My Favorite Urmila Movies - ranked
This is a list of my personal favorite Urmila films on order, not the best films that have Urmila in them. I didn't rank them in order of my most to least favorite movies, I ranked them in terms of how great I think Urmila is in them... so if there's an amazing movie that I love but she has a small role in it, I would rank it lower. I look at cameos and item songs in context and impact, so a movie like China Gate is ranked higher.
Urmila was born on Feb 4, 1974 and starred in her first movie in 1980 as a child. Now she's had a career in the Indian film industry for around 40 years. I first saw one of her movies in the mid 1990s before I was 10 years old, just as she hit superstardom. This is a list of many good reasons why this woman has become my personal favorite actor among any country, time, or gender. She defied multiple unfair film industry conventions and hardships - she became a successful actress as an adult despite starting as a child star, she managed to land multiple powerful lead roles as a female actor while it was still a rare thing, and she proved herself as a serious and versatile actress after being consider a "sex goddess" for many years (like Marilyn Monroe).
Even outside of film, I have great respect for her as a person. At a time when India is socially and politically in a time of dark changes and turmoil (in contrast to its rise economically), she stands by her values and humanity, advocating for the minorities in India who need the most support. She still believes in India's ancient, historical, and pioneering strength of multiculturalism, even if the tides of society are going against her.
Which makes it all the more confusing when it comes to one of the only two big mistakes she's ever made (in my opinion) - when she joined the right wing Hindu nationalist party of Maharashtra (Shiv Sena)... she's not only played Muslims multiple times, worked with Muslims, and played roles where she fell in love with Muslims or men of other religions (like Sikh), she eventually married a Muslim in real life! The party wanted to put her into a special position in order to whitewash their image of being Hindu Nationalists (hey look, we can't be Muslim-haters because we have Urmila-ji!), but she wisely declined the position.
She has said that she's a believer in "Hindutva", but that directly contradicts her support for "untouchables" and the lower cast of Hindus, not to mention everything she's done in her films, all of which bend towards progressive and multicultural values. On top of all that, it directly contradicts the fact that before this party, she was part of the Congress party, which is on the opposite side of the political spectrum and totally against Hindu Nationalism. I guess having been a part of both sides makes it a wash and she ends up somewhere in the middle in the end? Ah well, too many Indian actors get involved with Indian politics as it is, if you ask me.
What's the other serious mistake I can say she's ever made? Being in a Himesh movie, lol. Oh well, no one is perfect, not even Urmila. I haven't met her or know what's really in her mind... at least I don't pedestalize her or anyone else. Maybe until just a few years ago, all those years she made great movies, she wasn't even interested in any politics. After all, in the past 10-15 years, I'd argue social media alone has brainwashed countless amounts of good people in this world (I'm not saying she's one those brainwashed people). Speaking of social media, I should note that her 2016 marriage (her first and only marriage... in her 40s, with a man around 10 years younger... that's kinda cool, I have to admit) to a Kashmiri Muslim businessman has made her a frequent social media target of malicious attacks using misinformation, including from other film personalities.
If this stupid industry actually created more of the kind of roles she and other actresses deserve more of, especially at her age now, maybe she'd be too busy for crap like the corrupt world of Indian politics. But who knows, maybe like one of her great film characters, everything she's done recently in real life has been part of one elaborate game of chess where every deed is done ultimately in the name of a bigger picture (if that's the case, someone should make a movie about this and cast her as the lead role, haha).
But ultimately, she's the Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jane Fonda of India, combined (and without any huge scandals!), plus she could seriously dance! Urmila deserves to be treated as a national treasure. And I hope there's even more highpoints to come in her life and career.
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- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsSanjay DuttUrmila MatondkarParesh RawalNandu, a small-time thief, is assigned to smuggle an unknown packet for a petty amount. With the police pursuing him, Nandu has to elude them and deliver the packet on time.[A LEAD ROLE] "FUN on the run", literally. It's not the most well made or smartest movie that Urmila is in (far from the worst made or dumbest either), but it's still my favorite! The first movie that made me fall in love with Urmila since my childhood (I was 9 or 10 years old). It's her funniest movie, her most fun movie, and the music is amazing. The story is pretty good too, it's pretty smart. And it was one of the first movies I had ever seen (especially out of Indian ones) where the female lead was more than just a love interest, she's tough and intelligent, and she actually matters. She comes off more like Sanjay Dutt's partner and friend rather than simply just his love interest, like Bonnie and Clyde but without the criminal aspect. They're equals.
