Actor Urmila Matondkar joins Congress, meets Rahul

Popular Bollywood actor Urmila Matondkar on Wednesday joined Congress here asserting that her political views have been shaped by the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel.

Urmila, 45, met Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who welcomed her in the party with a bouquet of flowers amid buzz about her being fielded from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat against BJP leader Gopal Shetty.

“I am here to stay – even after elections,” she said at a press conference at the AICC Headquarters here flanked by newly appointed Mumbai Regional Congress Committee President Milind Deora and his predecessor Sanjay Nirupam.

“She is not just one of India's finest artists, but someone who is extremely opinionated on issues affecting our society,” Deora said welcoming Urmila in the party.

Urmila made her film debut as a child artiste in a Marathi movie 'Zaakol' in 1980 but was noticed for her performance in Shekhar Kapur's 'Masoom' in 1983.

She shot to fame with Ram Gopal Verma's 'Rangeela' and is known for her performances in Bollywood flicks such as 'Daud', 'Judaai', 'Satya', 'Chamatkaar' among others.

She has also featured in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films and more recently has been appearing as a judge on television dance reality shows.

Another filmstar – Govinda – had earned the sobriquet of a 'giant-killer' after he defeated the then Union Minister and BJP candidate Ram Naik in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.