Lillete Dubey (born 7 September 1953) is an Indian actress and theatre director. She has worked in Indian and international theatre, television and films in Hindi and English languages. Dubey began her career with Barry John in Delhi and was the founding member of his group – Theatre Action Group in 1973. In 1991 she set up her own theatre company – The Primetime Theatre Company.
Dubey is best known for her film performances Zubeidaa, Monsoon Wedding (Winner Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival), Chalte Chalte, Baghban, Kal Ho Naa Ho, My Brother…Nikhil, Delhi in a Day, Bow Barracks Forever (Best Actress Filma Madrid International Film Festival), 3 Days to Go (Best Actress Simon Sabela Awards, KZN South Africa), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (BAFTA- Best Ensemble Cast) and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Sonata.
In theatre, she is known for her work like, '30 Days in September', 'Adhe Adhure' (Best Actress Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards), 'August - Osage County', Dance Like a Man, 'Where did I Leave my Purdah', and 'Salaam Noni Appa' amongst others.
Early life Dubey was born Lillete Keswani on 7 September 1953 in Pune to Sindhi Hindu parents.All the World is a Stage Her father, Gobind Keswani, was an engineer with the Indian Railways, and her mother, Lila Keswani, was a gynaecologist from Lady Hardinge Medical College who later worked with the Indian Army. After Dubey's birth the family moved to Bikaner and later to Lucknow where she studied at Loreto Convent and then went to Rustom Boarding school in Pune. After Rustoms, she came to Delhi and studied at Carmel Convent. When she was in Class IX, the family moved back to Pune and she joined St. Mary's (Pune), where she first started acting. She completed her M.A in English from LSR and her second master's degree in mass communications from IIMC.
Personal life Lillete Dubey married Ravi Dubey in 1978. Ravi Dubey died of pancreatic cancer in 2015. The couple have two daughters, Neha Dubey and Ira Dubey, both of whom have played a variety of small and supporting roles in theatre, film and television.
Lillete is the eldest of three siblings. She has a sister, Lushin, and a brother, Patanjali. He is the founder of the Lemon Tree hotel group. Lushin is married to Pradeep Dubey, a noted academic.
Career
Films Lillete Dubey's entry into films was quite by chance when her husband was posted to Mumbai in 1995, and she has often called herself an 'accidental film actress’. She debuted with the film Love You Hamesha starring Akshaye Khanna and Sonali Bendre in 1999. The movie was directed by Kailash Surendranath. After that, she played a supporting character in Bawandar, directed by Jag Mundhra and starring Nandita Das, in 2000. It was based on the story of a rape victim, Bhanwari Devi, from Rajasthan. Her career breakthrough was in 2001 when she essayed the role of Aunty Rose in Shyam Benegal's classic Zubeida and won many hearts and next as Shabana, the mother of the female protagonist Sakeena (played by Amisha Patel) in the movie Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. Her second hit, Monsoon Wedding, came out later in the same year and became yet another milestone in her film career. Divya Unny from Open (Indian magazine) said,
She acted in her first film Zubeidaa (2001) at the age of 47 which would have been considered a late start for an actor. Even as an independent actor, Dubey created a niche. She has defied expectations many times on screen. She was the only actress her age who could carry off smoking a cigarette in a shiny blouse and petticoat, with rollers in her hair, in Monsoon Wedding (2001)."
The following year, in 2002, she again portrayed the role of one of the lead characters’ mother in the movie Om Jai Jagadish, directed by Anupam Kher. Her on-screen daughter was Urmila Matondkar. She played the role of ‘Shanti Patel’, the wife of Paresh Rawal in Baghban (2003).
She played the role of Jaswinder "Jazz" Kapoor in Kal Ho Naa Ho, in 2003. She played Jazz, an older female character that is fierce, unapologetic, and in touch with her sexuality. In 2004 she played the role of Preity Zinta's reel mother in the movie Lakshya. The film was directed by Farhan Akhtar and starred Hrithik Roshan as the male lead. In the same year, she also worked in Anjan Dutt's Bow Barracks Forever, a film that revolved around the troubles faced by the Anglo-Indian people to keep up their lifestyle, in the post-independence era and which won her the Best Actress award at the Madrid International Film Festival.
Lillete worked on a long short film ‘Seasons Greetings’ with Celina Jaitley. Her short film works include Sonata & Purana Pyaar. Her other work includes Qubool hai 2 at Zee5 premium where she plays Nilofer, alongside Karan Singh Grover and Surbhi Jyoti.
Theatre
Dubey has an acting career of over 40 years, and has played the lead in over 60 productions ranging from Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Brecht, Musical Comedies, Farce, Contemporary Drama, Absurd Theatre, to Contemporary Drama, including Ibsen, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Pinter, Dario Fo, Edward Albee, and Indian playwrights like Vijay Tendulkar, Partap Sharma, Mahesh Dattani, Girish Karnad, Mahesh Elkunchwar. Dubey is also a founder member of the prestigious Delhi based Theatre Action Group.
In 1991, Dubey co-founded The Primetime Theatre Co., with the intention of promoting original Indian writing, and has directed 33 productions for the company so far.
