View source for Dimple Kapadia

{{short description|Indian actress (born 1957)}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = DimpleKapadiaPichvai (cropped).png
| caption            = Kapadia in 2018
| alt                = Dimple Kapadia is looking directly into the camera
| name               = Dimple Kapadia
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age |df=y|1957|06|08}}
| birth_place        = [[Bombay]], India
| yearsactive        = 1973; 1984–present
| spouse             = [[Rajesh Khanna]]<br/>({{abbr|m.|married}} 1973; {{abbr|sep.|separated}} 1982; {{abbr|d.|died}} 2012)
| occupation         = Actress
| works              = [[Dimple Kapadia filmography|Full list]]
| children           = {{ubl
|[[Twinkle Khanna]]
|[[Rinke Khanna]]
}}
| relatives          = [[List of Hindi film families#Khanna-Kapadia-Bhatia family|Khanna family]]
}}

'''Dimple Kapadia''' (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in [[Hindi films]]. Born and raised in [[Mumbai]] by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father's efforts to launch her in the film industry. She was discovered at age 14 by the filmmaker [[Raj Kapoor]], who cast her in the title role of his teen romance ''[[Bobby (1973 film)|Bobby]]'' (1973), which opened to major commercial success and gained her wide public recognition. Shortly before the film's release in 1973, she married the actor [[Rajesh Khanna]] and quit acting. Their daughters, [[Twinkle Khanna|Twinkle]] and [[Rinke Khanna]], both briefly worked as actresses in their youth. Kapadia returned to films in 1984, two years after her separation from Khanna. Her comeback film ''[[Saagar (film)|Saagar]]'', which was released a year later, revived her career. Both ''Bobby'' and ''[[Saagar (film)|Saagar]]'' won her [[Filmfare Awards]] for [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]. Through her work over the next decade, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses.{{sfn|Bumiller|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/mayyoubemotherof00bumi/page/n205/mode/2up 185]}}

While her initial roles often relied on her perceived beauty and sex appeal, Kapadia was keen to challenge herself and expand her range. She was among the first actresses who starred in women-centred Hindi action films but found greater favour with critics when she took on more dramatic roles in both mainstream and neorealist [[parallel cinema]]. Appearing in films ranging from marital dramas to literary adaptations, she played troubled women sometimes deemed reflective of her personal experience, and received acclaim for her performances in ''[[Kaash]]'' (1987), ''[[Drishti (film)|Drishti]]'' (1990), ''[[Lekin...]]'' (1991), and ''[[Rudaali]]'' (1993).<ref>{{cite news|quote=with movies like ''Kaash'', ''Drishti'', ''Lekin'', ''Rudaali'' and ''Leela'', she (Dimple) showed that off-beat films too are her forte.|newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|author=Miglani, Surendra|date=5 October 2003|access-date=19 September 2011|title=Parallel cinema|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031005/spectrum/feedback.htm|agency=Spectrum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627061930/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031005/spectrum/feedback.htm|archive-date=27 June 2011}}</ref> For her role as a [[Professional mourning|professional mourner]] in ''Rudaali'', she won the [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] and a [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress|Filmfare Critics Award]]. She also had supporting roles in the crime dramas ''[[Prahaar: The Final Attack|Prahaar]]'' (1991), ''[[Angaar (1992 film)|Angaar]]'' (1992), ''[[Gardish]]'' (1993) and ''[[Krantiveer]]'' (1994), the latter securing her another Filmfare Award.

Starting in the mid 1990s, Kapadia became more selective about her work, and her screen appearances in the following decades were fewer. She was noted for her portrayal of middle-aged, complicated women courted by younger men in ''[[Dil Chahta Hai]]'' (2001) and the American production ''[[Leela (2002 film)|Leela]]'' (2002). Her later credits include leading roles in ''[[Hum Kaun Hai?]]'' (2004), ''[[Pyaar Mein Twist]]'' (2005), ''[[Phir Kabhi]]'' (2008), ''[[Tum Milo Toh Sahi]]'' (2010) and ''[[What the Fish]]'' (2013), but she attained more success with character roles in ''[[Being Cyrus]]'' (2006), ''[[Luck by Chance]]'' (2009), ''[[Dabangg]]'' (2010), ''[[Cocktail (2012 film)|Cocktail]]'' (2012) and ''[[Finding Fanny]]'' (2014). Some of these roles were cited in the media as a departure from the regular portrayals of women of her age in Hindi films. Roles in the Hollywood thriller ''[[Tenet (film)|Tenet]]'' (2020), action film ''[[Pathaan (film)|Pathaan]]'' (2023), as well as the streaming series ''[[Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo]]'' (2023), brought her further recognition.

==Early life, family and personal life==
[[File:Akshay Kumar with family.jpg|thumb|right|Kapadia (right) with her daughter [[Twinkle Khanna]] and her son-in-law [[Akshay Kumar]]|alt=Kapadia and her daughter and son-in-law looking at the camera]]

