Urmila’s journey from being nation’s hearthrob to marrying Kashmiri Businessman Mohsin to becoming a politician

With the general election around the corner, stars from the entertainment industry are joining the political parties to contest the elections. One of the recent high profile joining is of Bollywood actor Urmila Matondkar. On Wednesday, she joined the Congress party after a meeting the party president Rahul Gandhi. After joining Congress, Urmila said she is here to stay and will not leave after the elections.

“I am here because I believe in the ideology of Congress and what the party stands for. I have not joined the party for the sake of elections,” Urmila told reporters. She further added that she is in distress due to unemployment in the country and wanted to work for its eradication. Party president Rahul Gandhi and national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala welcomed her to the Congress.

Urmila Matondkar was born on February 4, 1974, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She graduated from Pune University with a degree in philosophy; she is also an avid reader and a swimmer. Urmila started her movie career back in 1980 in Marathi movie, Zaakol. She later gained recognition as a child artist for her role in Shekhar Kapoor’s highly acclaimed drama Masoom in 1983. As an adult, she first featured in Malayalam blockbuster Chanakyan (1989) and began a full-time acting career in Bollywood with a leading role in the 1991 box office hit Narsimha.

Again in 1989, Matondkar featured in Shah Rukh Khan starrer blockbuster ‘Chamatkar’. But with the success of Rangeela in 1995 with superstar Amir Khan, her career witnessed a new height. In 1998, she gave a poignant performance in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Satya’ and won Filmfare nomination in the best actress category. Satya made her one of the most successful actresses in Bollywood and gave her the chance to prove her versatile acting skills. In her long career, Urmila Matondkar has starred opposite top actors in films like “Indian”, “Judaai”, “Daud”, “Satya”, “Kaun”, “Ek Hasina Thi”, “Bhoot” and “Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara”.

Interestingly, she married her Kashmiri boyfriend, Mir Mohsin Akhtar, on March 3, 2016, in a secret ceremony. Akhtar comes from a family of businessmen. For some time, he tried his luck in acting as well in films like It’s A Man’s World, Mumbai Mast Kallander, and Luck By Chance. Moreover, he had tried modeling also and walked the ramp for designers such as Taroon Kumar, Manish Malhotra, Vikram Phadnis, and Ranna Gill.

On Urmila’s joining hands with Congress, Milind Deora, the newly appointed Mumbai Congress chief said, “I have known Urmila-ji for years. She is not just one of India’s finest artistes, but someone who is extremely opinionated on issues affecting our society and someone taking the political step for the long run to serve the country through the Congress party.”

It will be interesting to see if Congress party nominates Urmila Mantodkar for the upcoming. There is speculation that the party may field her from Mumbai North, where she will face BJP lawmaker Gopal Shetty that is seen to be a stronghold of BJP.