The Prime Time Theatre Company's productions, directed by Ms Dubey, have traveled widely across India and abroad, with shows at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London, at the Tribecca in New York, at the Portland International Performance Festival in the U.S, as well as in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Washington DC, Stamford, Raleigh (North Carolina), Los Angeles, Boston and New York in the U.S.
One of Dubey's most notable productions - Dance Like a Man by Mahesh Dattani, is the longest running Indian play in English, having completed over 650 shows across the world, including a two-week off-Broadway run.
YearName of PlayRole1991Blithe SpiritLead actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1991Romantic ComedyLead actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1992Prisoner of Malabar HillLead Actor, Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1992On The RazzleLead actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1993All About EveLead Actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1993Don't Drink The WaterLead Actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1993Plaza SuiteLead Actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1994Lost in YonkersDirected and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1994Me and My GirlLead Actor, Directed and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1994Post MortemDirected and Produced by Lillete Dubey and Sita Raina1995Dance Like a ManLead Actor, Director and Producer1996AutobiographyLead Actor and Director 1998Jaya The Victory (an operatic montage of the Mahabharata)Director and Producer1998On a Muggy Night in MumbaiLead Actor, Director and Producer2000Siren CityLead Actor, Director and Producer2000Breathe in Breathe outLead Actor, Director and Producer2000Zen KathaDirector and Producer200130 Days in SeptemberLead Actor, Director and Producer2003Womanly voicesDirector2005SammyDirector and Producer2007KanyadaanLead Actor, Director and Producer2008Wedding AlbumDirector and Producer2009Brief CandleDirector and Producer2010Love on The BrinkDirector and Producer2011Adhe AdhureLead Actor, Director and Producer2011August - Osage CountyLead Actor and Director2012Where did I leave my PurdahLead Actor and Director20139 Parts of DesireDirector and Producer2014Boiled Beans on ToastDirector and Producer2015GauharDirector and Producer2016The Dancing DonkeyDirector and Producer2017Salaam Noni AppaLead Actor, Director and Producer2019Devika RaniDirector and Producer
Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released
Films Year Title Role Notes1999 Love You Hamesha Feature film2000 Bawandar Anita Feature film2001 Zubeidaa Rose Davenport Feature film2001 Gadar: Ek Prem Katha Shabana Feature film2001 Monsoon Wedding Pimmi Verma Feature film2002 Om Jai Jagadish Neetu's mom Feature film2003 Pinjar Tara- Puro's mother Feature film2003 Johnny Johnny's step mom Telugu Feature film2003 Chalte Chalte Anna Mausi (Priya's aunt) Feature film2003 Baghban Shanti Patel Feature film2003 Kal Ho Naa Ho Jaswinder "Jazz" Kapoor Feature film2004 Lakshya Mrs. Dutta, Romila's mother Feature film2004 Vanity Fair Ms. Green credited as Lillette Dubey / Feature film2004 Morning Raga Mrs. Kapoor Feature film2004 Sau Jhooth Ek Sach Moushami Pradhan Feature film2004 Bow Barracks Forever Emily Lobo Feature film2005 My Brother…Nikhil Anita Rosario Kapoor Feature film2005 Main Aisa Hi Hoon Ritu Feature film2005 Dosti: Friends Forever Kiran Thapar Feature film2006 Fanaa Helen (Zooni's Instructor) Feature film2006 Corporate Devyani Bakshi Feature film2006 Aap Ki Khatir Betty A. Khanna Feature film2007 My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves Bharucha (Movie Director) Feature film2007 Har Pal Gallery Owner Feature film2008 Saas Bahu Aur Sensex Anita B. Jethmalani Feature film2009 Phoonk Dr. Seema Walke Feature film2009 Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors Santosh 'Toshi' Feature film2010 Bollywood Beats Jyoti Feature film2010 Pankh Mary D'Cunha Feature film2010 Housefull Zulekha Bano Feature film2010 Break Ke Baad Pammi J. Gulati Feature film2011 Always Kabhi Kabhi Ms Das Feature film2011 Na Jaane Kabse Monica Feature film2012 Delhi in a Day Kalpana Feature film2012 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Mrs. Kapoor British Feature film2012 Shobhna's Seven Nights Malishka Feature film2012 I M 24 Don's wife Feature film2012 Heroine Mrs. Arora Feature film2013 Chashme Baddoor Ms Josephine Feature film2013 Dabba (The Lunchbox) Ila's mother Feature film2014 One by Two Kalpana Patel Feature film2014 Dr. Cabbie Nellie Canadian Feature film2015 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Mrs. Kapoor British Feature film2015 A Million Rivers Roop Feature film2016 Mahayoddha Rama Kaikeyi (voice) Animated film2017 Aksar 2 Dolly KhambattaFeature film2017 Sonata SubhadraFeature film2019 3 Days to Go Matriarch Lakshmi Isaac South African Feature film in English2019Jhootha Kahin KaRuchi MehtaFeature film2022 Tadka Samantha Mascarenhas Feature film, released on ZEE52023BlindMaria Aunty2023Yaariyan 2Mrs. ChibberHindi 2025Songs of ParadiseKhalaHindi2026Ginny Wedss Sunny 2Hindi TBATryst with destinyMrs. AshwaHindi / English TBAMy cousin's weddingKhalaUS Feature film in English
Television