Dimple Kapadia was born on 8 June 1957 in [[Bombay]] to [[Gujarati people|Gujarati]] businessman Chunibhai Kapadia and his wife Bitti, who was known as "Betty".{{sfn|Reuben |1995|p=198; 202}}<ref>{{cite news |author1=ET Online |title=Dimple Kapadia's mother Betty passes away at 80 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/dimple-kapadias-mother-betty-passes-away-at-80/articleshow/72315498.cms |access-date=21 April 2020 |work=[[The Economic Times]]  |date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115084443/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/dimple-kapadias-mother-betty-passes-away-at-80/articleshow/72315498.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=S. Pradhan |first1=Bharati |title=The end of the sister act |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/the-end-of-the-sister-act/cid/572296 |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |date=22 November 2009 |archive-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620112136/https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/the-end-of-the-sister-act/cid/572296 |url-status=live }}</ref> Chunibhai was from a wealthy [[Khoja|Ismaili Khoja]] family, whose members had "embraced [[Hinduism]]" while still regarding [[Aga Khan]] as their religious mentor.{{efn|This was originally reported by Sumit Mitra in ''[[India Today]]'' on 20 November 1985, describing Kapadia's family as a "wealthy Khoja family, which embraced Hinduism only with Chunibhai's father, Laljibhai, and which accepts the Agha Khan as its religious mentor even now".<ref name="IT85">{{cite magazine|location=Bangalore|author=Mitra, Sumit|magazine=[[India Today]]|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/from-bobby-to-saagar-dimple-kapadia-has-come-along-way/1/354728.html|volume=10|issue=17–24|date=30 November 1985|page=74|publisher=[[Living Media]]|title=Dimple Kapadia: The second coming|access-date=25 December 2016|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226055630/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/from-bobby-to-saagar-dimple-kapadia-has-come-along-way/1/354728.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar information was repeated by [[Kaveree Bamzai]] in ''[[Open (Indian magazine)|Open]]'' magazine on 4 October 2019 in a piece about Kapadia's daughter [[Twinkle Khanna]], claiming Chunibhai's family to be of "lapsed Ismaili Khojas".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bamzai |first1=Kaveree |title=Twinkle Khanna: The Tina Factor |url=https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/twinkle-khanna-the-tina-factor/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=[[Open (Indian magazine)|Open]] |author1-link=Kaveree Bamzai |date=4 October 2019 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604041446/https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/twinkle-khanna-the-tina-factor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 2014 book ''When I Was 25: The Leaders Look Back'', the author [[Shaili Chopra]], who interviewed Kapadia for a chapter in this book, quoted the aforementioned article by ''India Today'' in relation to her parents' story and noted that Kapadia "wouldn't talk about it much".{{sfn|Chopra|2014b}}}} Pakistani singer [[Faisal Kapadia]] was Chunibhai's cousin.<ref>{{cite web |last=Web Desk |first= |date=20 October 2025 |title=Faisal Kapadia opens up about his bond with Dimple Kapadia |url=https://minutemirror.com.pk/faisal-kapadia-opens-up-about-his-bond-with-dimple-kapadia-457089/ |access-date=2 November 2025 |website=Minute Mirror}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Staff |first= |date=1 November 2025 |title=Faisal Kapadia’s Bollywood connection with Dimple Kapadia revealed! |url=https://www.bolnews.com/latest/2025/11/faisal-kapadias-bollywood-connection-with-dimple-kapadia-revealed/ |access-date=2 November 2025 |website=BolNews}}</ref> Bitti was a practising [[Ismaili]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halim |first1=Moeena |title=Twinkle 'Funnybones' Khanna: The author who puts a bit of herself in her characters |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/supplement/story/20161219-humour-cant-exist-without-candour-twinkle-khanna-akshay-kumar-733748-2016-12-19 |access-date=6 June 2020 |work=India Today |publisher=Living Media |date=19 December 2016 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604043045/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/supplement/story/20161219-humour-cant-exist-without-candour-twinkle-khanna-akshay-kumar-733748-2016-12-19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kulkarni |first1=Ronjita |title=Akshay has been my biggest cheerleader |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/akshay-has-been-my-biggest-cheerleader/20161114.htm |work=[[Rediff.com]] |access-date=4 June 2020 |date=14 November 2016 |quote=My grandmother is an Aga Khani (''the Islami sect which revers the Aga Khan as its spiritual head'') so she would take Rinke and me to the ''jamatkhana''. |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604184416/https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/akshay-has-been-my-biggest-cheerleader/20161114.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As an infant, Dimple was given the name Ameena (literally, "honest" or "trustworthy" in [[Arabic]]) by [[Aga Khan III]], by which she was never referred to.<ref name="IT85"/><ref name="DNAStory">{{cite news|newspaper=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|author=Mirani, Indu|date=22 August 2006|access-date=1 January 2012|title=Once upon a time|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_once-upon-a-time_1048705|archive-date=7 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707010051/http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_once-upon-a-time_1048705|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the eldest of four children; her siblings—all of whom have died—were sisters [[Simple Kapadia|Simple]] (also an actress) and Reem, and a brother, Suhail.<ref name="DNAStory"/><ref>{{cite news |title=The brave and the beautiful |url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/mid-day/20161118/281595240120990 |access-date=9 June 2020 |work=[[Mid-Day]] |date=18 November 2016 |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609162257/https://www.pressreader.com/india/mid-day/20161118/281595240120990 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Geety">{{cite news |last1=Sahgal |first1=Geety |title=Screen Exclusive: Dimple Kapadia gets candid about films, family |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/screen-exclusive-dimple-kapadia-gets-candid-about-films-family/1206778/0 |access-date=31 May 2020 |work=The Indian Express  |date=14 December 2013 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015336/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/screen-exclusive-dimple-kapadia-gets-candid-about-films-family/1206778/0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The family resided in the Bombay suburb [[Santacruz, Mumbai|Santacruz]], where Kapadia studied at [[St Joseph's Convent High School, Mumbai|St Joseph's Convent High School]].<ref name="DNAStory"/><ref name="IT02">{{cite magazine|magazine=India Today|date=18 November 2002|access-date=1 January 2012|title=Forever Diva|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/20021118-while-actors-of-her-age-play-mother-dimple-kapadia-enjoys-fresh-lease-of-life-794278-2002-11-18|author=Bamzai, Kaveree|publisher=[[Living Media]]|archive-date=4 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604043047/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/20021118-while-actors-of-her-age-play-mother-dimple-kapadia-enjoys-fresh-lease-of-life-794278-2002-11-18|url-status=live}}</ref> She described herself as having matured quickly, and often made friends with children older than herself.<ref name="DNAStory"/><ref name="Illustrated87">{{cite news |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Alpana |title=Reflections in a Golden Eye |work=[[The Illustrated Weekly of India]]  |date=9 August 1987|pages=6–9}}</ref> Her father was disowned by his conservative family after she was cast for her first film ''[[Bobby (1973 film)|Bobby]]'' in 1971.<ref name="IT85"/>{{sfn|Reuben |1995|p=204}} At age 15, she married the actor [[Rajesh Khanna]], then aged 30, after a short courtship.{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=141}} Having been a fan of Khanna, she later said marrying him was the "biggest high" of her life during this period.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/140925/entertainment-bollywood/article/dimple-kapadia-relives-days-romance-and-stardom|title=The biggest high for me was to marry Rajesh Khanna: Dimple Kapadia|last=Mehul S.|first=Thakkar|date=26 September 2014|work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|access-date=7 September 2016|archive-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004002042/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140925/entertainment-bollywood/article/dimple-kapadia-relives-days-romance-and-stardom|url-status=live}}</ref> The wedding was performed according to [[Marriage in Hinduism|Hindu marriage rites]] in her father's bungalow in [[Juhu]] on 27 March 1973 and was followed by a grand reception event attended by thousands later in the evening—six months before the release of ''Bobby''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bharatan |first1=Raju |author-link1=Raju Bharatan |title=Motion Picture Event of the Year |work=The Illustrated Weekly of India  |date=8 April 1973 |page=47| url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100847/page/n49/mode/2up|access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Dinesh">{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|title=Dimple: A Most Unusual Woman|author=Raheja, Dinesh|author-link=Dinesh Raheja|date=8 September 2004|access-date=19 September 2011|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/sep/08dimple.htm|archive-date=7 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107025751/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/sep/08dimple.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> At her husband's behest, Kapadia quit acting following the marriage.{{sfn|Bumiller|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/mayyoubemotherof00bumi/page/n207/mode/2up 186]}}<ref name="ffiv"/> She gave birth to two daughters, [[Twinkle Khanna|Twinkle]] (born 1974) and [[Rinke Khanna|Rinke]] (born 1977).{{sfn|Usman|2014|p=192}}

Kapadia separated from Khanna in April 1982 and returned with her two daughters to her parents' house.<ref name="IT85"/>{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=141}} She returned to acting two years later.{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=141}} In a 1985 interview with ''[[India Today]]'', she remarked, "The life and happiness in our house came to an end the day I and Rajesh got married", saying her unhappy marital experience had included inequality and her husband's infidelity, and called their marriage "a farce".<ref name="IT85"/> The hostility between Khanna and Kapadia, who were never officially divorced, subsided over the years; despite not having ever reunited, they were seen together at parties; Kapadia acted opposite Khanna in his unreleased film ''Jai Shiv Shankar'' in 1990 and campaigned for his election to the [[Indian National Congress]] a year later.{{sfn|Usman|2014|p=153}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Rajesh-Dimple-Complicated/articleshow/6541166.cms|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|author=Sinha, Seema|access-date=6 December 2011|title=Rajesh-Dimple: Complicated!|date=13 September 2010|archive-date=14 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914114403/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Rajesh-Dimple-Complicated/articleshow/6541166.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Their daughters similarly became actresses and, after marriage, retired from acting.<ref name="Geety"/> The elder daughter Twinkle is married to the actor [[Akshay Kumar]].<ref name="lucky09"/> Asked in ''[[Filmfare]]'' in 2000 whether she would want to remarry, Kapadia said: "I'm very happy and content{{nbsp}}... once was more than enough".<ref name="ffiv"/> Khanna fell ill in early 2012, and Kapadia stayed by his side and took care of him until his death on 18 July that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bollywood's Rajesh Khanna 'not ill', waves at fans |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-18530095 |publisher=BBC News  |access-date=26 December 2020 |date=21 June 2012 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816071231/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-18530095 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=George |first1=Nirmala |title=Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna dies |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sdut-bollywood-superstar-rajesh-khanna-dies-2012jul18-story.html |access-date=27 December 2020 |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=18 July 2012 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070657/https://www.nydailynews.com/sdut-bollywood-superstar-rajesh-khanna-dies-2012jul18-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She was with him when he died and said his loss, along with the deaths of her sister Simple and her brother, left her feeling "truly abandoned".<ref name="Geety"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Dimple Kapadia, Rajesh Khanna: Love unfinished! |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Dimple-Kapadia-Rajesh-Khanna-Love-unfinished/articleshow/15053752.cms |access-date=26 December 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=20 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225223223/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Dimple-Kapadia-Rajesh-Khanna-Love-unfinished/articleshow/15053752.cms |archive-date=25 February 2015}}</ref>