I don't argue that it should be considered one of the best movies of all time, but I think it's very underrated and underappreciated. Can't a movie be in the 7 to 10 range for just being very entertaining and enjoyable, and well made for what it is? Also, at the time it was one of the few Indian movies with actually good editing, thanks to RGV. In my opinion, RGV's work with Urmila is one of the greatest Director-Actor collaborations in history (not at the legendary level of Kurosawa and Mifune, but still), at least Indian film history. Thankfully there's many films they worked on together (wish there was more). Even better than that, the collaboration of Urmila beauty/acting/dancing, RGV's direction, and A.R. Rahman music - that is pure gold. - DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAftab ShivdasaniUrmila MatondkarDalip TahilKrishnakant Mathur (Aftab Shivdasani) alias "kittu", works in a restaurant, which is located right opposite the bunglow of famous movie actress, Mallika (Urmilla Matondkar). Kittu, simply put, is only a fan, but is smitten by Mallika, almost to the point of obsession. He does get to meet her at Mehboob Studios, and speak with Mallika herself. Before he could finish speaking with her, he is rudely interrupted by Tolluram, Manisha's uncle (Govind Namdeo), who insults and humiliates him and tells him to leave. Kittu is confused at this, and gets appalled and concerned about Mallika, when he learns that her life is being controlled by her uncle, aunt and cousin sister. One day he witnesses her uncle beating her up, he breaks into her house, assaults the uncle, and abducts Mallika. The next day, there is furore in the media when everyone learns that an actress has been abducted. The police get involved. Kittu decides to take Mallika to his home to his parents, and does so. He hides her in his house, but decides not to tell anyone in his family about Mallika. How long will Kittu succeed in doing this? Is this what Mallika wants, or is she being taken advantage of again? How long will a famous actress hide out without anyone else coming to know her?[A LEAD ROLE] Like Daud, this movie is just a pure blast of fun and joy and beauty, nothing more or less than that, but it does what it does very well. It's also pretty hilarious with its absurdist comedic style. By this point, this kind of movie wasn't anything new by Urmila's standards since Rangeela, but any huge Urmila fan can't help but love this movie, because it's basically their own dreams put onto the screen. It'd fantasy made into reality. It starts to give you ideas - "maybe I could be a director... maybe I could go to India... maybe if I direct a film in India I could meet Urmila... maybe..." (well, she did end up marrying a guy my age!). The story is more like the meeting of two different fairy tales, actually - one from the perspective of Kittu (Aftab) and the other from Malika's (Urmila), as she's in a very "Cinderella" kind of situation.
Yet another RGV-Urmila work, of course it's gonna be great. RGV said this movie is one of his most personal as it's inspired by his youthful dreams and almost obsessive love for the actress Sridevi, which has become public knowledge since this movie in many ways (there's even some comparison between Urmila's character here and the real life Sridevi). In fact, Urmila herself is quoted as saying that she believe there was no star bigger than Sridevi and there never will be again (I'm paraphrasing). RGV even put one taxi driver character in the film who said he came to Mumbai to find Sridevi but failed.
If Rangeela was the only Urmila movie of its kind, maybe Urmila wouldn't have had the status of sex symbol that she did... it's movies like this and Daud that helped with that. Just enough to give her the status but not too much that it defined her, as she was sure to do versatile roles at the same time and much more as the years passed. Here the music isn't A.R. Rahman's, but this movie introduced me to a musical artist I came to like just as much, if not more - Sundeep Chowta. In fact, this movie is even more of a musical than Rangeela was! The songs and musical interludes seem to come almost right after each other, and a lot of the songs even are about the plot in a very western musical style.
Also, it marked the early appearance of another RGV Queen - Antara Mali, in an early side role. You can already tell from her acting that she'll be the lead actress one day. Seeing her in a song with Urmila is a huge treat. I'd have loved to see them cast together in an RGV film, like Thelma and Louise!
On a side note, the character Urmila plays in this film - Mallika, celebrates a birthday in the film that's the same date as my own real birthday! I can't help but love this movie and want to give it a perfect 10, but I can't ignore the flaws in the movie like some uninspired and often cheesy dialogue (especially near the end of the movie). It could just be intentional and part of its absurdist humour, but that's much more effective in the first half of the movie. - DirectorChandra Prakash DwivediStarsUrmila MatondkarManoj BajpayeeSanjay SuriIn the days leading up to Partition, a Hindu woman is abducted by a Muslim man. Soon, she finds herself not only forced into marriage, but living in a new country as the borders between India and Pakistan are drawn.[MAIN LEAD ROLE] This is not just one of my favorites, but it's really one of Urmila's best movies, I think most people can agree. It's one of the best made movies she's ever been in and she's the lead role, something still rare in Indian cinema back then. She shows all her range as an actress here. If anyone only saw her as a sexy goddess before this movie, Pinjar shows that she also just as good at everything else too. All the other actors also do a great job and the story is one of the best about Partition ever written (and was written by a woman). In terms of what traditionally is considered "good acting" and "a good acting performance" by the general public, this is Urmila at the top of her game - emotional, realistic acting.
