Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''

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'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron, born 14 June 1952) is an Indian politician, actress, television personality, singer, and entertainment producer. She is a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and in May 2014 was elected to the

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, the lower house of

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, from

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. Through her film career, she is the recipient of two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

and a Lux Style Award, and has received four

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

nominations.

Early life

Kiran Thakar Singh Sandhu was born on 14 June 1952 in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Mysore State,

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into a Punjabi Jat family 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 Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...

, 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.' She is sometimes known as 'Grandma India.' Kirron has one brother and two sisters. Her brother, the artist Amardeep Singh Sandhu, died in 2003.All love and Kher
''

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'', 19 August 2004. One of her sisters is the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

–winning badminton player, Kanwal Thakar Kaur. Her other sister, Sharanjit Kaur Sandhu, is the wife of a retired senior officer of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. Kirron went to school in

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

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

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. 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 ...

Career

Kirron 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'' (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.. desimatch.com She then hosted three television shows, starting with the short–lived ''Purushkshetra'' on

Zee TV ZEE TV also known as Z TV is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 1 October 1992 as the oldest privately owned television channel in India. History ...

which got attention for bringing out the discussion of alternative sexuality for the first time, while also highlighting women's issues. ''Kirron Kher Today'' and ''Jagte Raho with Kirron Kher'', before doing Hindi films.Kirron Kher’s stock zooms higher!
''

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'', 22 September 2008. Her comeback film was '' Sardari Begum'' (1996), directed by Shyam Benegal. Her performance received high critical acclaim and earned her the National Film Award – Special Jury Award (feature film). 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 h ...

's Bengali film '' Bariwali'' (1999), to critical acclaim. When she won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role 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 within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

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, Kher appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

'' Devdas'' (2002), alongside Shahrukh Khan,

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 language, Tamil films. Rai won the Miss World 1994 pageant and later established herself as one of the most-popu ...

and

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

in which her performance received widespread critical acclaim, receiving her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. In '' Khamosh Pani'' (''Silent Waters'') (2003), a film that portrays the plight of a woman abducted during

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, 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, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

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 the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

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, the Karachi International Film Festival,

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, and International Festivals at Ciepie in Argentina, and

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'Art knows no boundary'
'' Daily Star'', 3 December 2003. while the film won the Best Film – Golden Leopard, Festival Grand Prize at Locarno. The 2004 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) paid tribute to Kher during its annual festival. In October 2004, Kher made a guest appearance, along with her husband, in the American TV series '' ER'' playing Parminder Nagra's mother, Mrs. Rasgotra, in the episode " Damaged". In 2005, she played the role of Sunanda in the tele-serial ''Prratima'' on Sahara One channel, before which she had appeared in TV series like ''Dil Na Jaane Kyon'' (

), ''Isi Bahane'', and ''Chausath Panne''. Despite playing mostly supporting roles, her successful films include '' Main Hoon Na'' (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'' (2006) was also acclaimed with her performance earning her a second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her role in '' Fanaa'' (2006) and '' Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006) also received appreciation, receiving her third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. Adding to her list of comical roles in 2008 she appeared in '' Singh Is Kinng'', '' Saas Bahu Aur Sensex'' and '' Dostana'', receiving her fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the lattermost. In 2009, she appeared as judge on ''

India's Got Talent India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi, Hindi language talent show series and is part of the ''Got Talent franchise''. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle (company), Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. The show aired on C ...

'', the Indian franchise of the ''Got Talent'' series.

Socio-political activism

Kirron Kher has been involved with non-profit movements such as Laadli (a campaign against female infanticide) and Roko Cancer (a campaign for awareness of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

). 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. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...

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 who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

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 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 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 vote ...

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.

Personal life

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

'' (1984), Kirron divorced her first husband.

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: National Film Award – Special Jury Award (feature film): '' Sardari Begum'' *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: '' Bariwali'' *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress: '' Devdas'' (Nominated) *

: IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Devdas'' * 2003: Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Devdas'' (Nominated) * 2003: Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Devdas'' * 2003: Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Devdas'' (Nominated) * 2003:

: Best Actress: '' Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)'' * 2003: Karachi International Film Festival: Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: ''Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)''Award Citations – 2003 Kara Awards
'' Karachi International Film Festival'' Official website. *2003: Lux Style Award for Best Film Actress: ''Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)'' *2005: Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Hum Tum'' (Nominated) *2005: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female: ''Hum Tum'' (Nominated) *2005: Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: ''Hum Tum'' (Nominated) *2005: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress: '' Veer-Zaara'' *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress: '' Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (Nominated) *

: IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (Nominated) *2007: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress: '' Rang De Basanti'' (Nominated) *2007: IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Rang De Basanti'' (Nominated) *

: Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Rang De Basanti'' * 2007: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female: ''Rang De Basanti'' (Nominated) * 2007: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Rang De Basanti'' (Nominated) * 2007: Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Rang De Basanti'' *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Dostana'' (Nominated) *

: IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Dostana'' (Nominated) * 2010: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Dostana'' (Nominated) * 2010: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress: ''Kurbaan'' * 2010: Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: ''Kurbaan'' * 2015: PTC Punjabi Film Awards: Best Actress (Critics): '' Punjab 1984''

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 Panjab University alumni Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Chandigarh Best Actress National Film Award winners Women in Chandigarh politics Indian Sikhs India MPs 2014–2019 Lok Sabha members from Chandigarh Indian actor-politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Lux Style Award winners India MPs 2019–2024 National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Women members of the Lok Sabha