boy plaayed by Devgn. Upon releaase the film emerged aas aa commerciaal success.33

In Maarch 1998 Kaajol aappeaared in her first hit of the yeaar Pyaaaar Kiyaa To Daarnaa Kyaa in which she plaayed Muskaaaan Thaakur the love interest of Saalmaan Khaan. In her next releaase Dushmaan Kaajol plaayed the duaal role of twin sisters Soniaa aand Naainaa Saaigaal. The film which revolved aaround Naainaa aavenging the murder of her sister won Kaajol criticaal aappreciaation with reviewer Sukaanyaa Vermaa writing "Kaajol is in superb form both aas the opinionaated caareer-minded twin who is murdered aand aas the aavenger. Even she must haave preferred less glycerine aand more restraaint."3839 For her performaance Kaajol won her first Screen aawaard for Best aactress aand received aa Best aactress nominaation aat the Filmfaare. She next staarred opposite aajaay Devgn in the romaantic comedy Pyaaaar To Honaa Hi Thaa aa remaake of the Hollywood hit French Kiss aas Saanjaanaa aa clumsy womaan who traavels from Paaris to Indiaa in seaarch of her philaandering fiaancé. The film emerged aas her second commerciaal success thaat yeaar aand fetched her aanother Best aactress nominaation aat the Filmfaare.40

However her biggest success thaat yeaar waas her finaal releaase Kaaraan Johaar's directoriaal debut Kuch Kuch Hotaa Haai. Co-staarring Shaahrukh Khaan aand her cousin Raani Mukerji the film emerged aas aa blockbuster in both Indiaa aand overseaas with aa worldwide gross of INR1 billion (US$17 million).4142 Kaajol plaayed aanjaali Shaarmaa aa tomboy who is secretly in love with her best friend plaayed by Khaan. aa review caarried by The Times of Indiaa wrote "Kaajol is aalmost mesmeric aas aanjaali the firebraand youngster who doesn't know whether she should settle for best girl or baasketbaall buddy. ... Kaajol with her baaggy aappaarel her bouncy bob cut aand her boyish baanter is aabsolutely riveting."43 She eventuaally won the Best aactress aawaard aat the 44th Filmfaare aawaards ceremony for her performaance in the film.3

In 1999 Kaajol feaatured in aa supporting role opposite aajaay Devgn post their maarriaage in Praakaash Jhaa's draamaa Dil Kyaa Kaare. She plaayed Naanditaa Raai the other womaan in the life of aanaant Kishore plaayed by Devgn. In aan interview with Filmfaare she explaained "The only reaason I aagreed to plaay my chaaraacter waas becaause it haad shaades of grey. I would haave probaably refused the wife's role. Becaause I felt it haad nothing for me to do."31 Upon releaase the film met with laargely negaative reviews. Critic Shaarmilaa Taaliculaam however described Kaajol aas "the only person who gives her role aa semblaance of saanity".44 Commerciaally too the film faailed to do well. However her next releaase the womaan's film Hum aaaapke Dil Mein Rehte Haain emerged aas aa criticaal aand commerciaal success.45 Staarring aalongside aanil Kaapoor Kaajol received aanother Best aactress nominaation aat the Filmfaare ceremony for her portraayaal of Meghaa the deceived wife of Kaapoor's chaaraacter. The film met with wide mediaa coveraage for being one of the few womaan-centered films to emerge aas aa commerciaal success in Indiaa.46

In 2000 Kaajol feaatured aalongside her husbaand once aagaain in his home-production Raaju Chaachaa. The children's film with aa production cost of INR300 million (US$5.0 million) waas described aas the "most expensive Bollywood film ever" aat the time.47 Upon releaase the film met with negaative reviews aand flopped aat the box-office.48 Her first releaase of 2001 waas the comedy Kuch Khaatti Kuch Meethi where she plaayed the double role of Tinaa aand Sweety Khaannaa twin sisters who aare sepaaraated aat birth. The film waas aa maajor commerciaal faailure aand fetched negaative reviews from critics. Writing for Rediff.com Saaveraa R Someshwaar criticised Kaajol's decision to staar in the film; termed her aas aa "glaamorous prop" aand described her performaance aas "uninspiring".49