- DirectorSujay DahakeStarsOm BhutkarAnita Date-KelkarChinmay KulkarniA farmland leopard, who is the subject of a research project ventures out in the wild, successfully completing a journey of around one hundred and twenty kilometers from Malshej Ghat to Mumbai.[MAIN LEAD ROLE] Urmila's return to form after too many duds, and this time in her own native Marathi language. This movie showed that Urmila still has the same superpowers as an actress even 10 years after what can be considered the highest point in her career. If she only got more offers for actually good films, she'd be without a doubt considered the best actress in Indian history by most people. But of course, out of the few actually good movies being made in India, even fewer have great roles for women, which is something that's only been changing recently. Urmila was way ahead of her time. And as I write this almost another 10 years later, she still deserves to get scripts this good today! It's just too bad this movie got such a limited release! I think even in India only a handful of people know about it. Made on a budget, almost no promotion, hardly shown anywhere, wasn't even shown on TV until 2018 over there, not on any international streaming services, not even subtitled in English (not even fansubs!), no DVD release, nothing. This could have been award material, maybe, but instead it's become obscure and seen by hardly anyone.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAamir KhanUrmila MatondkarJackie ShroffA middle-class young woman who dreams of Bollywood fame is caught in a love triangle between her childhood friend and a famous actor.[A LEAD ROLE] This movie is like a middle point between all the best kinds of Urmila movies for me. It's like all her more fun films that I love, but also respected as a well made and intelligent film by critics and the general public. It's also one of the most important films in Urmila's career history, as it completely transformed and evolved her as an actress (as far as I know, because I still haven't seen her 3 non-Hindi films with RGV before this).
She had done many conventionally Bollywood films up until this point, as well as other non-Hindi Indian films, but she was mostly still an unknown (yes she worked with Shah Rukh Khan before this, but even he wasn't that popular yet at the time). Since Masoom in her childhood, she never had another hit, and not one with her in the main lead. Then RGV came in from the south, with his highly professional direction style, and saw something in Urmila that no one else did. RGV has the ultimate eye for new talent, but rediscovering Urmila is one of his greatest accomplishments for the Indian film industry. He put her in 3 good movies of his before this one, but this was the first national and even international hit for both her and himself.
This was a huge hit and established Urmila as an iconic Bollywood goddess - beautiful and great actress with the ability to dance like crazy. This was such a hit that it even got an official English release under the title "Bollywood Dreams". But RGV, even putting Urmila aside, actually evolved the Bollywood formula with this movie. He took the conventions of highly produced dance numbers but applied his lens to it, with ideas from outside Bollywood. You won't find the shots you see here in non-RGV Bollywood movies, such as Urmila's sensuous expressions, and how her look works with the background she's shot in, not to mention the amazing use of colours!
Everyone's acting is amazing here, but especially Urmila's with her embodiment of youth and life in every scene, and her character's ambition to become a superstar, and that's saying a lot next to Aamir Khan's iconic "Mumbai tapori" role here. By the way, RGV also reinvented and boosted his career with this movie.
Obviously I like Daud and Mast better when it comes to her more fun movies, but this movie was fresh for its time, no one had seen scenes likes these before. My only complaint is that I found the story a little uninteresting, especially into the 2nd half. The love triangle combined with a man having to deal with his love interest's success is just a dull premise to me, but there's merit in simplicity too. But Urmila, her role in this is to an amazing and irresistible but real girl who is more concerned with achieving fame rather than love, and the dramatic focus in the story is more on how the two men in love with her deal with this. This movie's greatness is in its acting, dancing, direction, screenplay, script, beauty, realism, and MUSIC. One of A.R. Rahman first huge hit soundtracks in Hindi, even before Taal, and Urmila's right on the cover of it. - DirectorSriram RaghavanStarsSaif Ali KhanUrmila MatondkarSeema BiswasA woman falls for a charming and mysterious businessman. The whirlwind romance turns sour when she is framed for his underworld crimes. Now, finally out of prison she is ready for sweet revenge.[MAIN LEAD ROLE] This movie is like an ultimate bullet of feminism right into the dark heart of male machismo and toxic masculinity. Some movie show women beating the crap out of men who may realistically be stronger than them, but here, no one can doubt the realism in how Urmila's character takes out her vengeance and justice on the man who wronged her. Her transformation from simple ordinary woman to a force driven by her innate intelligence and guts brought on by a focus on getting justice, is truly mind blowing. And the way she does it... why use a sledgehammer or a cannon when all you need is a long-winded plan and rats? No dance sequences or singing here, although there is a great theme song in the background. It's obvious by this point that all the work RGV did with Urmila inspired some other great directors and writers to keep her in mind.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsUrmila MatondkarManoj BajpayeeSushant SinghWhile alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...[MAIN LEAD ROLE] Of all the RGV-Urmila movies out there, this is the one I would probably have the easiest time of having to defend as a truly great movie. It's one of my favorite, and probably the very best, RGV-Urmila films ever, and one of the best moves ever made for both of them respectively. There's only one song, and it's a background theme song used mostly in promotions and in the opening and end credits, but it's a GREAT song. So, this movie clocks in at around the same time as most regular, non-musical films do, so it's conventional in that sense. But as a horror film, it's very unconventional and spectacular in its simplicity, especially when I first watched it as a kid. It's more of a psychological horror film. Until I finally saw Alien, this was my most favorite horror film. I don't think the film was such a big hit, but just look at the reviews... in the years since its release, people actually gave it a shot and realized what RGV and Urmila were truly capable of. Very underappreciated, it deserves to be considered an Indian classic. Did it actually scare me? Maybe as a kid. But the premise is definitely scary and disturbing, and actually could be considered realistic.
