Ratna Pathak Shah (born 7 August 1957) is an Indian actress and director known for her work in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

theatre, television, and films. Her extensive work in theatre includes a series of plays in both English and Hindi. She rose to prominence when she appeared in the hit TV serial '' Idhar Udhar'' in the 1980s. She garnered widespread recognition and acclaim with her portrayal of Maya Sarabhai, a snobbish socialite in the cult sitcom '' Sarabhai vs Sarabhai'' (2004–2006). Her other prominent roles include the coming-of-age romantic comedy '' Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na'' (2008), the action comedy '' Golmaal 3'' (2010), the family comedy-drama ''

Kapoor & Sons ''Kapoor & Sons'', also known as ''Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language family comedy-drama film directed by Shakun Batra and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions, in c ...

'' (2016), the black-comedy '' Lipstick Under My Burkha'' (2017) and the road adventure drama '' Dhak Dhak'' (2023), all of which earned her nominations for the

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress 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 Filmfare ...

. She also received critical acclaim for her performances in the romantic comedies '' Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu'' (2012) and '' Khoobsurat'' (2014). Her performance in

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

'' Unpaused'' (2020) earned her a nomination for the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Web Original Film. Daughter of actress

Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi ...

, she married actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

in 1982, with whom she has two sons. Her sister is actress Supriya Pathak, who is married to actor

Pankaj Kapur Pankaj Kapur (born 29 May 1954) is an Indian actor who has worked in Hindi theatre, television and films. Recipient of a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards, his most acclaimed film roles include that of Inspector P.K. in '' Raakh'' ...

Early life

Ratna Pathak Shah is a Gujarati

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

. She was born on 7 August 1957 in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

), India to Baldev Pathak and actress

. She is the sister of actress Supriya Pathak. Pathak is an alumna of the J. B. Vachha High School, Dadar, Mumbai and the 1981 batch of the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

, Delhi.

Career

As well as appearing in many successful films, including '' Mirch Masala'', Ratna Pathak appeared as the wife in '' The Perfect Murder''. She also acted in the cult sitcom '' Sarabhai vs Sarabhai'' where she played Maya Sarabhai, a high society socialite, for which she received the ITA Award for Best Actress – Comedy in 2005. In July 2008 she appeared in the coming-of-age romantic comedy '' Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'' as the mother of the protagonist.

played her husband, as a deceased character who talks to her from a portrait. She has also acted in several Russian plays, as well as co-founding and being an active member of "Motley Theatre Group". She appeared in the action comedy '' Golmaal 3'' opposite

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and politician who predominantly works in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. In a career spa ...

. She was a part of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Selection Committee for 2012 Awards. Ratna Pathak Shah, who has appeared in many successful Hindi films, will come first time in a Gujarati movie “”.

Personal life

Ratna Pathak married

in 1982. They have two sons

Imaad Shah Imaaduddin Shah (also credited as Imaad Shah; born 20 September 1986) is an Indian actor and musician. He is the son of actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. Early life Imaad was born to actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak on 20 S ...

and Vivaan Shah.

has a daughter, Heeba Shah, from his first marriage.

Filmography

Hindi

English

Gujarati

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pathak Shah, Ratna 1957 births Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Living people Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Indian stage actresses National School of Drama alumni 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Hindi television Gujarati people Film directors from Mumbai Ratna Pathak Shah