Kajal Kiran (born 18 October 1958 asSunita Kulkarni,^[1] also credited asKaajal Kiran) is a formerIndian actress and model, who is known for her work inHindi films. Kiran made her debut starring in the filmHum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977) and appeared in almost 40 Hindi films and a handful of Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam films in a career spanning 13-14 years.

Kiran was born and raised inMumbai, to a middle classMarathi family. She did her schooling at St. Joseph's High School,^{[citation needed]} where she mainly studied physics and biology, following her original dream to become a doctor.^[2]

Kiran made her film debut in 1977, when she was chosen by directorNasir Hussain to play the lead in his romantic comedyHum Kisise Kum Naheen as Kajal Kisharina, the heroine ofRishi Kapoor (later in the film, as the heroine ofTariq).^[3] She also worked with actorsAmjad Khan andZeenat Aman. The film ended up to be a majorbox-office success, hitting the third highest-grossing movie of the year.^[4] It was marked as a classic film, and gained acult following. The role shot Kiran to stardom, marking her official debut in the film industry, with her receiving much fame.^{[citation needed]}

Following the success of the film, Kiran had then pursued her career and continued acting. She'd soon began to get more movie offers, and in 1980 starred as the lead role inMaang Bharo Sajana as Geeta Sinha, the heroine toJeetendra, who played a double role, and starred alongsideRekha andMoushumi Chatterjee. The film turned to be a commercial success,^[5] turning to be the eighth highest-grossing film of its year.^{[citation needed]} She also appeared in theRamsay Brothers horror filmSaboot in the same year, as Kaajal. In contrast to the success of her previous films,Saboot turned to underperform at the box-office, grossing merely ₹1.2 crore.^[6] She also made her first guest appearance as a dancer in the filmMorchha, in the popular song "Ab Ki Baras." In 1981, Kiran then played the heroine toMithun Chakraborty in the spy-thriller filmWardaat, and in the Bollywood-filmHum Se Badkar Kaun. The films were reported both as successful hits at the box-office, further boosting Kiran's credibility and career.^{[citation needed]}

Kiran later starred in the Bollywood-action filmHum Se Hai Zamana in 1983 as Chutki, the heroine toAmjad Khan. She'd once again worked with Mithun Chakraborty andZeenat Aman, and worked with the actressKim and the actorDanny Denzongpa. In spite of the credible cast, the film was abox-office bomb, but became popular later for its songs. In the same year, she had also starred in the feature-filmKarate as Geeta, working again alongside Mithun, and in the feature-filmLalach. Both films were box-office failures. The year before, she'd starred inKannada-filmSahasa Simha, her first movie to be in a language other thanHindi.

Kiran continued to work in films, hitting mainly average grossers and failures. However, Kiran was able to bounce back. In 1984, she starred in theMalayalam filmUyarangalil as Devi Menon, starring alongsideMohanlal,Nedumudi Venu, andRahman. The film was her second time she starred in a Malayalam film, with her starring in the filmChakkarayumma earlier that year. WithChakkarayumma being a commercial disappointment along with a number of her films previously flopping, Kiran's career began to fluctuate.Uryangalil turned to be a critical box-office hit,^{[citation needed]} and was declared acult classic and a superhit film.^[7]

In the next year, Kiran had made guest andcameo appearances in a few films, includingAndar Baahar, in which she'd worked with Danny Denzongpa and Kim once again. She was cast in the lead role in theTamil language filmBandham, alongSivaji Ganesan. In spite of the film being a box-office failure, it helped Kiran show her versatility. Later that year, she then was cast as Banu in the filmAandhi-Toofan, alongHema Malini and the lateShashi Kapoor. The film had turned to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year, and was a commercial hit at the box-office, further helping Kiran's career.^{[citation needed]}

In 1986, Kiran's first role of the year was in the supporting character Savitri, starring with the late actressSridevi and once again starring with Jeetendra in the filmGhar Sansar. The film was a success at the box-office, and turned to be one of the highest-grossing films of that year.^{[citation needed]} She starred in two other films that year,Daku Bijlee and as Shobha inInteqam Ki Aag, in which both turned out to be commercial disappointments.

In the year following, Kiran only starred in one film. She starred as Saroj in the filmMuqaddar Ka Faisla withRaaj Kumar andRakhee. The film was a failure at the box office. The majority of her films in this period turned to be box-office bombs, which led to Kiran's career begin to heavily fluctuate. Eventually, Kiran retired the film industry in 1990, in order to focus on her marriage with her spouse. Kiran's last five films,Deewane,Qurbani Rang Layegi,Rajoo Dada, andAakhri Sanghursh, were released in the years following her retirement.^[8] She maintained her popularity by being part ofVikram Aur Betaal serial from 1985 to 1988.

While Kiran was shooting forHum Kisise Kum Naheen, the director,Nasir Hussain, had told her not to sign any further films until after the film was released and the results were out. However, even after the release and success of the film, other directors and producers did not approach her for films as they were under the belief that a contract had been in place between Kiran and Hussain.^[2] She'd lost chances for films such asBalika Badhu andAnkhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, which went on to be critically and commercially successful.^[2] Kiran never commented on or discussed these misunderstandings.

Kiran later married someone whose identity she did not disclose,^[3] and promptly moved to theNetherlands following her retirement in 1990.^[1]

Kiran appeared in a total of 44 films from 1977 to 1990.^{[citation needed]}

• List of Indian film actresses

• Kajal Kiran atIMDb
• Kajal Kiran atBollywood Hungama

• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Indian film actresses
• Actresses from Mumbai
• Actresses in Malayalam cinema
• Living people
• Actresses in Kannada cinema
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• 20th-century Indian actresses
• 1958 births

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