Sujata Mehta (born 11 March 1959)[1] is an Indian actress of Gujarati origin who has acted in plays and Bollywood films, mostly known for her lead role in Pratighaat (1987) and supporting roles in Yateem (1988) and Gunaah (1993).[2] [3] She also played the lead role in the critically acclaimed and National Award winning Malayalam movie Purushartham (1987).
Sujata was born on 11 March 1959 in Navsari in Shrimali family to Rekha and Prahlad Rai, an Indian independence activist. She is a graduate in Psychology.
Her uncle Hasu Mehta and aunt Devyani Mehta were theatre actors in Bombay (now Mumbai). Under their influence, she was attracted to the theatre. She started her career as a child actor at the age of 13 as a lead actress in a role of blind girl in English play Wait Until Dark. She acted in children's play and Hindi video film Siyahi produced by INT.
She learned from her experience and became a leading actress despite not having any formal training in the theatre.[4] She played a young lady with cancer in Kanti Madia's play Ame Barafna Pankhi. She had a leading role in Paralysis opposite Upendra Trivedi. She acted in several TV plays broadcast by Doordarshan. She also acted in Pravin Joshi's Thank You Mister Glad. Her acclaimed performance as a woman suffering from mental illness in the Gujarati play Chitkar had over 600 shows across the world.
Her first big break came with N. Chandra's social film Pratighaat (1987) with Nana Patekar where she played a college teacher who is humiliated in public by gangsters. The role was originally played by Vijayashanti in the Telugu film Pratighatna (1986). Sujata was appreciated for her stellar performance in the film.
In Yateem (1988), directed by J. P. Dutta, she played the role of step-mother who tries to seduce her step-son (Sunny Deol). Her performance won her accolades and critical acclaim and a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination. She played the role of a lawyer in Kanwarlal (1988) and was seen in a prominent role in Mahesh Bhatt’s Gunaah opposite Sunny Deol. She did not confine herself to a certain image and played a wide variety of roles in movies like Gunahon Ka Devta (1990), Gunehgar Kaun (1991), Pratigyabadh (1991), Tyaagi (1992), Aaj ki Aurat (1993), Dhartiputra (1993), Hulchul (1995), Judge Mujrim (1997), Meri Mohabbat Mera Nasiba (1995) and Jung (1996).
Mehta played the role of a proud daughter-in-law in the dynastic drama Khandaan (1985) and the emotional role of Raj Lakshmi in Shrikant (1987); both broadcast on Doordarshan. She play a college girl in Yes Sir (1987). She played Draupadi in Shyam Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj (1988). She has also acted Andaz (1995) and played Gunsundari in Saraswatichandra (2013). She was a part of several Indian TV soap operas, playing the roles of a mother in Ye Meri Life Hai (2004) and Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa (2006). She had also modeled in many commercials.
| Year | Title | Language | Role | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Pratighaat | Hindi | |||
| 1987 | Rajlakshmi | Hindi | Rajlakshmi | ||
| 1988 | Yateem | Hindi | |||
| 1988 | Kanwarlal | Hindi | |||
| 1990 | Gunahon Ka Devta | Hindi | |||
| 1991 | Gunehgar Kaun | Hindi | |||
| 1991 | Pratigyabadh | Hindi | |||
| 1992 | Tyagi | Hindi | |||
| 1992 | Rishta To Ho Aisa | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Sadhna | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Anmol | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Aaj Kie Aurat | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Gunaah | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Dhartiputra | Hindi | |||
| 1993 | Krishan Avtaar | Hindi | |||
| 1994 | Udhaar Ki Zindagi | Hindi | |||
| 1994 | Maha Shaktishaali | Hindi | |||
| 1995 | Hum Sab Chor Hain | Hindi | |||
| 1995 | Hulchul | Hindi | |||
| 1995 | Meri Mohabbat Mera Naseeba | Hindi | |||
| 1996 | Jung | Hindi | Sita | ||
| 1997 | Judge Mujrim | Hindi | |||
| 2000 | Aaj Ka Nanha Farishta | Hindi | |||
| 2018 | Dhaad | Gujarati, Hindi | |||
| 2018 | Chitkar | Gujarati | |||
| 2019 | Dhara 370 | Hindi |
| Year | Serial | Role | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Khandaan | DD National | ||
| 1987 | Shrikant | Raj Lakshmi | DD National | |
| 1988 | Yes Sir | DD National | ||
| 1988 | Bharat Ek Khoj | Draupadi | DD National | |
| 1995 | Andaz | |||
| 2004 | Ye Meri Life Hai | Ronit's mother | Sony TV | |
| 2006 | Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa | STAR One | ||
| 2013 | Saraswatichandra | Gunsundari |