Deepti Naval

Early life

Naval was born on 3 February 1952 in Amritsar, Punjab, India, but she later moved to New York City when her father got a teaching job at City University of New York in 1971. 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 Ek Baar Phir. Alongside Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi, she became an actress in 1980s Parallel cinema, playing roles in films like Kamla (1984) or Ankahee (1985).

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

While she was very prolific in the 1980s, her career slowed down in the 1990s and she explored other art forms. She came back in the 2000s with social dramas like Bawandar and 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 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. She has also acted in Odia movie "Ei Sangharsh"(1990).

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 TV. She made her theater debut in 2015 with the poetic stage show Ek Mulaqaat in which she played the celebrated Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam.

In 2019, Naval appeared in an episode of Made in Heaven, a web series on Amazon Prime directed by Zoya Akhtar.

Other work

Naval made her directorial debut with Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish starring Manisha Koirala and Rajit Kapur. The film won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2009 New York Indian Film Festival which released on Netflix in 2019. She also wrote and directed Thoda Sa Aasmaan, a TV serial centred around strong female characters, and produced a travel show, The Path Less Travelled.

Her first selection of poems in Hindi, Lamha Lamha was published in 1983. In 2004, MapinLit published 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

Naval was married to the filmmaker Prakash Jha and the two have an adopted daughter. Naval was later in a relationship with the late Vinod Pandit, the nephew of Pandit Jasraj. , she is an American citizen.

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

Films

Television

References

References

1. "Exclusive! Deepti Naval: Character actors are now the big stars - Times of India".
2. (3 February 2020). "Happy B'day Deepti Naval; Lesser known facts about the Chashme Buddoor actress".
3. (28 July 2022). "Actor Deepti Naval traces her life beyond the movies in her new memoir".
4. (12 December 2004). "Not just a pretty face". The Telegraph (India).
5. (8 February 2001). "The art of being Deepti Naval".
6. (28 December 2013). "Deepti Naval: Farooque Shaikh was not sick at all - Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com.
7. "IFFLA Pays Tribute to Deepti Naval".
8. "37th National Film Awards". [[Directorate of Film Festivals]].
9. (3 April 2011). "A journey of discovery".
10. (6 June 2011). "Deepti Naval back on TV".
11. (1 October 2015). "When Sahir visited Amrita on a cold, winter night".
12. "Awards".
13. (16 May 2015). "Words of Love".
14. (31 October 2011). "Amitabh Bachchan launches Deepti Naval's book 'The Mad Tibetan'".
15. "Lesser known facts about Deepti Naval". The Times of India.
16. "Archived copy".
17. (24 August 2002). "Movies: 'I was keen to come back'". Rediff.com.
18. Hafeez, Mateen. (30 August 2010). "Working in Bollywood for years, but shy of citizenship?".
19. According to the film's opening credits.
20. (January 2004). "Letter From Pakistan- December 2003 – January 2004".
21. "ImagineIndia 2012 Awards".
22. (18 June 2013). "Deepti Naval makes friendly appearance in 'BA Pass'".
23. "Winners".
24. "Yaariyan movie review".
25. (21 November 2016). "Exclusive: Dev Patel, Priyanka Bose and Deepti Naval Talk 'Lion' At NY Premiere - The Knockturnal". The Knockturnal.