Acting was the last thing on Raveena Tandon's mind as the roly poly daughter of filmmaker Ravi and his wife Veena Tandon. Interestingly, her name is an amalgamation of her parents' name.

Though her father was an illustrious filmmaker and dished hits like Khuddar, Majboor, Khel Khel Mein, Raveena showed no inclination to join tinsel town.

Instead she joined ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar's advertising agency, Genesis, and worked in the production department as a means of earning extra pocket money. Later she got into modeling and appeared in Emami cream and Breeze soap commercials.

Gradually, Raveena was noticed by the filmfolk and bagged her debut film-Patthar Ke Phool under G P Sippy's banner. Though Raveena wasn't skeptical about joining films, her friends were most excited about the fact that her co-star would be Salman Khan, riding the high horse after Maine Pyar Kiya.

POLL Raveena Tandon's best dance sequence is: 1-Shaher ki ladki 2-Tu cheez badi hai mast 3-Yeh raat3

Though Patthar Ke Phool was no success, Raveena was noticed and appreciated. Her screen presence couldn't be denied. Unfortunately for the actress, the disappointment of PKP was followed by series of flops like Jeena Marna Tera Sang, Ek Hi Raasta, Divya Shakti, Kshatriya, Parampara and Pehla Nasha and she earned the label of jinx. Also, Raveena was more in news for her off screen squabbles with co-stars Karisma Kapoor and Ajay Devgan.

The jinx was subsequently shed off after the platinum jubilee hit-Dilwale. Then came Rajiv Rai's Mohra and Raveena's saucy Mast mast act. Overnight, Raveena was catapulted to the top league of actresses. Mohra also marked the beginning of a chapter called Akshay Kumar in her life. After a broken relationship with actor Kamal Sadanah, Raveena found her anchor in Kumar. Apparently, the duo were contemplating to tie the knot and so Raveena began cutting down her film assignments. Unfortunately, things didn't work out.

The Scorpion determination was at forefront and Tandon resurfaced with a special appearance in a song-Shaher ki ladki (Rakshak) and stereotypical roles in male dominated action flicks like Ziddi and Vinashak. Her glamorous avatar in these item songs received sound response.Besides this, her hit pairing with Govinda in masala flicks like Dulhe Raja and Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan proved beneficial.

Not just happy hip shaking, Raveena's career took an artistic turn with meaningful films like Partho Ghosh's Ghulam-E-Mustafa and E Niwas's Shool. Though she wasn't the central protagonist in either of these films, they provided her a platform to showcase her sincere talent.

Female-oriented subject like Kalpana Lajmi's Daman soon followed, which won her the much coveted National Award for Best Actress, albeit with plenty of controversy. It was insinuated that Raveena lobbied for the award and that having her maternal uncle, Mac Mohan as one of the jury members helped.

The controversy was forgotten when Raveena in short hair and sensuous guise lured the viewers in Rakesh Mehra's Aks. Her brazenness in Aks proved that she could be both a steaming seductress or an avenging angel.

Presently, Raveena has lot on her platter with meaty roles in Madhur Bhandarkar's Satta, Mahesh Manjrekar's Pran Jaaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye, Khalid Mohamad's Tareekh and J P Dutta's LoC. Also, her newly formed production company, Reel Life Entertainment Private Limite is on the go with two films on the floor -- Pehchan and Stumped.

From the gawky unsure teenager to an independent working woman, Raveena Tandon has come a long way indeed.

She is our star of the week.

Also Read:
Last week's star: Suniel Shetty