Amita Khopkar

Unlike other regions, (except perhaps Bengal), theatre has always had a strong presence in the Marathi cultural ethos, and over the years has produced several fine actors and actresses who have not only graced the Marathi film and TV scene, but have made their presence felt through brilliant performances in the national arena through the medium of Hindi films and TV serials. Continuing in the same tradition, comes the name of Amita Khopkar, already a veteran of several Marathi, films, serials as well as stage performances, now making her presence felt in Hindi movies and soap also. Like many other artists, she also changed her actual title “Kopkar” to a more assertive sounding “Khopkar” for her screen name.

Whether this changed her fate or not, may not be assessable, but the fact remains that today she is one of the well known character artistes in Marathi cinema, known for playing roles of vastly differing complexities and backgrounds. The physical proximity of Bollywood from the Marathi cinema, with many common background names, and her known prominence in Marathi cinema perhaps made it possible for her to join the mainstream of Indian cinema, and with it Hindi television too. True to her potential, in all her Hindi appearances be it for television or for films, she has always portrayed totally different characters – right from the conservative Muslim lady Bano of “Gadar” to the blunt and daring Jwala Devi of “Sasural Simar Ka” and now to the role of a typical doting mother in “ Tu Mera Hero Tu Mera Hero is a show based on a Bollywood movie >> Read More... ”.

Born in February 1970, she had started off at the relatively younger age of 17 through the medium of theatre, her first love. Midway through her career in Marathi cinema, in 2001, she got her first break in Hindi films, with a short but memorable role in “Gadar Ek Prem Kahani”. Thereafter, her appearances in Hindi have been mainly in serials, perhaps betraying her weakness and preference for Marathi films and stage. But the fact that she is just 45 now, means that she still has quite some years of acting left in her, and the very same reasons that propelled her into Hindi movies may once again make Bollywood draw upon her acting skills, the same way it has happened for Hindi serials, especially the development of her role of Jwala in “Sasural Simar Ka”.