Early life

Naval was born in Amritsar, Punjab, but moved to New York when her father got a teaching job at the City University. She studied fine arts at Hunter College.

Acting career

Naval made her debut in 1978 with Shyam Benegal's film Junoon. Two years later, she played a lead role in the critically acclaimed Ek Baar Phir. Alongside Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi, she became one of the key actresses of 1980s Parallel Cinema, earning praise for her roles in films like Kamla (1984) or Ankahee (1985).

Starting with Chashme Buddoor in 1981, she was often cast with Farooq Shaikh and they became one of India's most iconic on-screen couples of the early 1980s, with films such as Saath Saath, Kissi Se Na Kehna, Katha and Rang Birangi. Three decades later, they were reunited in Tell Me O Kkhuda (2011). Their last film together was Listen... Amaya which was released in 2013, the year of Shaikh's death.

While she was very prolific in the 1980s, her career slowed down in the 1990s and she seized the opportunity to explore other art forms. She came back in the 2000s with social dramas like Bawandar or Firaaq, and won Best Actress awards in several international film festivals for her roles in Leela (2002), Memories in March (2010) and Listen... Amaya (2013). She was also recognized as the 2007 Tribute Honoree of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Mostly present in Hindi cinema, Naval also acted in other Indian languages, as with the critically acclaimed Marhi Da Deeva and Mane, which respectively won the award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi and Best Feature Film in Kannada at the 1990 National Film Awards ceremony. She was to make her debut in a Bengali movie under director Sanjoy Nag but the film - Memories in March - was eventually shot in English.

Naval has been active on TV with a few telefilms and serials such as Sauda (1992), Tanaav (1994) or Muqammal (2003). She came back in 2011 with the daily soap opera Mukti Bandhan on Colors. She made her theater debut in 2015 with the poetic stage show Ek Mulaqaat in which she played the celebrated Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam.

Other work

Naval made her directorial debut with Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish starring Manisha Koirala and Rajit Kapoor. The film won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2009 New York Indian Film Festival but remains unreleased. She also wrote and directed Thoda Sa Aasmaan, a TV serial about women, and produced a travel show, The Path Less Travelled.

A first selection of poems in Hindi, Lamha Lamha was published in 1983. In 2004, MapinLit brought out a new collection called Black Wind and Other Poems. Naval is also the author of a collection of short stories, The Mad Tibetan, published in 2011.

Naval is also a painter and photographer with several exhibitions to her credit. Her works as a painter include the controversial Pregnant Nun. She also runs the Vinod Pandit Charitable Trust, set up in memory of her late companion, for the education of the girl child.

Personal life

Deepti Naval was married to the filmmaker Prakash Jha and the two have an adopted daughter, Disha. Deepti was later engaged to Vinod Pandit, the nephew of pandit Jasraj. But untimely death took him away.

Awards

• 1988, Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, Best Supporting Actress, Mirch Masala
• 2003, Best Supporting Actress Award at the Karachi Film Festival
• 2012, Best Actress Award at the Imagine India Film Festival (Spain)
• 2013, Best Actress Award at the New York Indian Film Festival

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Junoon	Rashid's wife
1979	Jallian Wala Bagh
1980	Hum Paanch	Lajiya
1980	Ek Baar Phir	Kalpana Kumar
1981	Chashme Buddoor	Neha Rajan
1982	Angoor	Tanu
1982	Saath Saath	Geetanjali Gupta 'Geeta'
1982	Shriman Shrimati	Veena
1983	Rang Birangi	Anita Sood
1983	Ek Baar Chale Aao	Gulab D. Dayal
1983	Katha	Sandhya Sabnis
1983	Kissi Se Na Kehna	Dr. Ramola Sharma
1984	Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!
1984	Kanoon Kya Karega	Mrs. Anju Gautam Mehra
1984	Kamla	Kamla
1984	Hip Hip Hurray
1984	Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasaan	Sahira H. Khan/Sahira S. Salim
1984	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Angela
1984	Andhi Gali
1985	Damul
1985	Faasle	Sheetal
1985	Telephone
1985	Holi	Professor Sehgal
1985	Ankahee	Indu Agnihotri
1985	Apna Jahan	Shanti A. Sahani	TV movie
1985	Aurat Pair Ki Juti Nahin Hai
1986	Aashiana
1986	Begaana	Asha Mathur/Asha V. Kumar
1986	Nasihat
1987	Meraa Suhaag		Special appearance
1987	Mirch Masala	Saraswati, Mukhiya's wife
1988	Abhishapt
1988	Shoorveer	Nanda (Shankar's Wife)
1988	Main Zinda Hoon
1989	Marhi Da Deeva	Bhan Kaur/Bhani	Bengali film
1989	Jism Ka Rishta
1990	Ghar Ho To Aisa	Sharda V. Kumar
1991	Mane	Geeta	Kannada film
1991	Ek Ghar
1991	Saudagar	Aarti
1992	Current	Sita
1992	Yalgaar	Sunita (Deepak's wife)
1994	Bollywood
1994	Mr. Azaad	Rajlaxmi
1995	Dushmani: A Violent Love Story	Rama Oberoi
1995	Jai Vikraanta	Harnam's Wife
1995	Guddu	Kavita Bahadur
1996	Sautela Bhai	Saraswati
1998	Aie Sangharsha
1999	Kabhi Pass Kabhi Fail
2000	Bawandar	Shobha Devi
2002	Leela	Chaitali	Winner - Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2003 Karachi Film Festival
2002	Shakti - The Power	Shekhar's mother
2003	Freaky Chakra	Ms. Thomas
2004	Anahat	Mahattarika	Marathi film
2006	Yatra	Smita D. Joglekar/Sharda
2008	Firaaq	Arati
2011	Tell Me O Kkhuda	Mrs. R. Kapoor
2010	Memories in March	Arati S. Mishra	Winner - Best Actress Award at the 2012 ImagineIndia Film Festival (Spain)
2011	Trapped in Tradition: Rivaaz	Paro
2011	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	Rahila Qureshi
2011	Bhindi Baazaar Inc.	Bano
2013	Mahabharat	Kunti (voice-over)
2013	B.A. Pass	Mrs. Suhasini	Special appearance
2013	Aurangzeb	Mrs. Ravikant Phogat (Rishi Kapoor's screen wife)
2013	Inkaar	Mrs. Kamdhar	Nominated - Apsara Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2013	Listen... Amaya	Leela	Winner - Best Actress Award at the 2013 New York Indian Film Festival
2014	Yaariyan	Girls hostel warden
2014	Bang Bang!	Jai and Viren's mother
2015	NH10	Ammaji
2015	Heartless	Mother of the protagonist
2015	Tevar	Pintoo's mother
2016	Lion		Post-production

[ Source: Wikipedia ]