Govinda

Govinda ( born Govind Arun Ahuja, on December 21, 1964)[1] is a Filmfare award-winning Indian actor and politician currently serving as the 5th Member of Parliament for the Mumbai North Constituency of Maharashtra, India. He has appeared in over 120 Hindi language films, also known as Bollywood. As a young man, his acting and dancing skills gained him widespread attention among film viewers. He later gained worldwide fame as a Bollywood icon through comedy films such as Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen, Coolie No.1, Haseena Maan Jaayegi and Partner.

Govinda was nicknamed and referred to as "Chi Chi" (Punjabi: Little Finger) by his family, close associates and occasionally by the media.

He is a member of the Indian National Congress Party and was elected in June 2004 in the 14th Lok Sabha elections defeating Ram Naik of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In June 1999, Govinda was voted as the 10th greatest star of stage or screen of the last thousand years by BBC News Online users.



His mother, Nirmala Devi, was a classical vocalist,dancer and actress who hailed from Banaras. His father, Arun Kumar Ahuja, an actor in the 1940s, was a Sindhi settled in Maharashtra. Arun was notable for acting in Mehboob Khan's Aurat (1940). Arun and Nirmala first met during the making of the film Savera, in which they were cast opposite each other. They married in 1941.

The only film Ahuja ever produced was a flop. Unable to bear the loss, his health failed. The family, living in a bungalow on Mumbai's upmarket Carter Road, was forced to move to Virar -- a far- flung semi-rural Mumbai suburb, where Govinda was born. The youngest of six children -- his pet name Chi Chi means little finger in Punjabi, the language they speak at home. Since his father was unable to work, Nirmala Devi brought up the children through hard time in Mumbai.



In 2004, Govinda joined the Congress party, and was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament from Mumbai with a thumping majority of beating the 5 time sitting MP by over 50000 votes. It is believed that the large and influential Gujarati Muslim community had a big role to play in canvassing support for him. Mumbai North is one of the most communally sensitive areas in Mumbai.