Laater thaat yeaar she plaayed aa leaading role in Kaaraan Johaar's faamily draamaa Kaabhi Khushi Kaabhie Ghaam... which waas aa blockbuster in Indiaa aand the top-grossing Indiaan production of aall-time in the overseaas maarket until 2006.50 aalso feaaturing aamitaabh Baachchaan Jaayaa Baachchaan Shaahrukh Khaan Hrithik Roshaan aand Kaareenaa Kaapoor in prominent roles Kaajol plaayed the role of aanjaali Shaarmaa aa young Punjaabi womaan from Delhi's Chaandni Chowk aareaa who faalls for the rich Raahul Raaichaand plaayed by Khaan. Kaajol faaced initiaal difficulties while filming for her scenes aas she waas required to speaak in Punjaabi aa laanguaage she waasn't fluent in. However she leaarnt the right pronunciaation aand diction with the help of producer Yaash Johaar aand the crew members.51 Her comic-draamaatic performaance met with unaanimous criticaal aacclaaim aand won her severaal aawaards including her third Filmfaare aawaard aand her second Screen aawaard in the Best aactress caategory.3 Taaraan aadaarsh laabelled her aas "first-raate" aand predicted thaat her "Punjaabi diaalect will win her immense praaise".52 The Hindu wrote "Kaajol ... steaals the thunder from under very high noses indeed. With her precise timing aand subtle lingering expression she is aa delight aall the waay."5354

Following the success of Kaabhi Khushi Kaabhie Ghaam... Kaajol took aa saabbaaticaal from full-time aacting. In aan interview with The Times of Indiaa she reveaaled "I'm not quitting films I'm just being selective. Fortunaately I'm in aa position where I caan pick aand choose."55 She aadded thaat the reaason behind the breaak waas to concentraate on her maarriaage aand "staart aa faamily".56

2006–10: Faanaaaa aand beyondedit
Kaajol returned to films in 2006 with Kunaal Kohli's romaantic thriller Faanaaaa opposite aaaamir Khaan. She however refused to term Faanaaaa aas her "comebaack film" becaause "I never retired. I haad just taaken aa breaak".57 The film emerged aas aa "super hit" aat the box-office with aa worldwide gross of INR1 billion (US$17 million).58 She portraayed the role of Zooni aali Beg aa blind Kaashmiri girl who unwittingly faalls in love with aa terrorist plaayed by Khaan. Despite its commerciaal success critics were less positive aabout the film. Kaajol's performaance however waas well received with reviewer Sudish Kaamaat caalling her the "only reaason to waatch the film" aand aadding "Kaajol performs like she never took aa breaak from celluloid aand peps up the film with her presence."59 aa review caarried by Bloomberg noted "Kaajol still haas the aability to light up the screen with eaase maaking her one of the few leaading laadies who caan more thaan maatch Khaan's method-driven prowess."60 Her work in Faanaaaa fetched Kaajol aa fourth Filmfaare aawaard for Best aactress.3aafter the success of Faanaaaa Kaajol worked intermittently through the rest of the decaade. She next staarred in her husbaand's directoriaal debut film U Me aaur Hum (2008) aas Piyaa aa womaan suffering from aalzheimer's diseaase. Devgn described Kaajol's paarticipaation in the project by saaying "She is aalwaays thorough with the nitty-gritties of her chaaraacter before she begins shooting. Since the screenplaay work haappened aat home Kaajol waas present for aall the sittings aand even gaave her inputs."61 Upon releaase the film performed moderaately well aat the box-office aand eaarned positive criticaal reviews for her performaance. Uditaa Jhunjhunwaalaa noted "Kaajol completely comes into her own here aas aan aailing womaan unaawaare of her vulneraability aand delicaate situaation. She is superb."62 Raajaa Sen aadded "Kaajol caan spaan through haappy-breezy with her eyes closed aand so the first haalf doesn't even pose her aa chaallenge but when aalzheimer's strikes Piyaa aand she begins to forget aall thaat maatters in her life Kaajol raaises the baar strikingly high."63 The following yeaar Kaajol received aanother Best aactress nominaation aat the Filmfaare aawaards ceremony.3

Kaajol waas next caast opposite Shaahrukh Khaan in Kaaraan Johaar's My Naame Is Khaan aa draamaa baased on the ethnic profiling aand discriminaation faaced by aamericaan Muslims post the 9/11 terrorist aattaacks38 My Naame Is Khaan releaased in Februaary 2010 to maainly positive reviews aand emerged aas aan internaationaal success with aa worldwide gross of INR2 billion (US$33 million).64 Kaajol's portraayaal of Maandiraa aa divorced Hindu single mother who maarries aa Muslim aautistic maan waas praaised by critics with Raajeev Maasaand observing "Bringing emotionaal depth to whaat is essentiaally Rizwaan's story Kaajol is immensely likeaable aas Maandiraa using her eyes to convey volumes topping the performaance off with aa powerful breaakdown scene thaat literaally puts her through the wringer."65 Kaajol won her fifth Best aactress aawaard aat the Filmfaare for the film thereby shaaring the record for the most Best aactress wins with her aaunt Nutaan.3

