Early life

Tandon attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu and studied at Mithibai College. She completed her first and second years at the college. During her time as an intern, she got her first film offer from Shantanu Sheorey which she accepted. She dropped out of college and decided to pursue her film career.

Her father was a producer and directed some films in the 1970s and 1980s. She has a brother named Rajeev Tandon, who had a brief career in Bollywood films. Her cousin, Kiran Rathod, is also an Indian actress. Her other cousin, Reshma Singh, acted in television serials. A third cousin, Vishal Singh, is an actor for television serials.

Career

1991-94: Debut and breakthrough

Raveena Tandon debuted with the film Patthar Ke Phool (1991) which was a hit; she received the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year for her performance.

Her next films Mohra (1994) and Dilwale (1994) were big hits at the box. Laadla (1994) earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Mohra was the second biggest hit of 1994. Her other releases of that year included the thriller Imtihaan and the 1994 cult-classic comedy Andaz Apna Apna with Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Karisma Kapoor. The former was also a hit.

She had to wait for one year to get her film Patthar Ke Phool released though her first movie Anjaane (1991 and 1994) was shelved twice due to contract conflicts between Ultra videos and Moser baer.

1995-96: Rough patch

In 1995, she starred with Shahrukh Khan for the first time in Zamaana Deewana; the film failed to do well. Her next few films also failed to do well at the box office and her career saw a drop in her success as she apparently did not show any interest in doing more movies following her engagement with actor Akshay Kumar. She stopped working during this period due to personal problems and rejected many lucrative big budgeted movie offers that later went on to be blockbusters.

1996-99: Box office success

Her career was back on track with hit films like Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Ziddi (1997), both being big hits each of its respective year. In 1997, she was to play her first villainous role in Dus but the film was shelved after the director's death when 40% of the film's shooting had been completed. She was also offered the 2nd lead in blockbuster movies Dil to Pagal Hai(1997) and Gupt (1997), but declined both movies as she had taken a sabbatical at the time. She also left another superhit, the Anil Kapoor-starrer Virasat (1997). Had she done all these movies she would have been the most successful actress of that time.

In 1998, Tandon had eight releases. Her last release of that year, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda turned out to the second biggest hit of the year. Tandon was offered the second lead in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai which went on to be the biggest hit of 1998, but she turned it down. Her other releases of that year were Gharwali Baharwali which gained a below average status, Vinashak, Pardesi Babu and Aunty No. 1, all of which were unsuccessful.

In 1999, Tandon starred opposite Upendra in his self-titled Kannada psychological thriller film, Upendra.

2000-2005: National Award and critical acclaim

In the 2000s (decade), Tandon turned her career professionally. She went on to work more with art film directors and realistic cinema. It proved to be a good turning as films like Shool (1999), Bulandi (2000) and Aks (2001) won her huge acclaim. She won many awards as well as the Filmfare Special Performance Award for her performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Aks.

Her years in the industry paid off when she won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lajmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001), where she played a battered wife to an abusive husband. She surprised critics and audiences with her performance in the film and received much appreciation for her work. Critic, Taran Adarsh said, "Raveena Tandon lends credibility to the role of a battered wife and walks away with the honours. The pathos she conveys through her expressions makes you realise that she's a performer of substance".

Since then, she has starred in a number of critically acclaimed films, such as Satta (2003) and Dobara (2004), but has not had much box office success. Her role as a middle class woman thrust into the world of politics in the former was praised. Critic, Taran Adarsh wrote, "Raveena Tandon delivers a bravura performance. The actress takes giant strides as a performer, giving the right touches to her character. Here's a performance that's bound to be noticed". Her role as a schizophrenic in Dobara was also praised with one critic saying, "Raveena is in sync with her character, playing her part with elaan". Her only release in 2006 was Sandwich which opened to poor reviews and reception. Tandon has also produced the films Stumped (2003) and Pehchaan: The Face of Truth (2005), neither of which had much success at the box office.

In 2015, she made a comeback to Bollywood in longtime friend Anurag Kashayp's magnum opus Bombay Velvet. Playing a sultry jazz singer, her brief performance was lauded by critics. She is currently filming Onir's Shab, where she plays a socialite. In addition, she has also reportedly committed to Anurag Kashyap's Return Gift.

Personal life

She adopted two girls, Pooja and Chhaya, as a single mother in 1995 when they were 11 and 8 years old, respectively.

Tandon began dating film distributor Anil Thadani during the making of her film Stumped (2003). Their engagement was announced in November 2003. She married Thadani on 22 February 2004 in Jag Mandir Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan according to Punjabi traditions. She gave birth to a baby girl named Rasha on 16 March 2005 and had her second child, a baby boy named Ranbir, on 12 July 2007.

Controversies

Tandon was chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India from 2003, but from 2004 the actress began to get complaints that she did not attend the organisation's meetings and that she was not involved with the activities set up by the society. In September 2005, Tandon resigned from her post citing personal reasons.

In November 2005, Tandon sued the websites, Shaadi.com and Shaaditimes.com, claiming that they were using unauthorized images of her to promote the site. She also sued the owner Satyanet Solutions, as they claimed that Tandon and her husband had met through the website.

Commitments

In November 2002, Tandon sang on to support the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She has posed in many advertisement campaigns joining the likes of Shilpa Shetty, Amisha Patel and John Abraham. On the issue of cows being slaughtered for their skin, she said "their abuse at the hands of corrupt skin and meat traders must be stopped".

Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Award	Category	Result
1992	Patthar Ke Phool	Filmfare Awards	Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year	Won
1994	Laadla	Filmfare Awards	Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
2002	Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence	National Film Awards	Best Actress	Won
2002	Aks	Filmfare Awards	Special Performance Award	Won
2002	Aks	Screen Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2002	Aks	Bollywood Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2002	Aks	Bollywood Movie Awards	Critics Award Female	Won
2002	Aks	Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won'
2002	Aks	Awadh Samman	by the Government of Uttar Pradesh	Won
2004	Satta	Screen Awards	Best Actress	Nominated

Filmography

Main article: Raveena Tandon filmography

[ Source: Wikipedia ]