Kapadia is an art lover and has experimented with painting and sculpture. In 1998, she started a company called The Faraway Tree, which sells candles that she designs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=M. M. Vetticad |first1=Anna |author-link=Anna M. M. Vetticad |title=Kapadia's candles |work=India Today |publisher=Living Media |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19981012-actress-dimple-kapadia-and-her-daughters-get-into-candles-making-827193-1998-10-12 |access-date=16 May 2020 |date=12 October 1998 |archive-date=21 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621012836/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19981012-actress-dimple-kapadia-and-her-daughters-get-into-candles-making-827193-1998-10-12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="candleex">{{cite news |last1=Pratap Shah |first1=Monisha |title=Candle in the wind |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad-times/Candle-in-the-wind/articleshow/662694114.cms |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=The Times of India  |date=11 November 2001 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817190246/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad-times/Candle-in-the-wind/articleshow/662694114.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> Having been a candle enthusiast and finding candle-making therapeutic, she went to [[Wales]] and took a workshop with [[Blackwood, Caerphilly|Blackwood]]-based candle artist [[David Constable (artist)|David Constable]].<ref name="IT02"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-23274007|title=Candlemaker David Constable on his work by royal appointment|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=11 July 2013|access-date=16 May 2020|archive-date=12 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015341/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-23274007|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Indian press, Kapadia's business venture has inspired other candle enthusiasts to start similar businesses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thapar Kapoor |first1=Reena |title=The house of wax |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tv/the-house-of-wax/articleshow/15642743.cms |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=[[Mumbai Mirror]]  |date=9 October 2006 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703115533/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tv/the-house-of-wax/articleshow/15642743.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sangghvi |first1=Malavika |title=Candles in the wind? |url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/candles-in-the-wind/208877 |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=[[Mid-Day]] |date=15 April 2013 |archive-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704075831/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/candles-in-the-wind/208877 |url-status=live }}</ref> Her candles were presented and offered for sale at a number of exhibitions.<ref name="candleex"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Dimple's candles to light animals' cause |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000721/cth1.htm#12 |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=The Tribune |agency=Tribune News Service |date=20 July 2000 |archive-date=21 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421003655/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000721/cth1.htm#12 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
{{see also|Dimple Kapadia filmography }}

===Debut and stardom (1973)===
Kapadia, who was an avid movie viewer, aspired to be an actor since childhood.<ref name="Illustrated87"/> Her acting career was initiated by her father, who socialised with film-industry professionals and frequented parties hosted by screenwriter Anjana Rawail.<ref name="DNAStory"/>{{sfn|Reuben|1995|pp=198–199}} Through his contacts, Dimple was almost cast to play the younger version of [[Vyjayanthimala]]'s character in [[H. S. Rawail]]'s ''[[Sunghursh]]'' (1968), but was eventually rejected because she looked older than the part called for.<ref name="DNAStory"/> After she turned down an offer to play the protagonist in [[Hrishikesh Mukherjee]]'s ''[[Guddi (1971 film)|Guddi]]'' in 1970, another opportunity arose in 1971 when [[Raj Kapoor]] was looking for a young, new female lead for his planned teen romance. Munni Dhawan, a close friend of Kapoor, suggested he consider Kapadia, having been acquainted with her father.{{sfnm|1a1=Nanda|1y=2002|2a1=Reuben|2y=1995|2pp=198–199}} In June that year, at the age of 14, Kapadia performed a screen test for the film on the sets of one of Kapoor's productions.{{sfn|Abbas|2013|p=1}} Impressed with her spontaneity and improvisation, Kapoor cast her in the part.{{sfn|Reuben|1995|pp=201–202}} The film, which was named ''Bobby'', was released in September 1973. It starred Kapoor's son [[Rishi Kapoor]] as Raj Nath, the son of a wealthy Hindu businessman, and Kapadia was given the title role of Bobby Braganza, the teenage daughter of a [[Christian]] fisherman from [[Goa]]. The story follows the love affair between Raj and Bobby in the face of his parents' disapproval of their relationship due to [[Class discrimination|class prejudice]].{{sfnm|1a1=Ganti|1y=2004|1p=158|2a1=Dasgupta|2a2=Datta|2y=2018|2pp=39–40}}

''Bobby'' was a major commercial success—[[List of Hindi films of 1973#Top-grossing films|India's highest-grossing film of the year]] and ultimately second-earning film of the decade—and Kapadia was lauded for her performance, which won her the [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress]] (tied with [[Jaya Bhaduri]] for {{Lang|hi-latn|[[Abhimaan (1973 film)|Abhimaan]]}}).{{sfn|Dasgupta|Datta|2018|pp=39–40|ps=: "''Bobby'' was a blockbuster, the biggest hit of 1973 and the second biggest hit of the 1970s&nbsp;... The movie was a trendsetter as it played out a young romance against the backdrop of class prejudice."}}<ref>{{cite news | access-date=4 June 2020 | archive-date=4 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604062509/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/12/archives/karma-of-bobby-lovers-stirs-indias-filmgoers.html | author-link1=Bernard Weinraub | date=12 December 1973 | first1=Bernard | last1=Weinraub | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/12/archives/karma-of-bobby-lovers-stirs-indias-filmgoers.html | title=Karma of ''Bobby'' Lovers Stirs India's Filmgoers | url-status=live | work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> [[Qurratulain Hyder]] of ''[[The Illustrated Weekly of India]]'' noted she acted with "natural ease and freshness".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=24 June 2020 | author-link1=Qurratulain Hyder | first1=Qurratulain | last1=Hyder | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.101063/page/n185/mode/2up | title=''Bobby'' – Film review | work=The Illustrated Weekly of India  | date=14 October 1973 | page=41}}</ref> Several of Kapadia's lines in the film became popular, particularly, "Mujhse dosti karoge?" ("Will you be my friend?"),{{sfn|Dwyer|2000|p=139}} and the "miniskirts, midriff-baring polka dot shirts, and fabled red bikini" she wore made her a youth fashion icon in India.{{sfnm|1a1=Joshi|1y=2015|1p=99|1ps=: "Dimple Kapadia's miniskirts, midriff-baring polka dot shirts, and fabled red bikini were visual enticements of an audacious teenage sexuality hitherto unseen on Bombay's screens"|2a1=Roy|2y=2019|2p=114|2ps=: "Teenage sensation Dimple Kapadia's hot pants and polkadotted tie-knot blouses from Bollywood's biggest romantic blockbuster, ''Bobby'' (1973), became an instant fashion trend among women."|3a1=Begum-Hossain|3y=2007|3p=63|3ps=: "The film's Western-inspired fashion really caught the imaginations of Indian youth. Mini skirts bikinis and flowing scarves, as worn by Bobby, were adopted by fashion conscious teenage viewers."|4a1=Bramesco|4y=2023|4p=76|4ps=: "Sixteen-year-old star Dimple Kapadia was christened a style icon among legions of teenyboppers for her envelope-pushing sartorial sense; the flamboyant dyes once coveted by colonizers were transferred from full-body saris and other old-world garb to miniskirts and crop tops all the rage in Europe."}} Consequently, polka-dotted dresses were often referred to as "Bobby Print".<ref>{{cite news |title=Of polka dots and teenage love |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/of-polka-dots-and-teenage-love/articleshow/24643268.cms |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Mumbai Mirror |date=24 October 2013 |archive-date=27 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027093632/https://mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/of-polka-dots-and-teenage-love/articleshow/24643268.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Front knot outfits to over-the-knee boots, hairbands, jumpsuits; It's the '70s this year |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/photo-gallery-front-knot-outfits-to-over-the-knee-boots-hairbands-jumpsuits-it-s-the-70s-this-year-2794403 |author=Roy, Dhaval |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Daily News and Analysis |date=4 October 2019 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604132848/https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/photo-gallery-front-knot-outfits-to-over-the-knee-boots-hairbands-jumpsuits-it-s-the-70s-this-year-2794403 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bhawana Somaaya]] of ''[[The Hindu]]'' credits Kapadia with starting the merchandising of film memorabilia in India, and Mukesh Khosla of ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' said ''Bobby'' established her as a "cult figure" because she led the fashion trends.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2000/10/26/stories/09260225.htm|author=Somaaya, Bhawana|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=26 October 2000|access-date=19 September 2011|title=Glimpses of a golden decade|archive-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628195413/http://www.hindu.com/2000/10/26/stories/09260225.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Tribune|author=Khosla, Mukesh|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020310/spectrum/tv.htm|title=Celebrating womanhood|date=10 March 2002|access-date=25 December 2011|archive-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011508/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020310/spectrum/tv.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In later years, Kapadia credited Raj Kapoor for her development as an actor: "The sum total of me today as an actress, whatever I am, is Raj Kapoor".<ref name="Illustrated87"/> In 2008, Raja Sen from the web portal [[Rediff.com]] ranked her performance in ''Bobby'' as the fourth-best female debut of all time in Hindi cinema: "An elfin little girl with big, lovely eyes, nobody quite portrayed innocence as memorably as Dimple in her first outing. She was candid, striking, and a true natural&nbsp;... here was a girl who would redefine glamour and grace, and make it look very, very easy indeed."<ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|author=Sen, Raja|date=24 November 2008|access-date=19 September 2011|title=Best Debutants Ever|url=http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/nov/24sd7-best-actresses-ever.htm|archive-date=15 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915013832/http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/nov/24sd7-best-actresses-ever.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Comeback and early fluctuations (1984–1986)===

