Jeet (actor)

Jeet (Bengali: জিৎ) (born Jeetendra Madnani on 30 November 1978) is an actor from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Although of Sindhi descent, he is a leading actor and the big superstar in the Bengali film industry.^[1][2] Jeet received his first BFJA - Most Promising Actor Award for his performance in Saathi (2002) which was a commercial success.

Early life

He studied first at St. Joseph & Mary's School, New Alipore later in National High School, Hazra Road and graduated from the Bhawanipur Education Society College of the University of Calcutta. Soon after he joined the family business. He always had an interest for creative art and enjoyed watching dramas and movies. Sometimes he would try the styles and mannerisms of leading stars on himself. His friend Rajesh choudhury (Burdwan) insisted him to try his luck in the creative world.

He started with modelling assignments and then shifted to serials like Bishabriksha in 1994-95 directed by Bishnu Palchowdhury in which he played Taracharan, Janani by Bishnu Palchowdhury in which he played Anil and Daughters Of The Century by Tapan Sinha in which he was cast in the roles of Champiya and Kadambini. In order to pursue a career in acting, Jeet left for Mumbai. He stayed there for five years without getting the breakthrough that he was looking for.

In a vacation back in Kolkata, he started meeting directors and producers. In the meanwhile, to pursue his acting, he became associated with an organization called the Prosenium Art Centre. It was at this time that he acted in two English dramas - 'Arms And The Man' and 'Man At The Floor'. Thereafter he left for Mumbai again. He started giving regular auditions over there. In this process he came to meet a producer from South India who cast him in the Telegu film Chandu, which was released in 2001. However, the film did not manage to garner him the kind of plaudits he needed to increase his acting cache in a dramatic manner.

In October 2001 when he was back to Kolkata once again he suddenly he received a call from Haranath Chakraborty to come up and meet him at NT1 Studio. The shooting of Saathi commenced from 15 January 2002 and with that film Jeet made a big splash on Bengali screen. The film created box office records. The youth of Bengal went crazy with the new avatar of a Bengali hero. Jeet's simple yet powerful acting appealed across masses. Though initially he mainly played romantic characters, he soon expanded his acting skills and successfully transformed into an action hero. In 2005, a special Durja Puja campaign of Thums Up launched Jeet as their brand ambassador in West Bengal. The ad was enormously popular in regional channels and remains one of the most loved Bengali ads till date. However, Jeet was not a newbee to ads. A relatively small budget ad of a regional brand of men's innerwear had jeet in the lead. That was back in the mid-nineties. The ad showed him in a not-so-prevalent-then sexy macho masculine avatar, together with a raunchy female model on a bike. The ad still remains a remembered ad for its outrageous appeal during those days.

Personal life

Jeet married Mohana Ratlani, a school teacher from Lucknow on 24 February 2011. It is said to be an arranged marriage.

Filmography

Jeet made his debut in the 2002 Bengali film Sathi opposite Priyanka Trivedi. The complete list of his films are given below.

Bengali Film

Awards & Achievements