Supriya Pathak
Supriya Pathak (born 7 January 1961) is an Indian actress who works in Gujarati and Hindi films and television. She has received multiple awards including three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is mostly popular for playing the role of Hansa Parekh in the "Khichdi" franchise, and for her vitriolic avatar of "Dhankor Baa" in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela". Early life. Supriya was born on 7 January 1961 to Kathiyawadi Gujarati theater artiste, and veteran actor, Dina Pathak and a Punjabi father, Baldev Pathak, dressmaker to the stars Rajesh Khanna and Dilip  Kumar. She has one elder sister, Ratna Pathak, also a theatre artist and a film actor. She grew up in Parsi Colony in Dadar, Mumbai, and attended the J. B. Vachha High school. She has a bachelor's degree in Fine art, specialising in Bharatanatyam, from the Nalanda Dance Research Centre, University of Mumbai. Career. Pathak's first foray into acting was under her mother's direction with the revival of the play "Maina Gurjari," which Dina Pathak had acted in previously. This was followed by a play with Dinesh Thakur titled "Biwiyon Ka Madersa" (based on a play by  French playwright Molière), which was staged at the Prithvi Theatre. It was here that Jennifer Kendall (the late wife of Shashi Kapoor) spotted her and recommended her to Shyam Benegal for their home production "Kalyug" (1981), an adaptation of the epic "Mahabharata". Her portrayal of Subhadra won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then performed in "Vijeta" (1982), "Bazaar" (1982), "Masoom" (1983) and "Mirch Masala" (1985). She had a minor role in the biopic "Gandhi" (1982) and starred in the 1988 French film, "The Bengali Night". She appeared in "Raakh" in 1989. In 1985 she played title  role in Malayalam movie Akalathe Ambili. Her television roles include "Idhar Udhar", "Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka", "Khichdi", "Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Chanchan" among others. In 1994, her husband, Pankaj Kapur and she launched their own TV production house, "Grass Company". "Mohandas B.A.L.L.B" was the first serial they produced and acted in, under the banner. After an 11-year hiatus from acting, she starred in the 2005 film "Sarkar", followed by its sequel, "Sarkar Raj" in 2008. She portrayedf a subservient mother who tries hard to fill the generation gap with her son in "Wake Up Sid" (2009). "Filmfare  magazine called her rendering of the sinister Dhankor Baa" in 2013's "Ram-Leela" as the "watershed of her career". "Carry On Kesar" (2016) was her first Gujarati film. Personal life. At 22, Pathak married the son of her mother's friend. However, they separated within a year. In 1986, she met her current husband Pankaj Kapur, while filming Sagar Sarhadi's "Agla Mausam", which was never released. Kapur was previously married to Kathak danseuse and actor, Neelima Azeem, with whom he has a son, the actor Shahid Kapoor. After two years of courtship, they tied the knot in 1988 , and are now parents to a daughter and a son. Their daughter, Sanah (b. 1990), made her debut in the movie "Shaandaar" (2015). The actors Imaad Shah and Vivaan Shah, sons of actors Ratna Pathak and Naseeruddin Shah, are her nephews.