Kapadia returned to acting in 1984, two years after her separation from Khanna, saying she had a personal need to prove her own capabilities to herself.<ref name="Illustrated87"/>{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=141}} Over the next decade, she became one of the leading female actors in Hindi cinema.{{sfnm|1a1=Bumiller|1y=1991|1p=[https://archive.org/details/mayyoubemotherof00bumi/page/n205/mode/2up?q=dimple+kapadia 185]|2a1=Agnihotri|2y=1992|2p=159|2ps=: "Armed with dazzling beauty, an incisive intellect, undaunted determination, ample talent and an impressive array of films, Dimple Kapadia is already in the top slot."}} Her first post-hiatus film was ''[[Saagar (film)|Saagar]]''; a mutual friend had notified the director [[Ramesh Sippy]] about Kapadia's willingness to return to acting, and she was invited to audition for the part. She considered her screen test unsuccessful because she was "literally shivering" while performing it, but Sippy cast her to play the lead part opposite her ''Bobby'' co-star Rishi Kapoor.<ref name="Illustrated87"/> Scripted with her in mind,<ref name="Illustrated87"/> the film was intended to be her comeback vehicle but its one-year delay meant several of her later projects were released before, the first of which was ''[[Zakhmi Sher]]'' (1984).<ref name="ffiv">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Filmfare]] |date=November 2000 |author=Jha, Subhash K.|author-link=Subhash K. Jha |title=Happily ever after |url=http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/nov2000/ivw7.html |access-date=18 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323115221/http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/nov2000/ivw7.html |archive-date=23 March 2010}}</ref>{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999|p=473}}

Other films released before ''Saagar'' include ''[[Manzil Manzil]]'' (1984), ''[[Aitbaar]]'' (1985) and ''[[Arjun (1985 film)|Arjun]]'' (1985). Kapadia appeared opposite [[Sunny Deol]] in ''Manzil Manzil'', a drama that was directed by [[Nasir Hussain]]. While speaking of her positive experience during the making of the film, she felt uncomfortable performing the routine [[Hindi cinema#Song and dance|song-and-dance]] nature of the part.<ref name="Illustrated87"/> Her work was deemed ineffective by ''Trade Guide'', and ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' reported her career prospects entirely depended upon the fortunes of her next few projects.<ref>{{cite news |title=Guftagu |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.11912/page/n499/mode/2up?q=dimple |access-date=2 September 2020 |work=The Illustrated Weekly of India  |date=23 December 1984 |page=67}}</ref> Kapadia received positive reviews for her part in [[Mukul Anand]]'s [[Hitchcockian]] thriller ''Aitbaar''.<ref name="Illustrated87"/>{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}}<ref name="AitbaarArjun">{{cite news |last1=Vijayakar |first1=Rajiv |title=Golden Year gets Silver sheen |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/golden-year-gets-silver-sheen/703446/ |access-date=22 April 2020 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=28 October 2010 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015337/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/golden-year-gets-silver-sheen/703446/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She starred as Neha, a wealthy young woman whose greedy husband ([[Raj Babbar]]) plots to murder her. Discussing her performance, she said she was "a bag of nerves" while filming, which benefitted her performance because her own state coincided with her character's inner turmoil.<ref name="Illustrated87"/> She was cast opposite Sunny Deol for a second time in [[Rahul Rawail]]'s action film ''Arjun''; it was her first commercial success since her return to films.<ref name="AitbaarArjun"/>{{sfn|Kumar|1995|p=114}}

''Saagar'' premiered in August 1985 and was controversial for several scenes featuring Kapadia, including one in which she was seen topless for less than a second.{{sfnm|1a1=Chaudhuri|1y=2014|1pp=240–242|2a1=Arunachalam|2y=2020|2p=655}} The film was chosen as [[List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|India's official entry]] to the [[List of submissions to the 58th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film|58th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref>{{cite news | access-date=29 May 2020 | archive-date=9 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209135521/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19850731-after-series-of-box-office-duds-ramesh-sippy-strikes-back-with-romantic-venture-saagar-770238-2013-12-27 | first1=Sumit | last1=Mitra | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19850731-after-series-of-box-office-duds-ramesh-sippy-strikes-back-with-romantic-venture-saagar-770238-2013-12-27 | title=''Saagar'': Back to love | work=India Today | publisher=Living Media | url-status=live | date=31 July 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Roshmila |author-link=Roshmila Bhattacharya |title=This Week, That Year: Breaking new ground with Ramesh Sippy |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/this-week-that-year-breaking-new-ground-with-sippy/articleshow/73451021.cms |access-date=20 June 2020 |work=Mumbai Mirror  |date=21 January 2020 |archive-date=21 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621213437/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/this-week-that-year-breaking-new-ground-with-sippy/articleshow/73451021.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> Kapadia's performance as Mona D'Silva, a young [[Catholic]] woman who is torn between her friend ([[Kamal Haasan]]) and the man she loves (Kapoor),{{sfn|Thoraval|2000|p=128}} reestablished her position in the film industry and won her a second Best Actress award at the [[Filmfare Awards]].{{sfn|Husain|2002|p=77}}{{sfn|Dwyer|2005|p=50|ps=: "Her comeback was with Rishi in 1985's Saagar, after which she became an iconic figure in the film industry"}} A reviewer in ''[[Asiaweek]]'' appreciated the film for its "polished narration and masterly technique" and labelled Kapadia "a delight".<ref>{{cite magazine |author= Rao, C.B.|magazine =[[Asiaweek]]|volume=12|issue=12–26|title=Restrained Romance|year=1986|publisher=Asiaweek Ltd.}}</ref> According to Rediff.com, Kapadia "performed solidly and memorably, grounding the two male leads and making the film work".<ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|title=The best of Dimple Kapadia|date=8 June 2010|access-date=3 January 2011|url=http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jun/08/slide-show-1-the-best-of-dimple-kapadia.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207025431/http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jun/08/slide-show-1-the-best-of-dimple-kapadia.htm|archive-date=7 December 2010}}</ref> A 1993 issue of ''India Today'' wrote: "''Saagar'' was in many ways a paean to her incredible beauty. She looked ravishing: auburn hair, classical face, deep eyes, an aura of sensuality. It was clear she was back."<ref name="IT93">{{cite news |last1=Biswas |first1=Soutik |title=Dimple Kapadia: A creative flowering |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/profile/story/19930715-bollywood-star-dimple-kapadia-matures-into-a-serious-actress-811275-1993-07-15 |access-date=21 April 2020 |work=India Today |publisher=[[Living Media]] |date=15 July 1993 |volume=18 |pages=54–55 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604170209/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/profile/story/19930715-bollywood-star-dimple-kapadia-matures-into-a-serious-actress-811275-1993-07-15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Feroz Khan (actor)|Feroz Khan]]'s ''[[Janbaaz]]'' (1986), which is about a man fighting drug addiction,<ref>{{cite news |title=Transplanted machismo |work=Bombay: The City Magazine |publisher=Living Media |year=1986 |issue=2 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-ivnCBinIUC&q=janbaaz+1986+drug |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015338/https://books.google.com/books?id=w-ivnCBinIUC&q=janbaaz+1986+drug&dq=janbaaz+1986+drug |url-status=live }}</ref> became known for a love scene in which Kapadia and male lead [[Anil Kapoor]] share a kiss, a rarity in Hindi cinema at the time.<ref name="KnowDimpleFilmfare">{{cite news |last1=Farook |first1=Farhana |title=Know Your Actor: Dimple Kapadia |url=https://www.filmfare.com/features/know-your-actor-dimple-kapadia-18438-3.html |access-date=15 February 2021 |work=Filmfare  |date=28 January 2017 |archive-date=5 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205220031/http://www.filmfare.com/features/know-your-actor-dimple-kapadia-18438-3.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dubey |first1=Rachana |title=Valentine's Day Special: Love, sealed with a kiss in cinema |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/valentines-day-special-love-sealed-with-a-kiss-in-cinema/articleshow/80898082.cms |access-date=15 February 2021 |work=The Times of India  |date=13 February 2021 |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214054252/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/valentines-day-special-love-sealed-with-a-kiss-in-cinema/articleshow/80898082.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, she acted opposite Kamal Haasan in her first regional film, ''[[Vikram (1986 Tamil film)|Vikram]]'', a Tamil-language sci-fi feature, in the minor role of Inimaasi, a young princess who falls in love with Vikram (Haasan).<ref name="crossover">{{cite news|newspaper=The Times of India|title=The great crossover|author=Pillai, Jitesh|author-link=Jitesh Pillai|date=24 December 2002|access-date=23 December 2011|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/The-great-crossover/articleshow/32264291.cms|archive-date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003062446/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/The-great-crossover/articleshow/32264291.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> At that time, she worked in numerous Hindi films made by producers from [[South India]], including ''[[Pataal Bhairavi]]'', which she detested. She later confessed to accepting these roles for financial gain rather than artistic merit: "I shudder even now when I think of those films. As an artiste I got totally corrupted."<ref name="Illustrated87"/>

