Deepti Naval (Actress)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Deepti Naval

• Does Deepti Naval smoke?: Not Known

• Does Deepti Naval drink alcohol?: Yes

• Deepti is half-Punjabi and half-Pahadi as her father hailed from Amritsar, Punjab, and mother from Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

• After she did her schooling in India, she along with her family migrated to the USA where she did her graduation.

• She had studied theatre, photography, and painting, but interesting thing is that she has not studied acting in which she excelled the most.

• Her father wanted her to become a painter, but she was more fascinated towards acting.

• She started her career as a theatre actor and has been always attracted to literature. 

• During her theatre days, she once went to Doordarshan to audition for a play. There she met Farooq Shaikh, with whom she got the chance to co-host a program Farooq, which I did. Later, Farooq a message for her, saying that an NRI director Vinod Pande was searching for a fresh face. And, that’s how she grabbed her first big role in ‘Ek Baar Phir’ (1980).

• She is the first ever American-Indian actress to join Hindi films.

• She is a fine poet and since 1981 she has published many poems, such as – Lamha Lamha, Black Wind, And The Mad Tibetan: Stories From Then And Now. 

• Initially, she did only sweet girl-next-door kind of roles, but after she did Jagmohan Mundhra’s ‘Kamla’ (1984), she broke the shackles of those cheche roles that she did before. For her strong performance in the film, she received a lot of critical acclaims. Since then her forte has been sensitive and close to real life roles.

• Deepti and Late Farooq Sheikh were a popular on-screen pair in the 1980s. They both shared a great rapport, not just on screen but off screen as well.

• She became an overnight star after the release of ‘Chashme Baddoor’ (1981).

• She got married to film director, Prakash Jha in 1985 but he the couple got separated just 2 years after their marriage. After 15 years of silence, the couple got divorced but since then they have maintained a close friendship.

• She loves painting and took her interest to the next level as she first displayed her paintings at the Jehangir Art Gallery in an exhibition, called Reflections followed by many other exhibits in India and abroad. 

• She is nothing less short of a professional photographer and has showcased her photography in series, such as – In Search Of Another Sky, Road Builders And Shades Of Red. 

• In 1991, she was engaged to Vinod Pandit, nephew of Pandit Jasraj, but he died of cancer.

• She is a travel freak and in 1995 she produced a travel show, ‘The Path Less Travelled’, to explore The Himalayas. 

• It was Vinod, who encouraged her to continue photography and to write. He also played her husband’s role in TV serial ‘Thodasa Aasman.’

• She was also engaged to actors like – Nana Patekar, and Pradeep Verma, but due to some reasons, it didn’t reach the stage of marriage.

• She is a noble soul and is actively working to create awareness towards the Mentally ill. She also runs a trust for the education of the girl child.

• She is also an environmentalist and has done a good amount efforts to preserve greenery and mangroves in the Andheri West region of Mumbai.

• She was trained in Kathak dancer, but she never got a single role that required her to dance.

• In 2007, she was recognized as the ‘Tribute Honoree’ of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

• Her directorial debut film ‘Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish’ (2009) starring her friend & actress Manisha Koirala, and her nephew Sanaj Naval, won many awards at the international film festivals.