A Tete-A-Tete With Juhi Chawla - Divaliciously Divine

Her eyes twinkle mischievously as she enquires which looks better— her outfit or she herself! Meet the ethereal actor, who radiates charm and positivity, with just one magical smile.

- Nandini Banerjee

It is a known fact that legendary actor Juhi Chawla’s smile has lit up many a screen and heart alike. Beginning her star-studded career in 1986 with the film Sultanat, after being crowned Miss India in 1984, Juhi shot to fame with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988. There was no looking back ever since—and over her 32-year-old journey, she has donned many avatars. Today, she is not only known as an actor of calibre and a beauty diva of all times, but also as a philanthropist and a shrewd entrepreneur. With a variety of roles to her credit, I wonder what she feels has been her greatest earning, her greatest success? “Acting has been my biggest blessing and earning (not in monetary terms). It is what has got me recognition and credibility, and what led to me using my ‘stardom’ to promote the social causes I strongly believe in,” Juhi quips.

A person who epitomises optimism, the actor is one of the few celebrities to not have even a breath of scandal touch her in all these years. In fact, no co-actor or industry insider has ever had a negative thing to say about her. They, instead, reiterate that her positivity rubs off on them too. “Well, you have to be optimistic to succeed. In my career and my personal life, I have been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But it is really those lows that make you wonder, think and strategise how to get out of such a state. That is when you truly learn and grow. And I have grown! The years have deepened my thinking, widened my thoughts and made me the person I am today,” Juhi explains.

Philanthropist at heart