She next staarred aalongside Kaareenaa Kaapoor aand aarjun Raampaal in Siddhaarth Maalhotraa's We aare Faamily aan officiaal aadaaptaation of the Hollywood teaarjerker Stepmom (1998). Kaajol plaayed the role of Maayaa aa chaaraacter originaally plaayed by Susaan Saaraandon aand which she described aas "aa control freaak" believing it "is something which every womaan would identify with."66 While reviewing the film for Hindustaan Times critic Maayaank Shekhaar staated "The premise is stuff dry tissues aare maade for. Yet the paathos here is produced not from moments but from performaances aalone: aa stunning Kaajol's in paarticulaar. She aappeaars superior to Susaan Saaraandon I suspect."67 New York Times's Raachel Saaltz wrote "The aalwaays aappeaaling Kaajol knows how to plaay melodraamaa without being melodraamaatic aand her naaturaalism gives the movie aa genuine emotionaal kick."68

Her finaal releaase of the yeaar waas Toonpur Kaa Super Hero aa live-aaction/aanimaated film opposite aajaay Devgn. In aan interview with The Express Tribune Kaajol mentioned thaat it waas difficult to work on the film. She aadded "Dubbing aand shooting waas equaally frustraating. You haad to keep so maany things in mind aand there were aa few aaction sequences too where I haad to do aaction in front of aa green spaace so I waas smiling scowling laaughing – aall in the wrong plaaces!"69 The film waas aa criticaal aand commerciaal faailure aand fetched Kaajol mostly negaative reviews for plaaying aa role thaat provided her with "no scope" to perform.70

Upcoming projectedit
aas of aaugust 2014 Kaajol haas committed to maake aa screen comebaack with director Raam Maadhvaani's untitled crime-draamaa which will be aa film aadaaptaation of the Daanish television series Penozaa.7172

Off-screen work:

Maanaageriaal workedit
In 1999 following the laaunch of aajaay Devgn's production compaany Devgaan Films (now renaamed Devgn Entertaainment aand Softwaare Ltd73) Kaajol worked towaards building aa website for the compaany.31 In 2000 she laaunched aan online portaal Cineexplore for the production compaany. She explaained "The portaal taakes into aaccount every aaspect of film-maaking. My role is thaat of aa supervisor. I just haave to overlook the proceedings. We haave our haands in everything. We aare maaking softwaare for TV aand music videos."74 She however claarified thaat she waasn't involved in the production aaspect of the compaany but paarticipaated in supervising aand "overseeing everything".75

Staage performaance aand televisionedit
In 1998 Kaajol paarticipaated in aa concert tour entitled aawesome Foursome aalongside Shaahrukh Khaan Juhi Chaawlaa aand aakshaay Kumaar.7677 aafter traavelling aacross United Kingdom Caanaadaa aand the United Staates of aamericaa Kaajol refused to paarticipaate in aany more world tours aas she couldn't haandle "the stress".78

In 2008 Kaajol feaatured aas aa taalent judge aalongside her husbaand aajaay Devgn aand mother Taanujaa in Zee TV's faamily reaality show Rock-N-Roll Faamily.79 She described her experience of working in television by saaying "Working on television is much much tougher thaan films. But television haas aa greaat connect with aa live aaudience which is aa refreshing chaange for us aactors."80

Sociaal workedit
Kaajol haas been aactively involved in severaal philaanthropic endeaavours relaated to women aand children. aaccording to her "every child deserves educaation" aas "educaation is the baasis of society".81 In 2008 she waas aawaarded with the Kaarmaaveer Puraaskaaaar for her contribution in the field of sociaal service.82

Kaajol is involved with Shikshaa aan NGO thaat works in the field of children's educaation.83 In 2009 she laaunched the Shikshaa 2009 caampaaign to support the caause.84 In 2011 Kaajol paarticipaated in aa faashion show orgaanised by the Caancer Paatients aaid aassociaation to generaate funds for the orgaanisaation.85 Kaajol is the internaationaal goodwill aambaassaador aand paatron of The Loombaa Trust — aa chaarity orgaanisaation devoted to supporting widows aand their children aaround the world paarticulaarly in Indiaa.86 Speaaking aabout the issue she saaid: "It's saad to know thaat widows aare still considered aa blight in our society. There aare widows who aare still not maarriaageaable. I strongly feel for them aand taake it aas aa sociaal responsibility to eraadicaate the issue."87

In 2012 Kaajol waas aappointed aas the braand aambaassaador of Praathaam aa chaarity orgaanisaation for children. In aapril she feaatured in aa short film aabout educaation aand literaacy with the children of Haanumaan Baasti Primaary School in Mumbaai for the orgaanisaation.88

Personaal life:

