Juhi Chawla Turns 59 on November 13, and Her Best Work Is Still Easy to Enjoy

Illustration: AI-generated with Pollinations (FLUX), free to use

Juhi Chawla turns 59 on November 13. She became one of the most recognisable heroines of the late 1980s and 1990s, with a warm, lively screen presence that suited both romance and comedy. She has also built a life outside the camera, including as a co-owner of a cricket team.

Photo: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) was her breakthrough, opposite Aamir Khan. The film is often counted among the landmark romances of Hindi cinema, and it introduced her to a much wider audience.

Photo: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Darr (1993) gave her one of her most talked-about roles. She plays the woman who becomes the focus of an obsessive lover, played by Shah Rukh Khan, and the film is still discussed for its tension and its performances. It showed that she could carry a thriller as well as a romance.

Film still: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Her comic timing was just as important. Many of her films from the 1990s were light comedies, and she worked steadily with the leading men of the period. Her later career has included television and other work as well as films.

Film still: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you know her only from one or two films, pick a mix of the romance and the thriller to see how far her range goes. Which of her films do you return to most?