B'day Girl Deepti Naval’s 9 Most Heart-Warming Performances

A film based on extra marital affair where Deepti, who plays Kalpana, is married off to an actor but finds herself lonely yearning for true love. The portrayal of a lonely wife finding love out of marriage was done brilliantly by her considering that it was just her second film.

Her first big ticket to fame where she is remembered as Miss Chamko who sold detergents by the day and learnt music in the evenings. This laugh-o-riot film did a world of good to her as her pairing with Farooque Shaikh became just impeccable.

The coming of age film directed by Raman Kumar where she again was paired with Farooque Shaikh. As a married couple how their relationship undergoes a transformation is beautifully portrayed by her. The film had evergreen gems by Jagjit and Chitra Singh.

Director Sai Paranjpe’s take on the chawl life of Mumbai where Deepti played a simple girl-next-door character who has big dreams of getting married to the rich Farooque Shaikh but gets dumped only to be accepted by Naseeruddin Shah in the end.

A lesser known film by Jag Mundra where she played Kamla, a bonded slave bought by a journalist who is looking for a cover story. Deepti hardly has any dialogues as she emotes through her eyes. A contrast from her earlier urban roles.

Another brilliant performance by Deepti where she is abandoned by her husband to feed his family. She falls for her colleague and is about to marry him when her husband returns. Her hysterical performance garnered all the sympathy of the audience.

Set during the Godhra riots, Deepti played a middle-age Hindu housewife who is traumatized by the fact that she was unable to help a Muslim woman who was being chased by a mob. Though, a small role but her performance didn’t go unnoticed.

Her performance as Ammaji was the surprise pack in the film. Playing the brutal mother of the antagonist catches Anushka as well as the audience by surprise. A incredible performance by the actress indeed.

Her performance as Leela won her the Best Actress Award at the 2013 New York Indian Film Festival. Here, she played a widow who finds solace after meeting a middle-aged widower but is forced to think otherwise because of her young daughter.