===''Kaash'' and mainstream success (1987–1989)===

{{quote box|width=31em|quote="After three years of near-frustration in my career, I bagged Mahesh Bhatt's film ''Kaash''. This film changed my whole outlook. After all those professional brickbats, when Mahesh asked me to do his film I think I got one of the biggest highs of my career. Working for Mahesh has been the most satisfying phase in my entire career as an actress. If I can imbibe even 25% of what he has taught me, I feel I will be made as an artiste."|source=—Kapadia in 1987 on the experience of making ''Kaash''<ref name="Illustrated87"/>}}

Kapadia's career took further shape in 1987 and, according to film journalist Firoze Rangoonwala, she was the most sought-after actress in the film industry that year.<ref name="Rangoonwala">{{cite news |last1=Rangoonwala |first1=Firoze |title=1987: a year of cinematic mediocrity |url=https://archive.org/details/ArabTimes1987KuwaitEnglish/Dec%2024%201987%2C%20Arab%20Times%2C%20%237127%2C%20Kuwait%20%28en%29/page/n7/mode/2up |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=[[Arab Times]] |date=24–25 December 1987}}</ref> She appeared in [[Rajkumar Kohli]]'s ''[[Insaniyat Ke Dushman]]'' and Mukul Anand's ''[[Insaaf (1987 film)|Insaaf]]''; both action films that were popular with audiences.<ref name="Dinesh"/> ''Insaniyat Ke Dushman'' featured Kapadia as part of an ensemble, and Rangoonwala attributed its commercial success to its all-star cast and "bulky melodrama".<ref name="Rangoonwala"/>{{sfn|Nash|Ross|1988|p=132}} In ''Insaaf'', she played the dual role of [[Doppelgänger|unrelated lookalikes]]: Sonia, a club dancer and Dr. Sarita, a physician.{{sfn |Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999|page=43}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krishnaswamy |first1=N. |title=Saaf |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19870717&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=1 September 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=17 July 1987 |page=5 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015348/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19870717&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

Later in the year, she played Pooja in [[Mahesh Bhatt]]'s marital drama ''[[Kaash]]''. Kapadia and [[Jackie Shroff]] starred as an estranged couple who, during a relentless legal battle over the custody of their only son, learn that the boy has [[brain tumour]] and reunite to spend the last months of his life as a family.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=10 June 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610141020/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/mahesh-bhatts-kaash-starring-jackie-shroff-and-dimple-kapadia-is-a-convincing-exploration-of-the-theme-of-death-4582751.html | first1=Gautam | last1=Chintamani | url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/mahesh-bhatts-kaash-starring-jackie-shroff-and-dimple-kapadia-is-a-convincing-exploration-of-the-theme-of-death-4582751.html | title=Mahesh Bhatt's ''Kaash'', starring Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia, is a convincing exploration of the theme of death | url-status=live | work=[[Firstpost]] | date=24 June 2018}}</ref> Before filming began, she called it the most serious artistic challenge of her career.<ref name="IT85"/> Bhatt cast Kapadia because he was aware of her own marital experience and later revealed that during the shooting she had grown increasingly invested in the story, so much that after a point he could not differentiate her from Pooja as she "became the character".<ref name="illustratedmahesh">{{cite magazine |author=Bhatt, Mahesh|magazine =The Illustrated Weekly of India|volume=108|issue=27–38|date=9 August 1987|title=She's Like a Child on Her First Day at School|page=12}}</ref> Kapadia's performance was praised by critics.{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}}<ref name="express88">{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |title=The rage of angels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4FlAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA23 |work=The Sunday Standard  |date=23 October 1988 |page=3 |access-date=18 February 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070641/https://books.google.com/books?id=w4FlAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA23 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bhawanainterview">{{cite magazine |magazine =[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]]|author=Somaaya, Bhawana|date=5 March 2004|access-date=23 December 2011|title=Dimple Kapadia's Interview|url=http://www.screenindia.com/news/Dimple-Kapadia-s-Interview/7457/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602101449/http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=7457|archive-date=2 June 2004}}</ref> [[Pritish Nandy]], the editor of ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'', asserted: "Dimple achieves the impossible. Bereft of her glitzy make-up, glamour and filmi mannerisms, she comes alive as never before: beautiful, sensitive, intense. You almost feel you've discovered a new actress on the screen."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nandy |first1=Pritish |author-link1=Pritish Nandy |title=Editor's Choice – Film |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.110088/page/n361/mode/2up |access-date=24 June 2020 |work=The Illustrated Weekly of India  |date=6 September 1987}}</ref> In later years, ''[[The Times of India]]'' listed it as one of Kapadia's best performances, noting her "immense strength as a performer", and [[Sukanya Verma]] wrote of the "stoic determination and touching vulnerability" with which Pooja was played, calling the outcome "extremely believable and sympathetic at once".<ref name="TOI">{{cite news|title=Dimple Kapadia: The sensuous star|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Dimple-Kapadia-The-sensuous-star/articleshow/1215746.cms|date=31 August 2005|access-date=18 September 2011|newspaper=The Times of India|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709230539/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Dimple-Kapadia-The-sensuous-star/articleshow/1215746.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=8 June 2007|work=Rediff.com|title=The best of Dimple|author=Verma, Sukanya|author-link=Sukanya Verma|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jun/08sli5.htm|access-date=19 September 2011|archive-date=2 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102114121/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jun/08sli5.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Bhawana Somaaya reported that ''Kaash'' had established Kapadia as a performing artiste.<ref>{{cite news|author=Somaaya, Bhawana|title=The highs and lows&nbsp;– a recollection|url=http://www.hindu.com/2000/11/24/stories/09240222.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040101090803/http://www.hindu.com/2000/11/24/stories/09240222.htm|archive-date=1 January 2004|date=24 November 2000|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref>

In ''[[Zakhmi Aurat]]'' (1988), Kapadia played Kiran Dutt, a police officer who is subjected to [[gang rape]] and, when the judicial system fails to convict the criminals, unites with other rape survivors to [[castrate]] the rapists in revenge.{{sfn|Vasudev |1995 |p=249}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gopalan |first1=Lalitha |title=Avenging women in Indian cinema |journal=[[Screen (journal)|Screen]] |date=1 March 1997 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=42–59 |doi=10.1093/screen/38.1.42 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/38.1.42 |issn=0036-9543|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Among the first of a new trend of women-centred revenge films, the film was a financial success but polarised critics and attracted wide coverage for its lengthy, brutal rape scene involving Kapadia.{{sfn|Mazumdar |2017|p=172}}<ref name="CBFC">{{cite journal |last1=Vasudev |first1=Aruna |author-link1=Aruna Vasudev |title=Women beware men |journal=[[Index on Censorship]] |date=March 1991 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=7–8 |doi=10.1080/03064229108535052 |s2cid=151673841 |issn=0306-4220|doi-access= }}</ref> [[Khalid Mohamed]] of ''The Times of India'' noted Kapadia's "power packed performance" but criticised the rape sequence as "utter lasciviousness" and "vulgarity spattering through the screen".<ref>{{cite news | author-link=Khalid Mohamed | date=4 September 1988 | first1=Khalid | last1=Mohamed | title=''Zakhmi Aurat'': How to Go Haywire | work=The Times of India}}</ref> Feminist magazine ''[[Manushi]]'' panned the film's low cinematic quality, including the absurdity of the action scenes and the "ugly kind of titillation" in the rape scene, but said Kapadia brought "a conviction to her role that is rare among Bombay heroines" with a performance that is "low key, moving and charming without being at all clinging or seductive".<ref name="manushi">{{cite news |last1=Kishwar |first1=Madhu |author-link1=Madhu Kishwar|last2=Vanita |first2=Ruth|author-link2=Ruth Vanita |title=Male Fantasies of Female Revenge |date=September–October 1988 |work=[[Manushi]] |issue=48 |pages=43–44}}</ref> The same year, Kapadia worked with Rajkumar Kohli on the action drama ''[[Saazish (1988 film)|Saazish]]'' and the horror film ''[[Bees Saal Baad (1988 film)|Bees Saal Baad]]'', a remake of the 1962 [[Bees Saal Baad (1962 film)|film of the same name]].{{sfn|Arunachalam |2020|p=1060}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Rachit |title=Five must-watch horror classics |url=https://www.filmfare.com/features/five-mustwatch-horror-classics-13627.html |access-date=27 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |date=2 June 2016 |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609204944/https://www.filmfare.com/features/five-mustwatch-horror-classics-13627.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Mubarki|2016|p=128}} She was the action star in ''[[Mera Shikar]]'', a revenge saga directed by [[Keshu Ramsay]], playing Bijli, a once joyous young woman who trains in [[martial arts]] to punish a notorious gangster for the crimes inflicted upon her sister. The film was described as an "extraordinarily adroit entertainer" by Subhash K. Jha, who preferred it over the "sleazy [[sensationalism]]" of ''Zakhmi Aurat'' and noted the "unusual restraint" with which Bijli's transformation was achieved.<ref name="express88"/>

