Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron born 14 June 1952) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

politician; theatre, film and television actress; television personality; singer; entertainment producer; and a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

. In May 2014, she was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

, the lower house of

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

, from

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

Early life

Kiran Thakar Singh Sandhu was born on 14 June 1952 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later India, Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's c ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

into a Punjabi

Jatt Sikh Jat Sikh (also known by the more conventional endonym Jatt Sikh) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land holdin ...

family of the

Sandhu Sandhu or Sindhu is a clan or family name found among the Punjabi Jatts in India and Pakistan. It is Punjab's second largest Jatt clan. The etymology is connected to the word ''Sindhu'', the native name for the Indus river. Notable people with ...

clan and grew up in

. During the period of her first marriage to Gautam Berry, she was known as 'Kiran Berry.' When she married Anupam Kher, she resumed her maiden name and also added her latest husband's surname, being known as 'Kiran Thakar Singh Kher.' In later life, she developed a firm belief in Numerology, and in 2003 (aged 51), she changed her name from "Kiran" to "Kirron" based on numerological calculations, dropped her maiden names, and came to be known as 'Kirron Kher.' Kirron has one brother and two sisters. Her brother, the artist Amardeep Singh Sandhu, died in 2003.All love and Kher
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', 19 August 2004. One of her sisters is the Arjuna award–winning badminton player, Kanwal Thakar Kaur. Her other sister, Sharanjit Kaur

, is the wife of a retired senior officer of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. Kirron went to school in

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, and completed her school education in Chandigarh, and then graduated from the Department of Indian Theatre of

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

Personal life

Kirron married Gautam Berry, a Mumbai–based businessman, in first week of March 1979, and had a son,

Sikandar Kher Sikandar Kher (born 31 October 1981) is an Indian actor. He made his acting debut with the film, ''Woodstock Villa'' (2008). In the subsequent years, Kher went to be a part of multi-starrers such as '' Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'', '' Players'', ...

. In Mumbai, Kiran tried throughout the 1980s to get a foothold in the film industry, but without success. While visiting producer after producer seeking a role in films, Kirron renewed her acquaintance with Anupam Kher, who was also a similarly struggling actor, and whom she had known slightly at university in Chandigarh. Moving in the same theatre circles, they worked together in a play called ''Chandpuri Ki Champabai''. In 1985, after Anupam had secured a break in films with ''

Saaransh Saaransh (English: The Gist ) is a 1984 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Anupam Kher, Rohini Hattangadi, Madan Jain, Nilu Phule, Suhas Bhalekar and Soni Razdan. It is about an elderly Maharashtrian couple living in M ...

'', Kirron divorced her first husband.

Career

Kirron Kher made her film debut in 1983 in the Punjabi feature film ''Aasra Pyar Da,'' After this, she took a hiatus from films until 1996. Between 1983 and 1996, she appeared in one film, ''

Pestonjee ''Pestonjee'' is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Vijaya Mehta, starring Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, based on a story by film journalist B. K. Karanjia. At the 35th National Film Awards, it won the awar ...

'' (1987), in which she acted in a small role alongside her second husband Anupam Kher. Her return to acting came in the mid–1990s, through theatre, with the play ''Saalgirah'' written by playwright Javed Siddiqui and directed by

Feroz Abbas Khan Feroz Abbas Khan is an Indian theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, who is most known for directing plays like Mughal-e-Azam, ''Saalgirah'', ''Tumhari Amrita'' (1992), ''Salesman Ramlal'' and ''Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi''. Car ...

.. desimatch.com She then hosted three television shows, starting with the short–lived ''Purushkshetra'' on Zee TV which got attention for bringing out the discussion of alternative sexuality for the first time, while also highlighting women's issues. ''Kiron Kher Today'' and ''Jagte Raho with Kiron Kher'', before doing Hindi films.Kirron Kher’s stock zooms higher!
''

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

'', 22 September 2008. Her comeback film was by Shyam Benegal, ''

Sardari Begum ''Sardari Begum'' is a 1996 Indian musical film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri, Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev. The film's lead actress Kiron Kher won the 1997 National Film Award - Special Jury Award. ...

'' (1996), which won her the Special Jury Award at the 1997 National Film Awards. She then appeared in film director

Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film ''

Bariwali ''Bariwali'' (translation: ''The Landlady'', English-language title: ''The Lady of the House'') is a Bengali film released in 2000 directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film features Kirron Kher, Roopa Ganguly, and Chiranjeet Chakraborty. Synopsis ...

'' (1999), to critical acclaim. When she won the

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

for Best Actress for the film, a controversy arose as a Bangla film actress, Rita Koiral, claimed that she had dubbed for the character of Kirron, making her an equal claimant to the award. Kirron refuted the charges claiming she spent hours rehearsing for her dialogue delivery, and the award was eventually not shared. In 2002, Kirron appeared in ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidd ...

'' (2002), alongside

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters ...

and

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...

, and was nominated for the

Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmfar ...

