Ageless beauty, Raveena Tandon, is one of the finest actresses of Bollywood. The gorgeous diva ruled the industry in the 90s with her terrific acting prowess.
Bollywood actress, Raveena Tandon truly ruled the industry in the 90s era. She never fails to impress people with her endearing personality and dancing prowess all the time. Even though the actress has a huge fan base, there are still many facts about her that are unknown to many. Being one of the most celebrated actors of her time, she had carved a niche for herself in the industry and had always opted for intriguing and strong roles.
Raveena Tandon is a diva who definitely knows how to rock all her looks with perfection. Be it a sultry yellow chiffon saree, a stylish denim jacket or a simple cotton saree with a messy bun, leave it to Raveena and see how she aces the look with panache. Needless to say, all of us have once in our lifetime grooved on Raveena's hit songs including Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast, Akhiyon Se Goli Maare or Tip Tip Barsa Pani and many more. Apart from her career graph, Raveena had hit the headlines for her personal life as well. Here are some of the most interesting and lesser-known facts about her.
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An interesting fact about Raveena Tandon is that her name is an amalgamation of her father, Ravi Tandon and her mother, Veena Tandon’s names. However, she is fondly known as 'Munmun’, a name given to her by her maternal uncle-actor, Mac Mohan.
Raveena Tandon had completed her schooling at Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai and had later joined Mithibai College for Higher Education. However, the actress had dropped out in the third year of college to follow her passion for acting. Interestingly, Raveena and actor, Ajay Devgn had studied in the same school and later, they had gone to the same college for higher studies. However, Raveena was left hurt as Ajay had failed to recognise her after joining the industry.
Bollywood actor, Salman Khan is known to launch a lot of new-age heroines in the industry. Raveena had also made her Bollywood debut in 1991 with the film, Pathar Ke Phool, starring Salman Khan. The movie was a major hit and this had marked a permanent spot for Raveena in the director’s handbook back then.
Raveena had made up her mind to become an actress at the mere age of 15. However, despite being a star kid, she wasn't launched by her filmmaker-father, Ravi Tandon. Recalling how her father had moved back gracefully when the time had come to launch her, Raveena had shared:
“Both Dad and I were very clear on this. I’ll make it on my own. My first film Patthar Ke Phool came my way independently…no family recommendation, no sifarish. In fact my Dad worked with half the film industry but not with me.”
Raveena is known for her smart and elegant personality which makes her fans absolutely adore her. However, not many people are aware that the actress had worked tirelessly to achieve success in the Bollywood industry. It is worth noting that during her busiest phase in the 1990s, Raveena had managed to shoot for 4 to 5 films simultaneously. However, later, the actress had decided to cut herself some slack by reducing her workload.
Raveena had once opened up about her rigorous work schedule during her initial phase and had shared:
“I was so busy that I was in and out of studios all day long. There was no time for anything else. No time for any of the things that girls my age do normally. I was in and out of studios sometimes shooting for 10-12 hours.”
Raveena Tandon had become an overnight sensation with the 1994 film, Mohra, starring Akshay Kumar. And then, there was no looking back for the talented actress. The song, Tu cheez badi hai mast-mast, from this movie, had become a massive hit, and since then Raveena’s fans have given her the title of the 'Mast Mast Girl.' The song is still fresh in our minds and we can never stop vibing to this iconic song. Even the Gen-Z know the lyrics of this song by heart, let alone the millennials.
In the early 2000s, Raveena Tandon was a style icon and the gorgeousness had made heads turn wherever she went. From crop tops in Akhiyon Se Goli Maare, to denim jackets in Andaz Apna Apna, Raveena inspired every girl's go-to outfits. Raveena had set the screen ablaze with her sensuous and elegant look in a yellow chiffon saree in the song, Tip tip Barsa Pani. However, it was not just her fashion in movies, but every time the lady stepped out, she would win everyone’s heart with her sartorial picks.
Back in those days, there were rumours about Raveena Tandon’s linkups with some of the prominent names in the industry, including, Kamal Sadanah, Akshay Kumar, Farhan Furniturewala and Madhur Bhandarkar. Later, the actress had discovered her love in an already married man, Anil Thandani, and had begun a relationship with him in 2004. She had dated him throughout the shooting of her movie, Stumped.
