Dimple Kapadia Filmography
Many of Kapadia's early roles relied on her perceived beauty, and she would struggle to be taken seriously as an actress. She made a decision to accept more serious roles, and won acclaim for her role in the marital drama Kaash (1987). Financial success came with films like Insaniyat Ke Dushman (1987), Insaaf (1987), in which she played double roles; the controversial revenge saga Zakhmi Aurat (1988), in which she played an avenging rape victim; and Ram Lakhan (1989). She started the next decade by venturing into neorealist art films, known in India as parallel cinema, including Drishti (1990), Lekin... (1990), and Rudaali (1993). All these films won her critical praise, and her role as a professional mourner in the latter earned her a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. She further essayed character parts in Prahaar (1991), Angaar (1992), Gardish (1993), and Krantiveer (1994), which garnered her a fourth Filmfare Award, in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Kapadia became selective about her roles, and her work over the following decades was infrequent, with substantial gaps. She played the supporting part of a divorced alcoholic in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and was noted for her portrayal of the title role, a middle-aged professor, in the American production Leela (2002). In both films, she played women who are the object of younger men's desire, in roles written especially for her. Some of her later film credits include leading roles in Hum Kaun Hai? (2004), Pyaar Mein Twist (2005), Phir Kabhi (2008), Tum Milo Toh Sahi (2010), and her supporting roles included Being Cyrus (2005), Luck by Chance (2009), Dabangg (2010), Cocktail (2012) and Finding Fanny (2014). While Dabangg was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all-time, her roles in Luck by Chance and Finding Fanny earned her two Filmfare nominations. Kapadia was cast by Christopher Nolan in his action thriller Tenet, which was the fourth-highest grossing film of 2020 and earned her positive reviews.
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Tandav | Anuradha Kishore | Amazon Prime Video | |
| 2023 | Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo | Savitri | Disney+ Hotstar |
Footnotes
- ^ Kapadia played dual roles in the film.