In 1989, Kapadia appeared as Jackie Shroff's love interest in ''[[Ram Lakhan]]'', a crime drama directed by [[Subhash Ghai]]. The film was a success with both critics and audiences,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lalwani |first1=Vickey |title=The art and craft of Subhash Ghai |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/jan/24list.htm |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=Rediff.com |date=24 January 2003 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611110521/https://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/jan/24list.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=23 December 2011 | archive-date=27 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427190428/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/21ghai.htm | url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/21ghai.htm | title=''Ram Lakhan'': Where good wins over evil | work=Rediff.com | date=21 October 2003 | author=Tulasi, Abhilash | url-status=live}}</ref> becoming the second-highest grossing Hindi film of the year and earning eight nominations at the [[35th Filmfare Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Box Office 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131224653/http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=195&catName=MTk4OQ==|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=195&catName=MTk4OQ== |archive-date=31 January 2009|publisher=[[Box Office India]] |access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Nominations – 1989 |url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368588.cms |access-date=28 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028101703/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368588.cms |archive-date=28 October 2007}}</ref> She played a [[courtesan]]-turned-vengeful [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]] in ''[[Pati Parmeshwar (film)|Pati Parmeshwar]]''. The film was released after a well-publicised two-year court battle with the [[Central Board of Film Certification]] (CBFC),{{sfn |Mehta|2012|pages=131–158}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mehta |first1=Monika |title=A Certification Anomaly: The Self-Sacrificial Female Body in Bombay Cinema |journal=Studies in South Asian Film & Media |date=1 May 2009 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=119–144 |doi=10.1386/safm.1.1.119_1 |url=https://archive.org/details/Studies_in_South_Asian_Film_and_Media_Volume_1_Issue_1/page/n119/mode/2up}}</ref> which initially [[List of films banned in India|banned it from screening]] for its perceived glorification of [[Gender inequality in India|submissiveness of women]] through the character of the forgiving wife who is in "ignoble servility" to her husband.<ref name="CBFC"/><ref>{{cite news | access-date=7 June 2020 | archive-date=7 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607113340/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19880815-bombay-hc-ruling-on-screening-of-pati-parmeshwar-sparks-a-debate-on-censorship-797600-1988-08-15 | first1=Salil | last1=Tripathi | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19880815-bombay-hc-ruling-on-screening-of-pati-parmeshwar-sparks-a-debate-on-censorship-797600-1988-08-15 | title=Bombay HC ruling on screening of ''Pati Parmeshwar'' sparks a debate on censorship | work=India Today | publisher=Living Media | url-status=live | date=15 August 1988}}</ref> Other films starring Kapadia that year include [[Babbar Subhash]]'s ''[[Pyar Ke Naam Qurbaan]]'' and [[J. P. Dutta]]'s action picture ''[[Batwara]]''.{{sfn|Siṃha |2000 |p=40}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Three Heroines on a Hot Desert Locale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEl8BbJic0oC&q=Three+Heroines+on+a+Hot+Desert+Locale |access-date=14 October 2020 |work=Democratic World |date=17 September 1989 |page=17 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025036/https://books.google.com/books?id=OEl8BbJic0oC&q=Three+Heroines+on+a+Hot+Desert+Locale |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Goswami |first1=Seema |title=Dimple Kapadia: like father, like son |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.110149/page/n555/mode/2up?q=dimple |access-date=23 June 2020 |work=The Telegraph |issue=36 |date=12 August 1989 |page=39}}</ref>

===Professional expansion and critical acclaim (1990–1994)===
In the 1990s, Kapadia started appearing in [[parallel cinema]], a movement of Indian neo-realist [[art film]]s,<ref name="IT93"/>{{sfn|Ghose|1994|p=46}} later citing an "inner yearning to exhibit my best potential".<ref name="Tribune2009">{{cite news|title=Dimple deconstructed|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090608/ttlife1.htm|date=8 June 2009|access-date=18 September 2011|newspaper=The Tribune|author=Das Gupta, Ranjan|archive-date=3 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103044625/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090608/ttlife1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Those films include ''[[Drishti (film)|Drishti]]'' (1990), ''[[Lekin...]]'' (1991), ''[[Rudaali]]'' (1993) and ''[[Antareen]]'' (1993). ''Drishti'', a marital drama that was directed by [[Govind Nihalani]] and inspired by [[Ingmar Bergman]]'s ''[[Scenes from a Marriage]]'' (1973), starred Kapadia and [[Shekhar Kapur]] as a married couple from Mumbai's intellectual milieu, and followed their trials and tribulations, extramarital affairs, divorce, and eventual reconciliation.{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999|p=496}}<ref name="1990tribune">{{cite news |title=Year of filmi masterpieces |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021117/spectrum/main3.htm |newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Sunday Tribune]] |date=17 November 2002 |access-date=4 December 2011 |author=Dhawan, M.L. |archive-date=13 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013124825/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021117/spectrum/main3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Kapadia received critical acclaim for playing the protagonist, career-woman Sandhya, and later recounted her full emotional involvement in the part.{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}}<ref>{{cite news | access-date=15 November 2020 | archive-date=28 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028220050/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/b-day-present-for-dimple-kapadia-her-film-drishti-is-going-to-be-restored/story-h5nApiKI6PITYPjaGUYGjM.html | first1=Ranjan | last1=Das Gupta | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/b-day-present-for-dimple-kapadia-her-film-drishti-is-going-to-be-restored/story-h5nApiKI6PITYPjaGUYGjM.html | title=Birthday present for Dimple Kapadia: Her film, ''Drishti'', is going to be restored | url-status=live | work=[[Hindustan Times]] | date=8 June 2018}}</ref> The author [[Subramani]] recognised Kapadia as "an actress with hidden resources" and appreciated her "intelligent portrayal", through which Sandhya emerged as "vulnerable and intense and full of feminine wiles".{{sfn|Subramani|1995 |p=144 |ps=: "''Drishti'' also shows Dimple Kapadia as an actress with hidden resources. Kapadia's Sandhya is vulnerable and intense and full of feminine wiles. It's an intelligent portrayal; at least in this film she appears to have filled the gap left by Smita Patil's absence."}} A review in ''[[The Indian Express]]'' noted Kapadia's sensitive performance, presuming her own journey through separation might have enhanced her understanding of the part.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krishnaswamy |first1=N. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19910113&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |title=Near, and yet so far |access-date=21 April 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=13 January 1991 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025005/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19910113&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Hood|2000|p=344 |ps=: "Particularly memorable in this film is the consistency of the direction over the remarkably realistic acting, especially in the brilliant performances of the two women, Dimple Kapadia as Sandhya and Mita Vasisht as Prabha."}} The film was acknowledged as the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi|Best Hindi Film]] of that year at the [[38th National Film Awards]], and ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]'' magazine suggested that Kapadia should have earned the Best Actress award at the same function.<ref name=NFA38>{{cite web |url=http://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/79_38thNfacatalogue.pdf|title=38th National Film Awards |year=1991|website=dff.nic.in |publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]] |access-date=14 June 2020|page=62 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424114615/http://dff.nic.in/2011/38th_nff_1991.pdf |archive-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine =[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]|year=1993|volume=10|issue=1–9|author=Rangarajan, S.|author-link=S. Rangarajan|page=99|title=1993 National Film Awards}}</ref> She was named [[Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress (Hindi)|Best Actress (Hindi)]] of the year by the [[Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards|Bengal Film Journalists' Association]], and won a jury award for [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress#Outstanding Performance in a Non-Commercial Film|Outstanding Performance]] at the [[37th Filmfare Awards]].<ref name="BFJA">{{cite web |url= http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/pastwin/199255.htm |title= 1992&nbsp;– 55th Annual BFJA Awards&nbsp;– Awards for the Year 1991 |access-date=9 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108211219/http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/pastwin/199255.htm |archive-date=8 January 2010 |publisher= [[Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards|BFJA]]}}</ref><ref name="FF1992">{{cite news |title=Filmfare Awards 1992 Winners |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-awards/filmfare-awards-winners/bollywood/1992/101 |access-date=12 May 2023 |work=The Times of India }}</ref>