- DirectorKhalid MohamedStarsShabana AzmiUrmila MatondkarArjun RampalA singer and her two daughters have a tense reunion after years.[MAIN LEAD ROLE] This movie is an Indian musical adaptation/remake of the 1978 Ingmar Bergman movie, "Autumn Sonata" (the film even has a dedication to Bergman in it). The reason why it's so good, for me, is because it's not a total copy of the movie but an Indian adaptation with some changes, plus that source movie is actually a REALLY good movie, a 10/10 movie (unlike a few other Indian remakes Urmila will do later in her career, which are bad remakes based on already weak movies). An Indian version of an Ingmar Bergman classic, cast with one of the world's most beautiful and competent actresses in the lead role, with awesome A.R. Rahman music (some of it even among his most experimental!) and amazing dance sequences added in? That at least qualifies as an 8, I don't understand IMDB audiences low rating on this one, lol (c'mon, at least it should be at 6.5, if not 7).
All the actors do a great job, and it was such a treat to see Urmila, one of the greatest of her generation, paired with Shabana Azmi, one of the greatest of her generation (the Urmila of her time, maybe). Actually, they were reunited here again after they played the same familial relationship in Masoom!
Meherabaan is one of my favorite songs of Urmila's career and she looks amazing in it, over 8 years after Rangeela. But ironically, my most favorite song here is Khoyee Khoyee Aanken, which only features Arjun Rampal, lol. But I have to say, the final song with the lightbulbs is the most spectacular. It helps that the movie is actually about singers and singing.
One thing I want to point out is that Urmila is nearly 30 here now, and she looks more incredible than ever, especially in Meherabaan and one delightful sequence where she's dancing to old songs to entertain her younger sister (played by Dia Mirza).
I think the story and dialogue is a little dumbed down for Indian audiences compared to Autumn Sonata, unfortunately, but the Indian style humour that's added in is really usually funny and makes me laugh. The acting from Urmila in this movie is especially incredible and Dia Mirza actually does a pretty great job as a mentally challenged young woman, as well as her character is written to be (I've actually known a girl like this in real life and she actually does act like this, although she's far more difficult to handle with more random and disturbing outbursts). - DirectorRajat MukherjeeStarsFardeen KhanRavi BaswaniKannu GillA obsessive woman determines to do what it takes to get her lover - at any cost.[MAIN LEAD ROLE] I kind of hated this movie the first time I saw it. I was still too young (13) and hadn't really formed my opinion of Urmila yet. My favorite actresses at this time were Shilpa Shetty and Juhi Chawla, and my least liked were Khajol and Karishma Kapoor (both always screaming too much). The funny thing is, I didn't really know Urmila's name yet. I know I already loved Daud and I liked the actress in it, and I saw and liked her in some other movies, but somehow when I saw PTKK, maybe I didn't make the connection and maybe I thought she was a different actress. But maybe I did know, and I liked Urmila up until this movie, but her work in this made me change my mind at the time (she's pretty scary in this!).
Now, here's why I used to hate the movie - to Urmila's credit, she took a very difficult and "negative" role here. She plays a woman who is basically the opposite of the role she had in Mast - SHE is the obsessed one, but to the extreme. She literally goes crazy with obsessed love, and when it become unrequited, things get dark. Looking back, this movie is more in line with her work in Kaun. She has her own unique style of acting in this kind of role, and it can be unsettling and strange, maybe some might even find it ridiculous, but I think that lends to its realism in my opinion. It goes against her glamorous, beautiful appearance most people are used to. But my greatest respect for her work in this is that her acting is unique and not emulating anyone else, and in that way it is realistic to me.
After a few years, and after seeing more Urmila films, I came back to this and saw how great it really is and how good of a job she really did. She IS this movie. The only thing that doesn't make sense is why anyone would get that obsessive over Fardeen Khan, haha. His acting is really nothing special. But here's another case of Urmila being offered a variety of unconventional female roles and taking them on, regardless of what it might do for her star power or glamorous image, and I have great respect for that. Also, this is yet another Urmila movie with an amazing soundtrack. Whatever I thought of the movie, I LOVED Kambakth Ishq and the other songs. Even today, the title song is one of my favorite songs of all time, and the imagery of Urmila from the song is breathtaking. - DirectorRajkumar SantoshiStarsOm PuriAmrish PuriNaseeruddin Shah10 old exiled army men decide to free a village from an evil bandit[ITEM SONG, CAMEO] Yeah, this is just a cameo appearance as an Item Girl in one song, but what a song!! This dance sequence alone deserves a prominent place on this list! As if Rangeela and other films before this didn't already set her as one of the Bollywood Queen's of the 90s, if not one of the best of all time, then this song really hit it home. It was a massive hit song and one of the best dances and best songs Urmila has ever been in. Shows just how smart she was at that time to take a humble small role as an "item girl" for one song even though she had already been a successful lead actress. She has MUCH LESS screen time in this movie than even compared to Satya, yet in this movie she's the biggest thing on the cover and posters! Urmila and Chamma Chamma are the only thing people remember from this movie, even though the rest of the movie is pretty good too.
