Kajol's Feminist Role Models: Grandmother Shobhna Samarth, Great-Grandmother Rattan Bai

New Delhi: Kajol, daughter of veteran actress Tanuja, posted an old picture of her grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother Rattan Bai and captioned it as, "My great-grandmother and my grandmother ... aji! Two women who taught me about what feminism actually means without ever discussing it." She has also tagged her sister Tanishaa and cousins Mayuri Garware and Madhura Samarth in the picture. Rattan Bai was a singer and had also acted in films. She was in her 40s when she made her film debut. She entered the industry at a time when the career option wasn't considered a respectable one. Her daughter Shobhna Samarth worked as an actress in Marathi and Hindi film industry. She debuted in 1935. Ms Samarth was the first Indian actress to wear a swimsuit on screen. Being a top actress, she directed two movies and also launched her daughters Nutan and Tanuja in the industry.

In 1997, Shobhna Samarth was given a Filmfare Special Award for her contribution to arts. Now, four generations of the Samarth family have been a part of the industry.

See the picture Kajol posted.
 

 

My great grand mother and my grandmother ... aji! Two women who taught me about what feminism actually means without ever discussing it .

A post shared by Kajol Devgan (@kajol) on Mar 13, 2018 at 8:43pm PDT

Last year, Kajol had shared a picture with Shobhna Samarth and mom Tanuja from the muhurat of Bekhudi, her first film.
 

 

#tbt my muhurat of Bekhudi at RK studios, 26 years back!

A post shared by Kajol Devgan (@kajol) on Feb 6, 2017 at 5:15am PST

Kajol was born to Tanuja and filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee in 1974. She made her acting debut in the 1992. Kajol, 43, is the star of hit films such as Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Fanaa and My Name Is Khan. Her sister Tanishaa is also an actress.

Rani Mukerji, filmmaker Ayan Mukerji and actor Mohnish Behl (Nutan's son) are Kajol and Tanishaa's cousins.

Kajol is married to actor Ajay Devgn since 1999 and the couple are parents to daughter Nysa and son Yug. Nysa is finishing school in Singapore while Yug studies in Mumbai.
 

 

Playing to my strengths this Diwali ;)

A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) on Oct 19, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

Ajay Devgn's next film Raid releases this Friday. Kajol was last seen in 2017's Tamil film VIP 2, co-starring Dhanush. Dilwale, opposite Shah Rukh Khan, which released in 2015, was her last Bollywood film. Kajol's next film is Eela, directed by Pradeep Sarkar and produced by Ajay Devgn.