[[Gulzar]]'s romantic mystery ''Lekin...'', which is based on [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s short story ''[[Hungry Stones]]'' (1895),{{sfn|Sen|2017|p=179}} features Kapadia as Reva, a [[vengeful ghost|restless spirit]] who haunts an ancient [[Rajasthan]]i palace seeking liberation. The film traces Reva's intermittent apparitions in front of Sameer ([[Vinod Khanna]]), a museum curator who arrives at the palace and—upon watching her visual recreation of events from her tragic story—resolves to set her free.{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999|p=498}} Kapadia was determined to get the part as soon as she learned about the project and kept persistently calling Gulzar and the film's producer [[Lata Mangeshkar]] until she was finally cast.<ref name="JhaNH">{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |title=Dimple Kapadia's finest 5 performances |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/entertainment/dimple-kapadias-finest-5-performances |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[National Herald]] |date=8 June 2021|archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208173843/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/entertainment/dimple-kapadias-finest-5-performances |url-status=live }}</ref> To make her character more truthful, Gulzar forbade Kapadia to blink during filming, trying to capture an "endless, fixed gaze" that would give her "a feeling of being surreal".{{sfn|Gulzar|2004|p=131}} Kapadia has often cited this role as a personal favourite and the pinnacle of her career, and wished it had been given more screen time in the film.<ref name="sari-roles">{{cite news|title=Dimple 'comfortable in sari roles'|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/05/06/stories/2010050651670100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223024938/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/05/06/stories/2010050651670100.htm|archive-date=23 February 2014|author=S., Priyadershini|date=6 May 2010|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=30 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="Leelaint">{{cite web|author=Din, Suleman|title=I got more than my share in my life|work=Rediff.com|date=25 May 2001|access-date=19 September 2011|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/25usspec.htm|archive-date=10 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210010726/http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/25usspec.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Lekin...'' was popular with critics<ref name="1990tribune"/> and Kapadia's performance in it earned her a third Filmfare nomination.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Nominations – 1991 |url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368596.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710182858/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368596.cms |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2012 |work=Filmfare |access-date=22 November 2012 }}</ref> Subhash K. Jha described Reva as "the essence of evanescence" and took note of the "intense tragedy" with which Kapadia played the part.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |title=Sands of time |work=The Indian Express |date=3 November 1991 |page=2|quote=Trapped in the no-man's land is the spiritual named, Reva. Filmed in the golden expanses of the Rajasthani desert and played with intense tragedy by Dimple, the insubstantial character is the essence of evanescence&nbsp;... ''Lekin'' is a deeply satisfying work of incandescent beauty.}}</ref>

Kapadia played a young widow in the military drama ''[[Prahaar: The Final Attack|Prahaar]]'' (1991), starring and directed by [[Nana Patekar]],<ref>{{cite news |title=On a Nana Patekar set |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.11599/page/n241/mode/2up?q=dimple |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=The Illustrated Weekly of India |date=27 January 1991 |page=49}}</ref>{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999|p=504}} with whom she would collaborate on several future projects.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Roshmila |title=Akshay deserves a National Award too, says Dimple |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/akshay-deserves-a-national-award-too-says-dimple/story-a2eK5H4s3HmzqmzABdGVEO.html |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=Hindustan Times |date=27 March 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610144657/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/akshay-deserves-a-national-award-too-says-dimple/story-a2eK5H4s3HmzqmzABdGVEO.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kapadia and co-star [[Madhuri Dixit]] agreed to act without wearing makeup upon Patekar's insistence.<ref name="firstnana">{{cite news |last1=Rahman |first1=M. |title=Nana Patekar: Riveting persona |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19920131-after-successful-directorial-debut-nana-patekar-looks-to-broaden-his-cinematic-repertoire-765771-2013-06-27 |access-date=19 May 2020 |work=India Today |publisher=Living Media |date=31 January 1992 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702070802/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19920131-after-successful-directorial-debut-nana-patekar-looks-to-broaden-his-cinematic-repertoire-765771-2013-06-27 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film impressed critics, who credited both actresses for their work, although most of the praise went to Patekar.<ref>{{cite news|title=Year of critically acclaimed films|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030119/spectrum/main4.htm|newspaper=The Sunday Tribune|date=19 January 2003|access-date=4 December 2011|author=Dhawan, M.L.|archive-date=9 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009180502/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030119/spectrum/main4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Further critical attention came Kapadia's way when she played a principled office receptionist opposite Sunny Deol in the action film ''[[Narsimha (1991 film)|Narsimha]]''.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=7 September 2020 | archive-date=12 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015356/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19910712&printsec=frontpage&hl=en | first1=N. | last1=Krishnaswamy | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19910712&printsec=frontpage&hl=en | title=''Narsimha'' | work=The Indian Express | date=12 July 1991 | page=7 | quote=Dimple sizzles in some highly dramatic scenes. When she crosses swords with Om Puri at an office that the latter has come to visit, Chandra has been very much successful in pitting a self-respecting individual's sense of pride against the arrogance of a diabolical villain. | url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Derné|2000|p=69}} In ''[[Haque (film)|Haque]]'' (1991), a political drama directed by Harish Bhosle and scripted by Mahesh Bhatt, she played Varsha B. Singh, an [[Sanātanī|Orthodox Hindu]] woman who, after years of subservience, acts in defiance of her oppressive husband.{{sfn|Agnihotri|1992|p=160}} The author Ram Awatar Agnihotri noted Kapadia for a brave and convincing portrayal.{{sfn|Agnihotri|1992|p=161}} Kapadia starred alongside [[Amitabh Bachchan]] in the fantasy ''[[Ajooba]]'', a big-budgeted Indo-Russian co-production that was co-directed by [[Shashi Kapoor]] and [[Gennady Vasilyev]].{{sfn|Raj|2009|p=167}}<ref name="MintJha">{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Lata |title=Ten big-budget Bollywood box-office disasters |url=https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/j0uwEr1EQbbKoB83ASpASK/Ten-bigbudget-Bollywood-boxoffice-disasters.html |access-date=19 November 2020 |newspaper=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |publisher=[[HT Media]] |date=28 September 2015 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127003908/https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/j0uwEr1EQbbKoB83ASpASK/Ten-bigbudget-Bollywood-boxoffice-disasters.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Based on [[Arabian mythology]] and set in the fictional Afghan kingdom Baharistan, the film saw her in the role of Rukhsana, a young woman who arrives from India to rescue her father from prison.{{sfn|Raj|2009|p=51}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chinn |first1=Bob |title=Reel Good Film Reviews |url=https://archive.org/details/Cult_Movies_38_c2c_Cult_Movies_2003_YZ1/page/n57/mode/2up?q=ajooba |access-date=1 September 2020 |work=Cult Movies |issue=38 |publisher=Cameo Distributors LLC |year=2003 |page=60}}</ref> The critical response to ''Ajooba'' was mediocre,<ref>{{cite magazine | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=11 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611144939/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19910515-shashi-kapoor-concocts-cocktail-of-myth-magicin-ajooba-815317-1991-05-15 | author=Jain, Madhu | magazine=India Today | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19910515-shashi-kapoor-concocts-cocktail-of-myth-magicin-ajooba-815317-1991-05-15 | title=''Ajooba'': Fantastic fare | publisher=[[Living Media]] | date=31 May 1991 | volume=16 | page=82 | url-status=live}}</ref> and it failed to attract viewers in Indian cinemas against success in the Soviet Union.<ref name="MintJha"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salazkina |first1=Masha |title=Soviet-Indian Coproductions: Alibaba as Political Allegory |journal=[[Cinema Journal]] |date=12 September 2010 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=71–89 |doi=10.1353/CJ.2010.0002 |s2cid=73679525 |url=https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978004/1/Soviet-Indian_coproductions_proofs.pdf#page=4 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127073413/https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978004/1/Soviet-Indian_coproductions_proofs.pdf#page=4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The release of ''[[Maarg]]'', her second project under Mahesh Bhatt's direction, was delayed for several years before its [[straight-to-video]] release in late 1992.<ref name="illustratedmahesh"/> The film is about power politics within an [[ashram]] and features Kapadia as Uma, who works as a prostitute by choice.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=13 June 2020 | archive-date=13 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613092133/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19880715-hema-malini-latest-film-marg-reveals-power-politics-in-an-ashram-798270-1988-07-15 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19880715-hema-malini-latest-film-marg-reveals-power-politics-in-an-ashram-798270-1988-07-15 | title=Hema Malini's latest film ''Marg'' reveals power politics in an ashram | url-status=live | work=India Today | date=15 July 1988}}</ref> The critic Iqbal Masood considered it "a powerful satire" with "excellent performances".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Masood |first1=Iqbal |title=The edge of mediocrity |work=[[The Indian Express|Sunday Magazine]] |page=3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19930110&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |date=10 January 1993 |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613091635/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19930110&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Bhatt, Kapadia's role was so intense it left her close to a breakdown after filming ended.<ref name="illustratedmahesh"/> She next played Barkha, a single woman who abandons her newly born, out-of-wedlock daughter, in [[Hema Malini]]'s directorial debut ''[[Dil Aashna Hai]]'' (1992).{{sfn|Somaaya|2008}} In [[Shashilal K. Nair]]'s crime drama ''[[Angaar (1992 film)|Angaar]]'' (1992), Kapadia played Mili, a homeless orphan who is collected by an unemployed man (Jackie Shroff). ''Angaar'', and Kapadia's performance in it, received positive reviews from critics but it was financially unsuccessful. Meena Iyer of ''The Times of India'', who called it "one of the most engaging mafia films to have come out of Bollywood", attributed the film's limited audience to its subject matter.<ref>{{cite news |author1=PR |title=Tragic tail-spin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82hlAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7 |work=The Indian Express |date=18 September 1992 |page=7 |quote=...there is so much to commend in this big-budget, multi-star, major production |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025006/https://books.google.com/books?id=82hlAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=24 May 2011 | archive-date=24 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524200832/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Now-Angaar-to-be-remade-for-Abhishek/articleshow/10313559.cms?referral=PM | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Now-Angaar-to-be-remade-for-Abhishek/articleshow/10313559.cms | title=Now, ''Angaar'' to be remade for Abhishek? | date=12 October 2011 | agency=TNN | author=Iyer, Meena | url-status=live | newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

