She has carved a niche for herself thanks to constant reinvention and her willingness to mould herself into different characters.

The actress, who has been part of the industry for around two decades, began her career as a child actor in Shyam Benegal's Kalyug, followed by Shekhar Kapur's Masoom. She also featured in the television series Titliyaan.

She then disappeared into oblivion, and then surfaced as female lead of N Chandra's Narsimha. It failed to do anything for the actress. Her consecutive releases Aa Gale Lag Ja, Shreeman Aashique didn't help either.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma came to her rescue and signed her for the grim drama Drohi. It wasn't a successful film, but Varma decided to cast her in a central role in Rangeela.

Rangeela turned out to be a milestone in Matondkar's career. Armed with a new look, an all-new chic wardrobe and a fabulously toned body, Urmila had arrived!

Her dress sense and performance seemed to get better with every film as she stood her own against seasoned actresses like Sridevi in Judaai. She played plain Jane in Khoobsurat and Satya, maniac in Kaun and obsessive lunatic in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya to chilling effect.

Urmila is also a pro at song and dance numbers. Prominent among her popular numbers are Chamma chamma and Aaiye in China Gate and Lajja. Interestingly, her special appearance in these two dance numbers became the film's largest USP.

Her forthcoming films Deewangee, Pinjar and Bhoot promise to show new facets of the actress.

Presenting Urmila Matondkar, Star of the Week on rediff.com!

Design: Uday Kuckian