Raveena Tandon (born 26 October 1972) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of the 1990s, Tandon is known for her versatility and is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award. In 2023, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian honour.
The daughter of director Ravi Tandon, she made her acting debut in the 1991 action film Patthar Ke Phool, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Tandon established herself by playing the leading lady in the commercially successful action films Dilwale (1994), Mohra (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), and Ziddi (1997). She earned a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1994 drama Laadla and in the late 1990s, she collaborated with Govinda in several successful comedies, including Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Dulhe Raja (1998) and Anari No.1 (1999). She also played against type in the crime dramas Ghulam-E-Mustafa (1997) and Shool (1999).
In the 2000s, Tandon ventured into arthouse cinema with roles in the 2001 films Daman and Aks, both of which garnered her critical acclaim, winning the National Film Award for Best Actress for the former and a Filmfare Special Performance Award for the latter. Post her marriage with film distributor Anil Thadani, Tandon took a break from films. She intermittently appeared on television with shows like the Sahara One drama Sahib Biwi Gulam (2004), the dance reality show Chak De Bachche (2008), and talk shows Isi Ka Naam Zindagi (2012) and Simply Baatien with Raveena (2014). After several years of hiatus, Tandon starred in the thriller Maatr (2017) and received praise for her leading role in the Netflix crime thriller series Aranyak (2021), winning a Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress. Tandon had a supporting role in her highest-grossing release, K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022).
Tandon is also an environmentalist and has worked with PETA since 2002. Tandon has four children, two adopted and two with her husband.
Tandon was born on 26 October 1972 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to filmmaker Ravi Tandon and Veena Tandon. Tandon is a niece of character actor Mac Mohan and thus a cousin of Manjari Makijany, his daughter. She has a brother Rajiv Tandon, who was married to actress Rakhee Tandon. She is also a cousin of actress Kiran Rathod.
Tandon was educated at Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu and attended Mithibai College in Mumbai. She started her career as a model, but during her internship at Genesis PR, she got her first film offer.
In an interview with Rediff Tandon stated, "I never thought I would become an actress. I was an intern at Genesis PR, helping ad-man Prahlad Kakkar, when friends and people around me started complimenting my looks. But photographer-director Shantanu Sheorey gave me the first break. He called and said he wanted to shoot with me. That was the time when models were becoming actors. I refused film offers. Prahlad kept saying millions of people are waiting for this chance and you keep refusing it. So I thought there was nothing to lose. Then Patthar Ke Phool happened."
Tandon made her acting debut in 1991, with the film Patthar Ke Phool opposite Salman Khan, which was a box office hit. The film earned her the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. This was followed by a series of box office failures including Jeena Marna Tere Sang, Divya Shakti, Parampara and Ek Hi Raasta among others.
Commercial success and recognition (1994–1999)
The year 1994 proved to be a turning point in her career with ten releases.Of these Dilwale opposite Ajay Devgn, Aatish: Feel the Fire opposite Sanjay Dutt, Laadla opposite Anil Kapoor, and Mohra opposite Akshay Kumar, emerged as the highest grossing films of the year. Andaz Apna Apna opposite Aamir Khan underperformed at the box office, but developed a cult following over the years since its release. Among these, Mohra became Tandon's breakthrough particularly due to her dance in the songs, "Too Cheez Badi Hain" and "Tip Tip Barsa Pani".
In 1995, Tandon starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan for the first time in Zamaana Deewana; the film failed to do well. Her 1996 film Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Akshay Kumar, was a commercial success. That year, she also appeared in the song "Shahar Ki Ladki", in Rakshak alongside Suniel Shetty. Tandon appeared in two successful films in 1997: Ziddi opposite Sunny Deol and Ghulam-E-Mustafa opposite Nana Patekar. Her other releases that year Daava and Vinashak – Destroyer – failed at the box office.
Tandon further achieved success as a leading actress in 1998 with two films opposite Govinda: Dulhe Raja and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, both of which emerged as the highest-grossing films of the year. She received praises for her comic timing. That year, Tandon had several other commercial successes such as–Salaakhen opposite Sunny Deol, Gharwali Baharwali opposite Anil Kapoor and Aunty No. 1 opposite Govinda. However Keemat – They Are Back and Barood opposite Akshay Kumar, and Pardesi Babu opposite Govinda failed at the box office.
In 1999, Tandon appeared opposite Govinda in Anari No.1, a commercial success. She then appeared in the Kannada film Upendra opposite Upendra, which also became a box office success. A critic from Sify stated, "Raveena is adequate in her role and adds glamour to her role with rich costumes.". Tandon then received praises for her portrayal in Shool opposite Manoj Bajpayee, which later became a cult film. Anil Nair of Rediff.com was appreciative of Tandon's "subdued and convincing no-frills job".
Critical acclaim, hiatus and television (2000-2015)
In the 2000s, Tandon ventured into arthouse productions, to learn a realistic way of acting, and rejected several mainstream film offers. Tandon worked in films such as Bulandi (2000) and Aks (2001), which won her critical acclaim. She won several awards as well as the Filmfare Special Performance Award for her performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Aks. A critic from The Hindu stated, "Raveena comes up with a gripping portrayal of a bar girl".
Her years in the industry paid off when she won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lajmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001), where she played a battered wife to an abusive husband. She surprised critics and audiences with her performance in the film and received appreciation for her work. Critic Taran Adarsh said: "Raveena Tandon lends credibility to the role of a battered wife and walks away with the honours. The pathos she conveys through her expressions makes you realise that she's a performer of substance".
Since then, she has starred in several critically acclaimed films, such as Satta (2003) and Dobara (2004), but has not had much box office success. Her role as a middle-class woman thrust into the world of politics in the former was praised. Critic Taran Adarsh wrote: "Raveena Tandon delivers a bravura performance. The actress takes giant strides as a performer, giving the right touches to her character. Here's a performance that's bound to be noticed". Her role as a schizophrenic in Dobara was also praised with one critic saying: "Raveena is in sync with her character, playing her part with elaan". Tandon also worked in the Sahara One television series Sahib Biwi Gulam, based on the 1953 Bengali novel Saheb Bibi Golam by Bimal Mitra. Her only release in 2006 was Sandwich which opened to poor reviews and reception. After doing several films, she took a break from actively appearing in films. During this period, her only major appearance was in the Telugu film Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda opposite Mohan Babu, which was a box office success.
During her break from films, Tandon actively appeared on television. In 2014, she judged season 1 of CEO's Got Talent on CNBC TV18 with Mahesh Bhatt and Raj Nayak. She later hosted Issi Ka Naam Zindagi and Simply Baatien with Raveena. In 2015, she made a comeback to Bollywood in longtime friend Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus Bombay Velvet. Playing a sultry jazz singer, her brief performance was highly praised by critics. Following this, Tandon became a judge for Sabse Bada Kalakar and Nach Baliye 9.