Govinda has acted in over 120 films since his debut in 1986. Govinda is best-known for his comedy related roles; his powerful contribution in dancing in bollywood is inevitable.
Date of Birth: 21 December 1963
Height: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Biography:Govinda's mother, Nazeem who was Muslim had converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Nirmala Devi. Govinda's father Arun and Nirmala first met during the making of the film Savera, in which they were cast opposite each other. They married in 1941.
Govinda studied in an engineering college at Lahore. Veteran producer Mehboob Khan brought him to Mumbai in 1937 and cast him in Ek Hi Raasta as the leading man.
The only film Ahuja ever produced was a flop. Unable to bear the loss, his health failed. The family, living in a bungalow on Mumbai's upmarket Carter Road, later moved to Virar. Since his father was unable to work, Nirmala Devi brought up the children through hard times in Mumbai.
Govinda had great success with family based movies such as Dariya Dil(1988),Swarg(1990)and Hum(1991).He worked with David Dhawan for the first time in the 1989 action film Taaqatwar. He then formed a successful collaboration with him and then went onto act in 18 movies directed by him most of which were comedy films. The most successful films during their collaboration included Shola Aur Shabnam(1992), Aankhen(1993), Raja Babu(1994), Coolie No. 1(1995), Saajan Chale sasural(1996), Hero No. 1(1997), Deewana Mastana(1997), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan(1998), Haseena Maan Jaayegi(1999), Jodi No. 1(2001) and Partner(2007)
Having huge success in comedy based roles; he then also tried his luck for a villainous role in the movie 'Shikari' directed by N.Chandra. His performance in the movie was critically acclaimed. After a bad phase during 2002 until 2005, he actually made the biggest ever successful comeback ever witnessed in Bollywood with a number of hits, starting with bhagam bhag in 2006 and a critically praised performance in salaam e ishq in 2007.
After His latest 2007 release is the David Dhawan directed romantic comedy Partner. The film became the second highest domestic opening week gross for an Indian film and became a blockbuster and is ranked in the top 3 movies of 2007 in India.
Amongst other work he has come on as a guest on indian reality shows which are based on the X factor and strictly come dancing in the UK.
Personal Life:
Govinda's maternal uncle Anand Singh, who was assistant director to Hrishikesh Mukherjee, launched him in his film, Tan Badan. Anand's wife's sister Sunita fell in love with Govinda during the 'Mahurat' of Tan Badan. They got married on 11 March 1987. Their marriage was a closely guarded secret for four years. The couple has two children, Narmada and Yashvardhan.