The amazing thing is that Urmila said that after she saw how her whole part in the movie turned out, she was disappointed! She actually said it only turned out to be, like, 1% of the effort she put into it! She also said that she's highly critical of her appearance in films. As they say, you are your own worst/harshest critic. No wonder she turns out so great so often, yet always remains humble about it. - DirectorJahnu BaruaStarsAnupam KherUrmila MatondkarParvin DabasAn ordinary man is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer's. His daughter fights to save her father from a descent into dementia, and to tries to understand the strange guilt that haunts him - that he is responsible for Gandhi's death.[A LEAD ROLE] Urmila still looks gorgeous in this movie, but she's clearly not glamourized at all like in most of her movies before this, even compared to her other more serious roles or her negative roles. She's almost in a matriarchal role, like a young woman who's been pushed into becoming a family leader too soon in her life. Sure, this is a movie driven by Anupam Kher in the role of her father, but she's strongly the co-lead here for sure. It's fully a role driven by her acting, there's no song and dance sequences here. At this point, I really have to believe that Urmila has been in the most number of conventionally lengthed Indian films compared to any other Indian actress... she's in so many movies that almost can't even be called "Bollywood" because there's no singing, dancing, and glamour to push them past the 2h mark (ironic since she made her first big mark on the industry in a movie like Rangeela AKA "Bollywood Dreams"). She'd be perfect for international/English films so it's surprising it's never happened.
- DirectorRaj KanwarStarsAnil KapoorSrideviUrmila MatondkarIn order to attain wealth and a luxurious life, a greedy wife sells her husband to a rich woman. However she realizes that with a luxurious life, she has to pay a heavy price for this decision.[A LEAD ROLE] Urmila and Sridevi together in one movie. RGV's head must have exploded! I do actually wonder what his thoughts on this movie are. But he had nothing to do with this movie, as far as I know. Urmila herself must have been starstruck as she also considers Sridevi to be the ultimate actress (she must have grown up in the 80s watching her movies). A lot of people actually take note of how here we have two superstar women of their time sharing the lead female billing and still being friends, it really shows they had great character as real people. Funny contrast to Urmila's Rangeela too - that was 2 men in love with 1 woman, now it's 2 women in love with one man.
This is yet another love triangle film, but it has some interesting twists, ESPECIALLY because of Urmila's character. You start off thinking she's just a ditzy, love-crazy girl, but as things escalate, we find out she's actually a very intelligent, love-crazy woman... and highly ambitious. Her character then comes off negatively and unlikeable. But by the end, her character actually comes out on top and deserves all the respect as all her actions are finally explained. It's quite a character arc for a love-interest side-character, and the more interesting role compared to the bigger leads of the married Anil Kapoor and Sridevi's characters.
The songs are fun but lacking in creativity or listenability, but the dance sequences are fun to watch. It's hard to compare most other Bollywood songs at the time with A.R. Rahman's music from other Urmila movies. I do love "Mujhe Pyar Hua" since it's a fun song and Urmila basically goes wild in it, in front of Anil Kapoor being hilariously like a statue with no reaction to her (but he's wearing shades... obviously he's hiding the fact that his eyes were actually popping out).
Sridevi, another one of my favorite actresses as well, was really funny in this too. It's basically a silly comedy that can get pretty serious with its underlying story. And I said that Urmila comes out on top, but many might argue that Anil Kapoor's character does, as he ends up with the love of two amazing women... or not, lol. - DirectorPankaj ParasharStarsUrmila MatondkarAshmit PatelDimple KapadiaA mystic love story... between two people of different castes... set in the oldest living city on Earth...[MAIN LEAD ROLE] This is a really beautifully shot and unconventional love story, almost entirely driven by Urmila in the lead role. It's not often that when a movie is lead by a pair of characters who are in love that the more prominent role goes to the woman and not the man, especially in Indian cinema, especially the time this movie came out. It's also a movie representative of Urmila's values and beliefs. Even though she's an upper class Hindu Indian, she's against the cast system and against discrimination of people subjugated as "lower caste" in India, just as the legendary Mahatma Gandhi was against it. Doing a movie like this is actually nor a popular move for an Indian actor, especially these days (even more true today), unfortunately. It's not so much about the love story, but about the relationship between Urmila's character and her parents, and their disapproval of her character's love for a lower caste but amazing person. No surprise the rating is low as few have watched this movie and few of those who have probably approve of its message. If a wider audience saw it, perhaps internationally, it might be regarded better.
