Rupal Patel is an Indian actress best known for portraying Kokila Modi in '' Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' —one of the longest-running Indian TV soaps—and Meenakshi Rajvansh in '' Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke''. In 2020, she had reprised her role as Kokila Modi in the second season of ''Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' for promoting the show.

Early life

Born in 1974 or 1975 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, Patel is a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

and was trained in acting at the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute 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 indepe ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

apart from having a degree in

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

. She owns a theatre group, Panorama Art Theatres, which is involved in children's plays. She is married to actor Radha Krishna Dutt.

Acting career

Career struggles (1985–2009)

Patel first decided to test her fate in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

, and debuted there via a minor role in the 1985 movie ''Mehak''. She subsequently enacted unnoticed parts in other Bollywood films like ''

Antarnaad Antarnaad ( hi, अंतरनाद) ("Inner voice") was a 1991 Hindi film made by Shyam Benegal, based on the Swadhyay Movement by Pandurang Shastri Athavale. Cast * Shabana Azmi * Kulbhushan Kharbanda * Shobha Khote * Om Puri * Girish ...

'' (1991), '' Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda'' (1992), ''Papeeha'' (1993), ''

Mammo ''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian Hindi film by Shyam Benegal. It stars Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke and Rajit Kapur. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995. Farida Jalal won Filmfare Critics Award ...

'' (1994) and ''

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

'' (1999). Few of these films were directed by

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

. After her stint in Bollywood, Patel ventured in 2001 into Hindi television industry playing the role of Lakhi in Zarina Mehta's ''

Shagun ''Shagun'' was an Indian Hindi language television series that aired every Monday to Thursdays 2:30pm and later at 2pm on Star Plus from 15 January 2001 to 29 April 2004. It is the story of fortune's twists and pitfalls that tear asunder the l ...

'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...

. She was cast as Aashalata in ''Sau Dada Sasuna'' in 2002, and later featured in few episodes of famous crime thriller show '' Crime Patrol'' on

Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's You ...

. Her struggles in her acting career continued, and after a massive gap, she essayed Vrinda in

Cinevistaas Limited Cinevistaas Limited, formerly known as Cinevista Communications Limited, is an Indian production house founded by Prem Krishen. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, it is known for producing successful shows like '' Crime Patrol'', '' Sanjivani'', ''Di ...

production ''

Jaane Kya Baat Hui ''Jaane Kya Baat Hui'' (English: ''Don't Know What Happened'') is an Indian television series which premiered on Colors (TV channel), Colors on 1 December 2008. It replaced the reality show Bigg Boss which ended on 22 November 2008. The series ...

'' on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment broadcast network owned by Viacom18. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, youth-oriented reality shows, shows on crime and television films. History It was launched on 2 ...

in 2009.

Desirable success (2010–present)

From 2010 to 2017, Patel gained tremendous popularity and appreciation for her iconic performance in Rashmi Sharma's

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

soap '' Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' on Star Plus as the strict Kokila Modi. In January 2019, she signed a cameo appearance in Prateek Sharma's '' Manmohini'' on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

as Usha/Kubarjra. From March 2019 to October 2020, she portrayed the grey character of Meenakshi Rajvansh Kapadia in

Director's Kut Productions Director's Kut Productions is an Indian television production company based in Mumbai, which is owned by Rajan Shahi. Established in 2007, it produces television shows and web-series for various channels. Some of its notable works include: '' S ...

television show '' Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke'' broadcast on Star Plus. In October 2020, Patel reprised her character as Kokila Modi in the second season of ''Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' entitled ''

Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2 ''Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2'' ( 2) is an Indian Hindi-language television series produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms. It aired from 19 October 2020 to 16 July 2022 on Star Plus. Initially based on Star Jalsha's Bengali series '' Ke Apon Ke Por' ...

'' which replaced ''Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke''. She was seen in 31 episodes of the show, as it was an introductory part. She appeared as a guest in '' Gangs of Filmistaan''.

Other works

Patel is an ambassador for the Swachh Bharat India project and works for it; she received honour twice from Indian PM

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 from ...

for her works.

Filmography

Films

* ''Mehak'' (1985) * ''

'' (1991) * '' Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda'' (1992) * ''Papeeha'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Jaago'' (2004) – Cameo * '' Pehchaan: The Face of Truth'' (2005) * ''

Sambar Salsa ''Sambar Salsa'' is a 2007 English-language film directed by Aditya Raj Kapoor and starring Rishi Kapoor, Preyanka, Roberta Caocci, and Ateesh Randev in the lead roles. Synopsis An Indian man, Surya, and a Spanish woman, Sasha, fall in love muc ...

'' (2007) – Art Director

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Rupal Living people Gujarati people Actresses from Mumbai 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Gujarati cinema Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian stage actresses Indian soap opera actresses Actresses in Hindi television Year of birth missing (living people)