Govinda

Govinda was born on 21 December 1963 to former actor Aroon (alias Arun Kumar Ahuja) and singer-actress Nirmala Devi. He belongs to an ethnically mixed family, as his grandfather was Punjabi while his grandmother was Sindhi. Govinda's father (Aroon Ahuja) hailed from Gujranwala, Punjab which is now in Punjab, Pakistan, Govinda's mother hailed from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. His father came to Mumbai to become an actor in the late 1930s. He is best known for appearing in Mehboob Khan's Aurat (1940). Aroon's professional career as an actor lasted for 15 years, from 1939 to 1954. In these years, he worked as a hero in 30 films. He produced one unsuccessful film which caused financial loss. The family, living in a bungalow on Mumbai's Carter Road, moved to Virar, a northern Mumbai suburb, where Govinda was born. The youngest of 6 children, he was given the pet name "Chi Chi," meaning "little finger" in Punjabi. In 2004, Govinda joined Indian National Congress and was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) from Mumbai by 50,000 votes over the five-term incumbent. During the elections, he said his agenda would be prawaas (transportation), swasthya (health) and gyaan (education). In the field of transportation, he claimed 80% credit for the quadrupling of the Borivali-Virar section of the Western Railway zone. According to official sources, he made some efforts in the fields of health and education. The Thane district collector said in an interview that Govinda had committed money from his "local area development fund" (allocated to each MP by the government) to construct anganwadis and solve drinking-water problems in Vasai and Virar but administrative approval was delayed. Govinda has worked with music directors Anand Milind and Anand Raj Anand and playback singer Udit Narayan. Narayan has sung more than 100 songs for Govinda in more than 50 films, the greatest number of films and songs he has sung for a particular actor. Other singers associated with Govinda include Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Kumar Sanu, Vinod Rathod, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Devang Patel and Sonu Nigam. Also, his elder brother Kirti Kumar has sung 2 songs for him. In the film Farz Ki Jung (1989) there was a popular song "Phool Ka Shabab Kya, Husn Mahatab Kya..." which was sung by Late Mohammed Rafi picturized on Govinda. His first album, Govinda, was released in 1998. In November 2013, Govinda released his second album, Gori Tere Naina, with actress Pooja Bose. Govinda also wrote lyrics. He is lyricist of "I Love You Bol Daal" song in Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999).