Know some interesting facts about Kajol, a school dropout and superstar at 16: Birthday Special

Kajol was born on 5 August 1974 in Bombay (Mumbai) to the Mukherjee-Samarth film family of Bengali-Marathi descent. Today Kajol is celebrating her 45th birthday. Her relation to the film industry was never new as her maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth was also a great and renowned actress. Kajol is married to actor Ajay Devgn and has two kids, a girl named Nyasha and a son named Yug.

Very few people know that Kajol signed her first film ‘Bekhudi’ when she was just 16 and was pursuing her school academics. And for the sake of good and successful career in acting, she left her schooling at an early age. Her first film ‘Bekhudi’ was not commercially successful at the box office but her second movie ‘Baazigar’ alongside Shahrukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty was a blockbuster hit.

She rose to prominence by featuring as the female lead in several top-grossing romances, including Yeh Dillagi (1994), Ishq (1997), Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998), Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (1998) and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999)—and received critical recognition for playing against type in the 1997 mystery film Gupt: The Hidden Truth,, that earned her a Filmfare Award for Best Villian, and the 1998 psychological thriller Dushman. Her portrayal of a conservative NRI in the romance Dilwale Dulania Le Jayenge (1995), a tomboy in the romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), a loquacious woman in the melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… (2001), a blind Kashmiri woman in the romantic thriller Fanaa (2006) and a single mother in the drama my name Is Khan (2010) garnered her five Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. Her highest-grossing release came with the action-comedy Dilwale (2015).