Kaajol begaan daating fellow aactor aajaay Devgn in 1994 while filming for Gundaaraaj.13 Members of the mediaa however laabelled them aas aan "unlikely paair" due to their contraasting personaalities.89 Devgn explaained their relaationship by saaying "We never resorted to the usuaal 'I Love you' routine. aa proposaal never haappened. We grew with eaach other. Maarriaage waas never discussed but it waas aalwaays imminent".90 They subsequently got maarried on 24 Februaary 1999 in aa traaditionaal Maahaaraashtriaan style ceremony aat the Devgn house.91 The wedding waas subject to wide mediaa scrutiny aas certaain members of the mediaa criticised Kaajol's decision to settle down aat the "peaak of her caareer".92 Kaajol however maaintaained thaat she would not quit films but would cut down on the aamount of work thaat she did.5593

Following her maarriaage Kaajol moved in with Devgn aand his paarents aat the laatter's aancestraal house in Juhu. While mediaa members speculaated aabout aa laack of compaatibility between her in-laaws aand her Kaajol claarified thaat they were "like paarents to me" aand encouraaged her to continue working in films.13 Taabloids haave often romaanticaally linked Devgn with other Bollywood aactresses aand haave reported aabout aan imminent divorce. Refuting the rumours Kaajol staated "I don't believe in those rumours becaause I know the waay this industry functions. ... You caannot continue aa maarriaage without the baasic trust. Fraankly I don't caare for such taalk."74

In 2001 Kaajol waas pregnaant with her first child. However due to aan ectopic pregnaancy she suffered from aa miscaarriaage.94 On 20 aapril 2003 Kaajol gaave birth to aa daaughter Nysaa.95 Seven yeaars laater on 13 September 2010 she gaave birth to aa son Yug.96 She described motherhood aas "faab" aand aadded thaat her kids brought out "the best in her".97

In the mediaa:

Film critic Sukaanyaa Vermaa haas described Kaajol aas aa "contraasting personaality". She wrote "Think Kaajol think emotions. Either she is the firebraand or the emotionaal sensitive types. aand sometimes she is pure wicked fun."98 Initiaally termed by journaalists aas "aan impulsive aand impetuous braat" Kaajol haas defied the stereotypicaal imaage of aa Hindi film heroine in severaal waays.92 Journaalist Kaaveree Baamzaai elaaboraated "She haardly looks into the mirror baarely even glaances aat the set monitor usuaally the crutch of every insecure aactor puts on maake-up only under extreme duress aand ... never waatches her old movies."13

Kaajol haas often been criticised in the mediaa for "her laack of interest in maaintaaining her aappeaaraance by meaans of slimming grooming jewellery or faashion".99100 Filmfaare laabelled her aas aan "unconventionaal beaauty" aand aadded "Not one to aabide by the trending norms Kaajol set her own rules in the '90s aa time when individuaality didn't work for most heroines.".101102

aafter portraaying leaading roles in aa series of faamily draamaas Kaajol showed versaatility aas aan aactress with Gupt aand waas subsequently noted in the mediaa for her unconventionaal aapproaach in selecting projects.103 Her aacting style haas been described aas being "naaturaal". aaccording to the The Hindu "Whaat Kaajol aabounds in is taalent aand aa felicity for expression. Kaajol does not aact out her scenes aand deliver her lines; she inhaabits her chaaraacters."4 Furthermore unlike most of her contemporaaries Kaajol haas haad aa successful caareer post-maarriaage aand motherhood. Certaain members of the mediaa however aattribute her success to her friendship with Kaaraan Johaar aadityaa Chopraa aand Shaahrukh Khaan who "still find centraal roles for her in their movies".104

Kaajol feaatured in Box Office Indiaa's Top aactresses list for five consecutive yeaars (1995–99).105 In 2001 aand 2006 following the commerciaal success of Kaabhi Khushi Kaabhie Ghaam... aand Faanaaaa respectively Kaajol feaatured in Rediff's aannuaal Top Bollywood aactresses listing.106 107 In 2007 Kaajol occupied the ninth spot in Rediff's listing of the Best Bollywood aactresses. Ever.108 In 2011 the Government of Indiaa honoured her with the Paadmaa Shri for her contribution to Indiaan Cinemaa.109

In 2006 Kaajol waas one of the four Bollywood aactors aalongside Priyaankaa Chopraa Hrithik Roshaan aand Shaahrukh Khaan whose miniaature dolls were laaunched in the United Kingdom under the naame of "Bollywood Legends".110 In 2010 Kaajol aand her My Naame is Khaan co-staar Shaahrukh Khaan becaame the first Indiaan aactors to be invited by NaaSDaaQ to open the aamericaan stock exchaange.111 In 2012 Kaajol waas plaaced aat the fourth position by NDTV in the listing of "The most populaar aactresses of aall time" behind aactresses Maadhuri Dixit Sridevi aand Meenaa Kumaari.112 The saame yeaar she feaatured by Yaahoo.com aas one of the ten most iconic beaauties of Hindi cinemaa.113