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The duo had met for meetings and had kept their relationship mostly professional. Married to the daughter of Romu Sippy, Anil was going through a rough patch in his life and Raveena too was heartbroken. The sangam was perfect and the duo had started dating each other. It was in 2003, on the eve of Raveena’s birthday, that Anil had proposed to Raveena and she had said ‘yes’! Following Anil's dreamy proposal, the duo had a low profile engagement in November 2003.
Like most of the girls, Raveena had wished for a grand wedding. On February 22, 2004, the stage was all set for Raveena and Anil’s marriage at Udaipur Palace. The Maatr actress had made her wedding grand to every possible extent. She had entered her mandap, sitting in a 100-year old doli that had once carried the Queen of Mewar. She had looked beautiful in her wedding attire, which was her mother’s but was redesigned by Delhi based-designer, Manav Gangwani, which had dazzling gold thread embroidery and exquisite stones.
Raveena Tandon is happily married to film distributor and businessman, Anil Thadani. Being a mother to four youngsters, Raveena has three daughters and a son. The actress had adopted an 11-year-old and an 8-year-old daughter, Pooja, and Chhaya respectively, as a single mother. Then she had welcomed two kids from her marriage with her husband, Anil Thadani, a daughter, Rasha Thadani, and a son, Ranbirvardhan Thadani. For those of you who don’t know this, the ageless beauty, Raveena Tandon is a grandmother as well. A few years ago, her first daughter, Chhaya had given birth to a baby boy and promoted her mother, Raveena Tandon to a grandmother.
Raveena Tandon had challenged the societal norms as she had adopted two children in 2004. Being way ahead of time the then- 21-year-old actress had broken the social stigmas around single parenthood. During that time, Raveena had been under media scrutiny and had become the centre of controversies. While there were various headlines predicting that adopting at this early time would spell doom on her flourishing career, Raveena had paid no heed to them. Instead, the actress had proved all of them wrong and had raised her children like a queen.
Talking about the adoption, the actress had once shared that both her daughters are distant cousins who needed a family. Sharing the details, she had said:
“They are a distant cousin’s children. Due to certain circumstances in their family, they needed someone to love and take care of them. Both have been a part of my life ever since. I have never hidden anything from them.”
Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon had dated for quite a while before parting ways. After working together in the film, Mohra, the two had become close and had later collaborated in many other films as well. The duo’s on-screen and off-screen chemistry was loved by fans. The actress had started dating Akshay Kumar in 1994, and had later got engaged to him. However, the relationship didn't last long and they went on their separate paths after that.
Raveena Tandon had once shared her brief love story with actor, Akshay Kumar and had said:
“We started off as friends. We got to know each other only when we went together for a few shows in America and Canada. I think loyalty meant a lot to me, but I did not mean so much to him. He expected me to forgive and take him back every time. I did that for three years until it was the last round.”
In 2002, Raveena Tandon had appeared in the popular chat show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, and had made a secret revelation of her life. When the host, Simi Garewal had asked her why she had left films for two years and enquired if it was in hope of getting married, Raveena had said:
“It was a voluntary decision. I was engaged to somebody I knew. This is what I wanted, to lead a very normal life. I quit in advance before marriage because we did think that when there will be last day of my shoot, we will go ahead and get married. Once I re-started my career, he again said that leave it and we will go ahead with the wedding. But, then I told him that once I chose you over my career, but now I will choose my career over you."
Raveena was also asked if they had married secretly. To this, she had replied:
“No, there was a very elaborate engagement ceremony. With the pandit doing pooja and everything. His family had flown down from Delhi, my family came from Delhi. One of his elders had put a red dupatta on my head, and I think that was mistaken to be a wedding.”
Well, not just Raveena, but actress, Shilpa Shetty Kundra also had a brief affair with Akshay Kumar. At that time, there were reports that Akshay was also dating Shilpa Shetty alongwith Raveena. And reportedly, that had become the reason for Raveena’s breakup with Akshay as she was fed up with Akshay’s flings and affairs.
Later, at a reality show, Super Dancer Chapter 2, both Shilpa and Raveena had taken a fun dig at their past. As reported by Mumbai Mirror, Raveena and Shilpa were giggling over their ‘common mistake’. A source had informed the tabloid:
“When Raveena mentioned that she has made a lot of mistakes in life, Shilpa winked, ‘Some of the mistakes were common,’ sending them into peals of laughter. At another point, everyone was discussing Golmaal when Raveena clapped back, ‘Everyone does golmaal in life, Shilpa and I have done it too. You know what I mean, right?”
Raveena Tandon will be next seen in the most-awaited Kannada movie, K.G.F: Chapter 2.
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