- DirectorNabh Kumar 'Raju'StarsGovindaUrmila MatondkarDimple KapadiaDevyani is a woman's activist, and a social worker, living in Bombay for several years. She has a younger sister, Radhika, who is of marriage age. Devyani would prefer Radhika be independent, financially and otherwise, rather than be dependent on a male. When Rahul Kumar comes to live in the neighborhood, he is instantly attracted to Radhika, but has to prove himself to her sister first.[A LEAD ROLE] Ok, so here I put her two romantic-comedy films with Govinda next to each other in rank. I like them both almost equally for mostly similar reasons, to the point where I'm not actually decided on which I like better. They're both (thankfully) on the comedic end of Govinda's movies. This movie is less comedic and more dramatic and story-driven, though.
Urmila looks absolutely gorgeous and sexy in the beautifully shot music sequences with relatable mountainous backgrounds. This is more of a love story than Kunwara (I mean, it's pretty much Romeo and Juliet inspired), and it's the little scenes of Urmila showing how in love she is, those are the most memorable bits for me. Also memorable is the very strange background music for the villain of the film, that keeps coming up every time he's around Urmila, because his dark lusts and sexual objectifying of her is enough to make him a bad guy. He seems to only see her for her body.
Which reminds me, I feel I have to mention, both Urmila and the director of this film lean into a not-so-secret secret about Urmila - her curves are amazing, and she knows it. Daud played off of that a bit, as do some of Urmila's other more light hearted films, but here, it's a running gag from the start that her booty is multipurpose and can be very useful, hahaha. After seeing almost all of Urmila's films, it's movies like these where you feel like she's just being herself and having fun, so that's enough reason to appreciate them. It's one of the big reasons why she reminds me of Sophia Loren, if I had to compare her to any other actress. - DirectorDavid DhawanStarsGovindaUrmila MatondkarNagmaRaju meets Urmila in New Zealand. They have a fast romance and things are going well until Raju must make a trip back to India. While he is there, he meets Sharmila, pregnant and jilted by her boyfriend. He agrees to pretend to be her husband for her family, dump her in front of them so they will take her back after they see how unreasonable he is. The masquerade goes smoothly until Urmila appears and thinks she's been jilted. Which leads to conflict between the couple that may last for a lifetime.[A LEAD ROLE] The movie where Urmila gets her own theme song!! Yes, her name is Urmila SINGH in this movie, and there's a song called "Urmila, Urmila". And of course, she repeatedly shows us why anyone would want to write a song about how much they love her. How many other actresses can boast a credit like that (other than Sridevi)? lol. This movie is pretty hilarious, and Urmila herself is pretty hilarious in this too. I'd say this is her funniest role next to her role in Daud. Also, aside from Urmila, there's an especially funny scene with a donkey. Govinda is actually a good comedian, honestly, especially back in the humble 90s and some of the 2000s (after he stopped trying to do his over serious roles). Of all of the more comedic, lesser rated movies with Urmila in them, her Govinda ones are among the best.
- DirectorDeepak AnandStarsRishi KapoorUrmila MatondkarBindu DesaiProfessor Vishwa Mitra, the founder of a group that dissuades marriages, and his follower fall in love with the same girl, Shaku. Durshan persuades Vishwa to take the right decision and marry Bindu.[A LEAD ROLE] Comedic social commentary. This is one of the better and my most favorite movies of Urmila's between Masoom and Rangeela. It's a really funny movie and she plays an important role here, not exactly the "ignorable love interest" role most of her other movies at this time gave her. One of Urmila's early displays of humor which will show up again in later movies. Plus she got to work with Anupam Kher (who she'd work with again later) and Rishi Kapoor, two veterans of the bizz who surely encouraged her to go further. Although, one of the most negative things for me about this movie is how both the lead males and her love interests are both old enough to be her father, as Urmila was just around 19 years old here (both Rishi Kapoor and Anupam Kher were over 40).
I can forgive the vast age difference between Urmila and the leading males just because it's a pure comedy. The whole movie is basically about making fun of male chauvinism and ego. Anupam Kher and Rishi Kapoor play characters that are supposed to be anti-woman and take vows of celibacy, but neither are able to keep their vows and become hypocrites thanks to Urmila. Such a delightful and fun premise can only lead to a lot of laughs, and it does. - DirectorAndaleeb SultanpuriStarsSalman KhanUrmila MatondkarJaspal BhattiTalented singer and dancer, Chandni's life is dominated by three aunts, and a soft-spoken maternal grandmother. She meets with a womanizer named Rahul, and falls in love with him. Rahul treats her just like any of his other girlfriends, and decides to have an affair with her. Rahul unexpectedly meets with his dadaji, who wants him to get married to Chandni. In order to fool him, Rahul asks Chandni to pretend to be his wife, which she does. After Dadaji leaves, will Rahul and Chandni go their separate ways, and will Rahul return to the waiting arms of his many girlfriends?[A LEAD ROLE] A romantic comedy with Salman Khan, back when he was still kind of likeable. In the 90s he was less about the action and muscles (that came out of nowhere, he was so lanky!) and tended to do more comedic roles. I never thought he was such a great actor, but I prefer when he does comedy, like this movie (Andaz Apna Apna as well, a huge Indian comedy classic). But the humor in this doesn't compare to Daud or Kunwara at all. Most of the comedy comes from the comedic side characters, played by Shakti Kapoor and Jaspal Bhatti.
