Urmila Matondkar

Urmila Matondkar (born on 4 February 1974 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is an Indian film actress. Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha (1991).

She established herself as a popular actress of mainstream Hindi cinema with her roles in films like Rangeela (1995), Judaai (1997), and Satya (1998), all of which earned her Filmfare nominations. These roles contributed to a new public persona, where she was known for her intense style and dancing skills, and was frequently featured in the Indian media as a sex symbol.

She subsequently took on several psychological roles, and has delivered a range of critically acclaimed performances. Among these included her roles as a psychopath in Kaun (1999), an obsessive lover in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), a ghost-possessed woman in Bhoot (2003), and a merciless avenger in Ek Hasina Thi (2004).

For her performance in Bhoot, she won her first Filmfare Award in the Best Performer category, as well as several other awards for Best actress at a number of award ceremonies. She followed it with leading roles in art and independent films, such as Tehzeeb (2003), Pinjar (2003), Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005) and Bas Ek Pal (2006).

Urmila Matondkar started her career as a child artist. Perhaps the best known of her early movies is Shekhar Kapur's Masoom in 1983. She made her adult debut as an actress with the film Bade Ghar Ki Beti. She next starred in the fantasy film Chamatkar, along with Shahrukh Khan.

She went on to frequently collaborate with film director Ram Gopal Verma, who is known for his thrillers. Her first film with him was Antham, which was a bilingual film and was titled as Drohi (1992 film) in (Hindi). Since then, she has starred in numerous subsequent RGV pictures, like Gaayam (Telugu), her 1995 musical hit Rangeela. She played a star-struck dancer in the film, and received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination for her performance in the film. Following RGV projects were Anaganaga Oka Roju (1995), Daud (film) (1997), Satya (1998), Kaun (1999), Mast (2000), Jungle (2000), Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), Bhoot (2003), and Ek Hasina Thi (2004).