Kitu Gidwani
{{Short description|Indian actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kitu Gidwani
| image = Kitu Gidwani.jpg
| caption = Giddwani in 2013
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|10|22|df=yes}}{{cite web | url=https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/photo/Remember-Kitu-Gidwani-Heres-what-the-Swabhimaan-actress-is-up-to-89524/1 | title=Remember Kitu Gidwani? Here's what the Swabhimaan actress is up to | access-date=17 June 2024 | archive-date=17 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617151905/https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/photo/Remember-Kitu-Gidwani-Heres-what-the-Swabhimaan-actress-is-up-to-89524/1 | url-status=live }}
| birth_place = Bombay, Maharashtra, India
| birth_name = Kaushalya Gidwani
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Actress, model, dancer
| years_active = 1984–present
| website =
}}
Kaushalya "Kitu" Gidwani (born 22 October 1967) is an Indian actress and model. She has starred in several films and serials on Indian television.
Kitu played the role of Svetlana in Swabhimaan which brought recognition for her. Then she signed Shaktimaan and played the role of "Geeta Vishwas", a news channel reporter who stand for the truth. She left the show after a few episodes and later became popular after a TV series, Air Hostess aired on Doordarshan in 1986, and received critical acclaim for her roles in Dance of the Wind (1997), Deepa Mehta's Earth (1998), Govind Nihalani's Rukhmavati Ki Haveli (1991), Kamal Haasan's Abhay and Deham (2001).{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2002/may/03kitu.htm |title=For Kitu Gidwani, it's mind over body! |last=Kulkarni |first=Ronjita |date=3 May 2002 |work=Rediff.com |access-date=16 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401090832/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2002/may/03kitu.htm |archive-date=1 April 2018 |url-status=live}}
Early and personal life
Gidwani was born in Mumbai. Her Sindhi parents migrated from Pakistan after the partition. They lived in a refugee camp in Worli.{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/8491617.cms |work=The Times of India |first1=Sanghita |last1=Singh |title=It's back to the basics for Kitu Gidwani |date=1 April 2002 |access-date=21 December 2008 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103053711/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/8491617.cms |url-status=live}} She has a brother.
She studied in Fort Convent School, Mumbai. She graduated in Commerce and has an M.A.
in French.{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19860630-modelling-becomes-a-stepping-stone-to-the-silver-screen-800992-1986-06-29 |title=Modelling becomes a stepping-stone to the silver screen |website=India Today |date=30 June 1986 |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=22 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922140443/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19860630-modelling-becomes-a-stepping-stone-to-the-silver-screen-800992-1986-06-29 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}} She started acting in French plays. Soon she was acting in English plays directed by Janak Toprani. She acted in some television serials and subsequently acted in a French film Black (1987), playing a Brazilian girl in it.{{Cite web |url=http://m.rediff.com/us/2000/jun/10us.htm |title=rediff.com US edition: You can do whatever you believe of yourself: Kitu Gidwani |work=Rediff.com |access-date=14 November 2013 |archive-date=9 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709185618/http://m.rediff.com/us/2000/jun/10us.htm |url-status=dead}}
Acting career
Gidwani made her television debut in 1984 on the TV soap Trishna, and during the 1980s and '90s, gave some memorable performances in TV serials like Swabhimaan, Air Hostess and Junoon.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/she-has-seen-it-all/article4948811.ece |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu |first=Budhaditya |last=Bhattacharya |title=She has seen it all... |date=24 July 2013 |access-date=14 November 2013 |archive-date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114172235/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/she-has-seen-it-all/article4948811.ece |url-status=live}} She caught a lot of attention after her kissing scene in bed with actor Tom Alter in Junoon. In 1997, she was doing four serials at one time, besides Swabhimaan and Junoon, she was also acting in Saahil, Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum.{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19970616-tv-actors-never-had-it-so-good-recognition-astronomical-rates-and-roles-for-the-asking-831610-1997-06-16 |title=TV actors never had it so good: recognition, astronomical rates and roles for the asking |first=Namita |last=Bhandare |date=16 June 1997 |website=India Today |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012040712/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19970616-tv-actors-never-had-it-so-good-recognition-astronomical-rates-and-roles-for-the-asking-831610-1997-06-16 |url-status=live}} She recently appeared in multi-starrer Hindi serials Kaashish and Kulvadhu.
In 1997, she played the role of a Hindustani classical singer, Pallavi, who struggles to get her voice back after losing her mentor/mother, in Dance of the Wind. The role won her Best Actress Award at Three Continents Festival, Nantes.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/im-happy-im-free/article2562544.ece |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu |title=I'm happy, I'm free |date=23 October 2011 |access-date=14 November 2013 |archive-date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114094944/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/im-happy-im-free/article2562544.ece |url-status=live}} In Pankaj Butalia's Shadows in the Dark she played Lajma, a middle-aged woman living in present-day Pakistan. In the 2010s she played small roles in Fashion, Dhobi Ghat and Student of the Year.