It's more about the love story between the characters played by Salman and Urmila, and how he's a womanizer and unfaithful, but he keeps trying to get back with Urmila's character and prove to her that he really only loves her. She always stands up for herself and tells him to cut the crap, so that's my favorite thing about this in terms of it being a good Urmila film.
The music is fun, and I especially loved the title song even as a kid. One thing I've always noticed is that when Urmila and Salman have to do the same dance moves, she really makes him look bad. He looks like he's lazy and not even trying, meanwhile she's effortlessly doing the moves like a pro. - DirectorHarry BawejaStarsAjay DevgnUrmila MatondkarMahima ChaudhryPoliceman Vishal is shot when his boss bungles a raid on a boat. To avoid the wrath of Vishal's family, his boss hires a lookalike to stop their suspicions. But when the policeman's girlfriend Sapna falls in love with the 'new' Vishal, all sorts of trouble is caused. Watch as events unfold itself and what a negative impact this will have on Vishaul's family.[A LEAD ROLE] Urmila and Mahima Chaudhry! How could I not love that? Urmila does have the bigger role of the two here, though. Again, like with her Govinda films, I find it hard to decide which is better between her two "Deewan" Ajay Devgan films. She did 4 with him altogether in her career, which I think is the hero she's most been in films with. Urmila has much more screen time in this one so I put it above Dewangee. I have mixed feelings about the story in both and the acting of Ajay Devgan in general. Even if he may be the lead actor she's worked with the most, I never cared much for her pairing with him. I think I and most people liked to see her most with Sanjay Dutt or Aamir Khan (her one time being Sunny Deol's love interest in Dillagi was nice too).
In both movies, the music is really great, and the musical sequences or dance numbers are beautifully shot too. Between both movies, this one probably has the best sounding song with "Qayamat", sung by the great Sukhwinder Singh. - DirectorAnees BazmeeStarsAjay DevgnAkshaye KhannaUrmila MatondkarA lawyer tried to defend a person accused of murder who is diagnosed with Split personality disorder.[A LEAD ROLE] Urmila is a romantic interest for Ajay Devgan in the lead for the 4th and final time here, but it's also a love triangle, so she's just as much paired with Akshaye Khanna here. Urmila plays a singer in this movie, but it's really more of a psychological thriller focused on Ajay Devgan and Akshaye Khanna, although Urmila's role as a love interest between the two plays a key role in the story and mystery behind what is wrong with Ajay Devgan's character. But just like with the other "Deewan" movie, there isn't much more for Urmila to do here than be the love interest and also a damsel in distress. But I absolutely love the first song early in the film, "Hai Ishq Katha" and Urmila looks incredible in it. The other songs are pretty good and beautifully shot too.
One thing of significance to me personally - I think by this time, when I was 15, I had fully realized just how attractive I found Urmila, and went back and saw all her older movies differently. When Tehzeeb released the next year I was convinced to be in love. She is absolutely stunning in "Hai Ishq Katha", and you can tell how hard but effortlessly she tried to put that extra oomph into the dance choreography. Even when it isn't RGV's lens on her, even with more generically typical shots, she can still sizzle. - DirectorOnirStarsJuhi ChawlaUrmila MatondkarJimmy ShergillNikhil Kapoor decides to re-locate from Parksville, USA to Bombay; meets with Anamika Joshi and instantly falls in love with her but she does not reciprocate. When he sees her again, she is in the company of a possessive male, Farhad, who does not permit Nikhil to even talk with her. When Nikhil persists, an altercation ensues, weapons are drawn and Rahul, Nikhil's friend, is shot and ends losing the use of his legs, and Nikhil is arrested. After 3 years, Ira Malhotra enters Nikhil's life, hears his story and decides to assist him - not knowing that this move will jeopardize not only her life but also three other lives.[A LEAD ROLE] Urmila and Juhi Chawla! This is an odd one even for Urmila. For all involved actors, actually. It's kind of an "indie" or low budget Hindi film. Most of the actors in this movie have been associated with huge films before and since this movie, but they're also usually associated with budget and indie films. I remember feeling surprised and delighted to see Urmila in this movie. Yeah, it's another love interest role, but it's a little deeper than the usual fair, as there's more thought put into the character's thoughts, feelings, and psychologies. Ultimately it's kind of a boring movie for me, with Urmila's character being usually the most vibrant personality among everyone, but she also ends up getting emotional like the others. Thankfully, great music seems to follow Urmila into most movies, and she looks as incredible as ever.
