GOVINDA
The ever-smiling Govinda has an interesting tale of experiences. His entry into movies was during a time when the trend of break-dance was just starting. As the tremendous dancer is he, he was mainly known for his pelvic movements and 'jhinchak' dance numbers. Some of his earlier movies were 'Tan Badan' and 'Love 86'.

But it was Pehlaj Nihalani's film 'Ilzaam' with Neelam that did the trick for him. Then there came his brother Kirti Kumar's 'Hatya' and it was from these movies that people started noticing him as an actor also. Hailing from Virar, a distant suburb of Mumbai, Govinda was and is known as the 'Virar Ka Chokra' and he does not seem to mind this at all.

Govinda became greedy and accepted whatever movies came his way and in the process, did some many unconventional films, which harmed his budding career. His mentor Pehlaj Nihalani tried to make him understand but it was too late before he started accepting the right kind of movies. He did 'Hum' starring the Big B Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant and Danny Denzongpa. Things were becoming brighter for him.

Then appeared David Dhawan in the scene and 'Aankhen' happened. For the first time, Govinda had a double role and his performance was highly appreciated. With this super hit movie on his resume, Govinda became a totally different star. It became a trend setter and again he started getting stereotype roles as in 'Khuddar' and 'Rajababu'. His songs had censor problems because of some double-meaning words in them.

Again Govinda was saved by David Dhawan who teamed up with him to give a string of hits like 'Coolie No. 1', 'Hero No. 1', 'Saajan Chale Sasuraal' and such like. Karishma Kapoor, still trying to get a grip of her career, was the leading lady in all the movies and everyone from Govinda, Karishma Kapoor and David Dhawan were immensely enjoyed their newfound successes.

Govinda became the invincible star of the century who had a 'midas' touch; anything he touched turned into gold. People thronged to cinema halls just to see Govinda giving some of his 'tapori' dance numbers. He and Raveena Tandon got together and made things possible. Some of their movies like 'Dulhe Raja' and 'Anari No. 1' were enjoyed by the masses. Govinda truly became the mass entertainer!

Even Amitabh Bachchan got bitten by Govinda and David Dhawan bugs in 'Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan'. Both the actors had double roles and people did enjoy two Amitabhs and two Govindas on screen. It became one of the big budgeted movies of recent times and Govinda became the new icon of comedy. Some more of his movies which can be looked forward to are 'Rajaji' (Raveena Tandon), 'Chalo Ishq Ladaye' (Rani Mukherjee) and 'Hum Tumpe Marte Hain' with none other than 'rangeeli' Urmila Matongkar.

More than a decade has passed since Govinda entered this industry. He has done films with someone like Neelam, Farha, Juhi Chawla, Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon and all have proved to be quite successful ventures. Lets hope that his new pairing with Rani and Urmila are as successful!