Madhoo Shah (born Padma Malini; 26 March 1969), also known formerly as Madhubala, is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language films. She was a part of Movies like Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Roja (1992), Allari Priyudu (1992), Yodha (1992), and Gentleman (1993).

Early life and family

Madhoo is a Tamil. Her birth name was Padma Malini but her father changed her name to Madhu Malini when she entered school. She was educated at St. Joseph's High School, Juhu and at University of Mumbai. She is the niece of actress Hema Malini and therefore the cousin of Esha Deol.

Career

Madhoo was signed on by action director Veeru Devgan for his son Ajay Devgan's debut in ''Phool Aur Kaante'' (1991), but her first release was K. Balachander' s ''Azhagan'' (1991), co-starring Mammooty, Bhanupriya and Geetha. She made her Hindi movie debut with another newcomer Ajay Devgn in ''Phool Aur Kaante'' (1991). She made her debut in the Malayalam film ''Ottayal Pattalam'' (1991), opposite Mukesh. The title role in Mani Ratnam's ''Roja'' (1992) made her very popular. She made her comeback in 2008, in the Hindi-language film, ''Kabhi Socha Bhi Na Tha'', and has been appearing in supporting roles in films since then. She has acted in 5 films with her real name Madhu. She made a comeback to the Tamil screen with Balaji Mohan's Tamil-Malayalam bilingual ''Vaayai Moodi Pesavum / Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram'' in 2014. She has been hosting the DD National music television series ''Rangoli'' since August 2019.Besides it, she has worked in television series such as ''Kaveri'', ''Devi'', ''Soundaravalli'' and ''Aarambh: Kahaani Devsena Ki''. She has also appeared as a guest judge at some reality shows.

Personal life

She married Anand Shah on 19 February 1999 whom she met during a photoshoot. They have two daughters Amaya and Keia. Madhoo's husband is the cousin of Jay Mehta, who is married to actress Juhi Chawla.