It's kind of too "metropolitan", maybe. A budget, somewhat artsy movie about affluent, educated people in affluent, educated lives. A lot of English dialogue is sprinkled all over the place, with actors switching between English and Hindi randomly. This display of Urmila's great English skills really makes me think Hollywood really missed out on casting her in anything. This movie probably doesn't connect with the majority of India's audience like her previous films and bigger hits did, though. But it totally further lends to the variety and versatility of Urmila's career. There is probably an Urmila film suited for every kind of person. - DirectorSanjay ChhelStarsSanjay DuttUrmila MatondkarOm PuriCon-man and thief Sanju donates his loot and money to orphanages; his life changes when he crosses path with a notorious gangster, Jogia Seth who ended up owing him huge amount of money. In order to acquire the money to repay him Sanju decides to pose as a member in the Shastri's family only to actually win the love of this family with he himself trap in emotions for the family members.[A LEAD ROLE] Sanjay Dutt is back with Urmila again after their great paring in Daud, but this movie is far inferior compared to Daud in every way. It's a romantic comedy, but it's really not nearly a funny as Daud. It's also a sweet story about a family who let in a criminal who's trying to hide from the law but is also somehow a magical pixie girl... er, boy, I guess. Everything he does is perfect and helps everyone, and whatever he says is right. That leads to my big problem with this movie...
See, Urmila plays a bookworm and introvert at the start of the movie. I don't even think the creators of this movie know what an introvert is, otherwise they'd know it's a normal personality that doesn't need fixing. It's kind of a Pygmalion story, but rather than education and refinement to socialize the girl, the answer is for her to basically do the opposite by putting down her books and doing things for boys to like her better. This is because the major problem in the story for the family is that they're worried Urmila's character will never get married off. It's a pretty old fashioned kind of story.
But other than that, it's a very enjoyable movie and every actor does a great job, of course. The music ranges from boring to nice to fun. - DirectorRaj N. SippyStarsAkshaye KhannaUrmila MatondkarMaya AlaghVijay and his family are humiliated by his fiancee Madhu's father, Sukhiram, who breaks their engagement. Perplexed, Vijay tries to find the reason behind it and is shocked by the revelations.[A LEAD ROLE]
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsSuniel ShettyFardeen KhanUrmila MatondkarA survival tale of two lovers, who tries their best to escape a jungle which is governed by a cold blooded dacoit.[A LEAD ROLE] RGV puts Urmila and Fardeen Khan in an Indian jungle and leaves them to fend for themselves. Ok, not in real life, but that's what the story is about. They have to deal with wild animals and crazy jungle gangs, everything dangerous. I'm not a fan of Fardeen Khan as an actor or as Urmila's love interest, but at least Urmila's movies with him are actually interesting and different.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsJ.D. ChakravarthiManoj BajpayeeUrmila MatondkarAn innocent man is embroiled in underworld after being falsely charged and sets out to punish the perpetrators who subjected his life to misery.[SIDE ROLE] AMAZING MOVIE. Easily better than a lot of the movies higher up on this list. But interesting note - all the movies listed up until this one on this list have Urmila featured prominently on their covers, in case you didn't notice. So that's why, even if I can say this is one of the greatest Indian films ever made, it's not #1 on my favorite Urmila movies list. It's a great movie, but is it a great Urmila movie?
She's pretty much just the love interest here, but she does her very best with the role. Of course, she looks incredible in every scene, especially the musical sequences, but this movie is really about Satya (obviously, lol). The most she gets out of this role is because she's an innocent person who's the girlfriend of a gangster connected to the underworld, and that is not an easy thing to be. This is one of the movies she got nominated for an award for best actress, though...
But I'm glad that Urmila is in one of the best Indian films ever, even if she isn't the biggest reason why. If she had a bigger, more interesting role, I'd give it a 10 and put it higher here. Also, it's interesting to note that this is another RGV film... after Rangeela and other RGV-Urmila films, establishing her as one of India's beauties, he decided to cast her in a much more serious and less glamorous role here, one of her first like this. He's honestly a really great guy and great director. - DirectorShekhar KapurStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiJugal HansrajA happy family goes through turbulent times because of a big mistake by one of the family members.[A LEAD ROLE] I had been a fan of Urmila for some years before I found this movie on an Indian satellite TV channel in the mid 2000s and it blew my mind to learn that my favorite actress actually started off as a child actress. In this way, she's similar to Elizabeth Taylor. As you can see from the IMDB rating, this can be considered one of the greatest and most classic films she's ever been in. It won 5 Filmfare Awards.
But despite being an important part of the movie along with her co-star brother in the movie and fellow child actor Jugal Hansraj, the real credit goes to the ones playing their parents, the great Nasiruddin Shah and great Shabana Azmi, of course (the latter who would reunite with Urmila many years later in Tehzeeb, playing her mother again). Even though Urmila was just around 9 years old and only started acting 3 years earlier in 1980, she was praised for her acting skills in this movie.
It's a great movie with a great and realistic story that most families can relate to, and it was the first hit movie Urmila was ever part of. I guess that mega talent must have rubbed off on her, almost like a student learning the craft under these legends. I was also a fan of Jugal before seeing this movie, so it's wild to see him so young too next to Urmila, but ironically his career didn't get anywhere near as big as Urmila's. Young Urmila is featured in a very memorable and cute children's song here, too.