In 2001, in conjunction with Wills Lifestyle, an apparel chain owned by ITC Limited, she promoted Wills Sport Lifestyle brand of clothing.{{cite news |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/07/08/stories/0408403s.htm |title=Read(il)y made lifestyle |work=The Hindu |date=8 July 2001 |access-date=13 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110164227/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/07/08/stories/0408403s.htm |archive-date=10 January 2009 |url-status=usurped}} In 2006, she also acted in a play, Your Place or Mine by Darshan Jariwala.[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060707/cth2.htm#5 Play on man-woman relationship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717103930/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060707/cth2.htm#5 |date=17 July 2011 }} The Tribune, 7 July 2006.
She also did a play, Sock 'em With Honey, where she played a traditional Parsi woman from Pakistan, whose daughter falls in love with a Jew, prompting her first trip abroad.{{Cite web |url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=62400 |title=Kitu's Kitty is Full |access-date=21 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030921011231/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=62400 |archive-date=21 September 2003 |url-status=dead}}
Awards
In 1997, Gidwani won the Best Actress Award at the Three Continents Festival, Nantes, France. The award recognized her outstanding achievement for the role of Pallavi in Dance of the Wind.{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19971229-kitu-gidwani-bags-best-actress-award-for-her-role-in-dance-of-the-wind-at-france-film-fest-831160-1997-12-28 |title=Kitu Gidwani bags Best Actress Award for her role in Dance of the Wind at France film fest |website=India Today |date=29 December 1997 |access-date=16 January 2024 |archive-date=16 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116173324/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19971229-kitu-gidwani-bags-best-actress-award-for-her-role-in-dance-of-the-wind-at-france-film-fest-831160-1997-12-28 |url-status=live}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1984
|Holi | |{{cite news |author= |date=27 December 2024 |title=Aamir Khan Was 'Very Nervous' To Kiss Kitu Gidwani In The 1984 Film Holi: 'He Had Just Started His Career...' |url=https://www.news18.com/movies/aamir-khan-was-very-nervous-to-kiss-kitu-gidwani-in-the-1984-film-holi-he-had-just-started-his-career-9170081.html |work=News18 |access-date=5 June 2025}} |
| 1985
| |Television film |
| 1985
| |Short film |
| 1985
|Roohi |TV series |
| 1986
|Air Hostess | |
| 1987
|Black | |
| 1991
|Kittu Gidwani | |
| 1991
| |Short film |
| 1994
|Mini Agrawal |
| 1994
|Kavita Deshpande |TV series |
| 1995–1996
|Prerna |TV series |
| 1995–1997
|Svetlana Banerjee |TV series |
| 1997
|Karvaan |Lajma | |
| 1997
|Pallavi Sehgal | |
| 1997
|Geeta Vishwas |TV series |
| 1998
|Bunty Sethna |
| 2001
|Jaya |
| 2001
|Jayanti | |
| 2001
|Jayanthi |Tamil film |
| 2002
|Ishita's mother |Television film |
| 2004
|Pam Mallya |TV series |
| 2005
|Ratna |TV series |
| 2006–2007
|Antra Singh Rathod |TV series |
| 2006
|Michelle | |
| 2007
| | |
| 2008
|Sheela Pariyar | |
| 2008
|Anisha Roy | |
| 2009
|Divya Singh | |
| 2010
|Dr. Sadhana | |
| 2011
|Vatsala | |
| 2011
|Pamela Garewal |
| 2012
|Manini Banerjee | |
| 2013
|Rukmi Devi | |
| 2015
| | |
| 2016
|Rehan's mother | |
| 2017
|Tara's Mother | |
| 2018
|Sameer's step paternal Grandmother |TV series |
| 2019
|Pinky Kapoor |Web series |
| 2020
|Dhruv's mother | |
| 2023
|Hum Rahe Na Rahe Hum{{cite web |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/there-is-nostalgia-for-80s-and-90s-tv-show-says-kitu-gidwani-1192544.html |title=There is nostalgia for '80s and '90s TV show, says Kitu Gidwani |date=18 February 2023 |access-date=2 April 2023 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402051136/https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/there-is-nostalgia-for-80s-and-90s-tv-show-says-kitu-gidwani-1192544.html |url-status=live}} |Damayanti Barot / "Rani Sahiba"/ Queen of Ranak Garh |TV series |
| 2025
|Devika |Hindi Film |
References
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External links
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- {{IMDb name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gidwani, Kitu}}
Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema
Category:Actresses in Tamil cinema
Category:Indian film actresses
Category:Female models from Mumbai
Category:Indian stage actresses
Category:Indian television actresses
Category:Actresses from Mumbai
Category:20th-century Indian actresses
Category:21st-century Indian actresses