There have been very few successful child actors who have gone on to become successful stars as adults as well. The likes of Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Kamal Haasan, Sridevi are exceptions. Among all these names is another actress who was among the top stars in Bollywood in the 90s. But her star faded because of one bad decision, which saw her with no work for 15 years.
The actress who started working at 3, became star as teenager
Urmila Matondkar began her film journey at the age of 3 in the 1977 film Karm. She gained recognition playing one of the three child artistes in the 1983 hit Masoom, which starred Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. Urmila transitioned to lead roles with the 1991 release Narsimha, which was a hit. She worked in some average and semi-hit films like Chamatkar and was a star.
How Urmila Matondkar became a top heroine at 20
In 1995, Urmila starred in Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela, one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year. Her performance, screen presence, and dance in the film turned Urmila into a sex symbol overnight and she became one of the top stars in the industry. Her subsequent appearance in hits like Judaai, Satya, and Khoobsurat kept her afloat for the next few years. In 2003, she was praised for her performance in the horror thriller Bhoot.
How a bad choice ruined Urmila’s career
In the 2000s, Urmila’s films began flopping at the box office. She did have some critically-acclaimed films like Ek Haseena Thi but box office success eluded her largely. In 2008, she starred in Karzzzz, a remake of the 1980s’ cult classic Karz. This film also starred Himesh Reshammiya, Shweta Kumar, Dino Morea, and Danny Denzongpa. The film was a critical and commercial failure, proving to be the last nail in the coffin for the actress. The same year, she saw the release of her final film EMI. Since then, Urmila has seen no films but worked on TV, largely as a judge on reality shows.
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