. In '' Khamosh Pani'' (''Silent Waters'') (2003), a film that portrays the plight of a woman abducted during partition of India, her character not only refused to kill herself as suggested by her family, but marries her abductor and, after his death, makes an earning teaching

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

to local children. It shows how her life changes dramatically when her son takes up Islamic extremism in 1979 during the rule of Zia–ul–Haq and his process of Islamization of Pakistan. She won the Best Actress Award, at

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

, Switzerland, the

Karachi International Film Festival The Karachi International Film Festival, simply known as the Kara Film Festival (Urdu: ''کارا فلم فیسٹیول'' or ''کارا فلم'') was founded in 2001 by the KaraFilm Society, reportedly in response to the declining state of th ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, and International Festivals at Ciepie in Argentina, and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

'Art knows no boundary'
'' Daily Star'', 3 December 2003. while the film won the Best Film – Golden Leopard, Festival Grand Prize at Locarno. The

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema

(IFFLA) 2004 paid tribute to Kirron during its annual festival. In October 2004 Kirron made a guest appearance, along with her husband, in the American TV series '' ER'' playing Parminder Nagra's mother, Mrs. Rasgotra, in episode " Damaged." In 2005, she played the role of Sunanda in the tele–serial ''Prratima'' on

Sahara One Sahara One is an Indian Hindi general entertainment channel based in New Delhi. It is operated by Sahara India Pariwar. History Sahara One was launched as Sahara TV on 28 March 2000, which later in April 2003 was renamed as Sahara Manoranjan. ...

channel, before which she had appeared in TV series like ''Dil Na Jaane Kyon'' ( Zee TV), ''Isi Bahane'', and ''Chausath Panne''. Despite playing mostly supporting roles, her successful movies include ''

Main Hoon Na ''Main Hoon Na'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language masala film written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Sunil Shetty, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan, and follows Major Ram Sharma, ...

'' (2004), '' Hum Tum'' (2004), '' Veer–Zaara'' (2004), and '' Mangal Pandey: The Rising'' (2005), where her performance drew rave reviews. Her work in ''

Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkar ...

'' (2006) was a huge hit and her performance got her second nomination for the

. Her role in '' Fanaa'' (2006) and ''

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (), also abbreviated as ''KANK'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by his mother Hiroo Yash Johar, in her debut, under the Dharma Productions ...

'' (2006) also received appreciation. Adding to her list of comical roles in 2008 she appeared in '' Singh Is Kinng'', '' Saas bahu aur Sensex'' and '' Dostana''. In 2009, she appeared as judge on India's Got Talent, the Indian franchise of the

Got Talent series ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantl ...

Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher at Esha Deol's wedding reception 12

Socio–political activism

Kirron Kher has been involved with non–profit movements such as Laadli (a campaign against

female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. In countries with a history of female infanticide, the modern practice of gender-selective abortion is often discussed as a closely related issue. Female infanticide is a m ...

) and Roko Cancer (a campaign for awareness of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

). She joined the

Bhartiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

in 2009. She campaigned for the party in across the country during the elections, including in Chandigarh for the 2011 municipal corporation elections. She has been a vocal admirer of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

since long before his candidature was announced. Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) declared her as the Lok Sabha candidate from Chandigarh for General Elections, 2014. Subsequently, in May 2014, she won the seat with 1,91,362 votes, defeating sitting MP, Congress leader Pawan Bansal who received 1,21,720 votes, while AAP's Gul Panag came in third position with 1,08,679 votes. As a

Member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from

and having connection with the film industry, Kirron promised a film city for

. After winning the seat, she said that she had difficulty in acquiring land in

. However, her proposal was accepted by the Chandigarh Administration and the film city is proposed to be set up in Sarangpur,

. Kirron Kher,

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

candidate, won in

2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

constituency by a margin of 46,970 votes.

Controversy

After a woman was gang raped by an auto rickshaw driver and his accomplices in Chandigarh in 2017, she suggested that women should avoid traveling with strangers, earning widespread criticism from the opposition and social media.

Filmography

Television

Awards

* 1996: National Film Award – Special Jury Award: ''

'' *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wi ...

: ''

'' * 2003: IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award: ''

'' * 2003:

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

: '' Khamosh Pani ( Silent Waters)'' *2003: 5th Lux Style Awards: Lux Style Award for Best Film Actress for Khamosh Pani * 2003:

: Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: '' Khamosh Pani ( Silent Waters)''Award Citations – 2003 Kara Awards
''

'' Official website. * 2006: Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress: ''

'' * 2010:

Apsara Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (previously known as the Apsara Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role) is given by the producers of the film and television guild as part of its annual award ceremony f ...

: '' Kurbaan'' * 2015:

PTC Punjabi Film Awards PTC Punjabi Film Awards are Indian film awards presented annually by the PTC Punjabi television network to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professional filmmakers and actors with achievements in the field of Punjabi cinema in ...

: for Critics Award Best Actress: ''

Punjab 1984 ''Punjab 1984'' is a 2014 Indian Punjabi language period drama film directed by Anurag Singh. It is based on the 1984–86 Punjab insurgency's impact on social life, notably it is a story of a mother and her missing son. Starring Diljit Dosan ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kher, Kirron 1955 births Living people Actresses from Chandigarh Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Urdu cinema Indian stage actresses Indian television actresses Indian television talk show hosts Actresses in Hindi television Indian expatriate actresses in Pakistan Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Punjabi people Panjab University alumni Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Chandigarh Best Actress National Film Award winners Chandigarh politicians Women in Chandigarh politics Indian Sikhs India MPs 2014–2019 Lok Sabha members from Chandigarh Indian actor-politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Lux Style Award winners India MPs 2019–present National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Women members of the Lok Sabha