{{quote box
| align = left
| width = 31em
| quote = "The standard Indian commercial film gives an actor hardly a chance to act because it seeks to create a cardboard cut-out seen from a distance as in the open air rural stage; the gesture must be broad in order to be seen, the speech must be loud in order to be heard. Psychology of character cannot, must not, be created; to seem too real is to risk confusing, even alienating, the audience. Kapadia has enough experience of this convention to be able to use some of its elements and enough understanding of acting techniques to create a real person. She is thus able to make her Shanichari both larger than life and believable."
| source = —[[Chidananda Dasgupta]] from ''[[Cinemaya]]'' on Kapadia's performance in ''Rudaali'' (1993)<ref>{{cite news | author-link1=Chidananda Dasgupta |year=1993 | first1=Chidananda | last1=Dasgupta | title=''Rudali'' (''The Mourner'') | work=Cinemaya | pages=30–31}}</ref>
}}

In 1993, Kapadia won the [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] for her performance in ''Rudaali'', a drama that was directed by [[Kalpana Lajmi]] and adapted from [[Mahasweta Devi]]'s short story of the same name.{{sfn|Sabharwal|2007|p=250}}<ref name="dialog">{{cite journal |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Tutun |title=Of 'Text' and 'Texualities': Performing Mahasweta |journal=Dialog: A Bi-annual Interdisciplinary Journal |year=2010 |volume=19 |issue=Autumn |pages=1–20 |url=https://dialog.puchd.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PANJAB-UNIVERSITY-DIALOG-NO-19.pdf#page=9 |location=Department of English and Cultural Studies, Panjab University |issn=0975-4881 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208133725/https://dialog.puchd.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PANJAB-UNIVERSITY-DIALOG-NO-19.pdf#page=9 |url-status=live }}</ref> She played the central character Shanichari, a lonely, hardened Rajasthani village woman who, during a lifetime of misfortune, has never cried and is challenged with a new job as a [[Professional mourning|professional mourner]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gulzar|1a2=Nihalani|1a3=Chatterjee|1y=2003|1p=183|2a1=Siegel|2a2=Wing|2a3=Kenley|2a4=Levy|2y=2017|2p=83}} The citation for the award described her performance as a "compelling interpretation of the tribulations of a lonely woman ravaged by a cruel society".<ref name=NFA41>{{cite web |url=http://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/77_40thNfacatalogue.pdf |title=40th National Film Awards |work=dff.nic.in |publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals |access-date=24 December 2011 |pages=40–41 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008114601/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm40thNFAAward.aspx?PdfName=40NFA.pdf |year=1993|archive-date=8 October 2015 }}</ref> The Indologist [[Philip Lutgendorf]] argued that Kapadia's "dignity and conviction, as well as her effective body language and gestures, lift her character far beyond bathos".<ref>{{cite web | access-date=3 March 2021 | archive-date=5 August 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060805125525/https://uiowa.edu/~incinema/Rudaali.html | author1-link=Philip Lutgendorf | first1=Philip| last1=Lutgendorf | url=https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/rudaali | title=''Rudaali''| publisher=[[University of Iowa]] | location=Iowa City, Iowa | url-status=live }}</ref> Among other accolades, she won the [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress#Critics Award for Best Performance|Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance]] and was acknowledged with Best Actress honours at the [[Asia-Pacific Film Festival]] and the [[Damascus International Film Festival|International Film Festival in Damascus]].<ref name="damascusfest">{{cite web |title=Eighth Session |url=http://www.damascusfest.com/en/archive/details/9/Eighth+Session |website=damascusfest.com |publisher=Damascus International Film Festival |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915195339/http://www.damascusfest.com/en/archive/details/9/Eighth+Session |archive-date=15 September 2009}}</ref>{{sfn|Kumar|2002|p=172|ps=: "Bhupen Hazarika adjudged the best music director and Dimple Kapadia the best actress for 'Rudali' (Hindi) at Asia-Pacific International Film Festival Fukoaka, Japan"}} Critics and moviegoers accepted ''Rudaali'' with enthusiasm, and it was India's submission to the [[List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film|66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref name="dialog"/><ref>{{cite news | access-date=31 July 2020 | archive-date=31 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231184244/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Lqji0DYRZaGA3Mf7MOwTRM/India-sends-The-Good-Road-for-Best-Foreign-Film-Oscar.html | first1=Nandini | last1=Ramnath | url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Lqji0DYRZaGA3Mf7MOwTRM/India-sends-The-Good-Road-for-Best-Foreign-Film-Oscar.html | title=India sends ''The Good Road'' for best Foreign Film Oscar | url-status=live | work=Mint | date=21 September 2013}}</ref> In 2010, ''Filmfare'' magazine included Kapadia's work in the film in their list of "80 Iconic Performances".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmfare|date=6 June 2010|access-date=29 December 2011|title=80 Iconic Performances 6/10|url=https://www.filmfare.com/articles/80-iconic-performances-610-956.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506122601/http://www.filmfare.com/articles/80-iconic-performances-610-956.html|archive-date=6 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Gahlot|2015|pp=69–73}}

Another Filmfare nomination for Kapadia came that year for her supporting role as Shanti, a street prostitute whose husband and child were burnt alive, in the [[Priyadarshan]]-directed crime drama ''[[Gardish]]''.{{sfn|Ausaja|2009|p=213}} An adaptation of the 1989 Malayalam film ''[[Kireedam (1989 film)|Kireedam]]'', the film starred Jackie Shroff and [[Amrish Puri]] and was met with approval from critics and the public.{{sfn|Ausaja|2009|p=213}}<ref>{{cite news | author-link1=Mukul Kesavan | date=September–October 1993 | first1=Mukul | issue=78 | last1=Kesavan | title=''Gardish'' | work=Manushi | page=36}}</ref> ''The Indian Express'' praised the film's "script, vivid characters and powerful dialogues", and noted Kapadia's ability to command audience attention.<ref>{{cite news |author=PR |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19931001&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |title=Keeps you seat-bound |page=6 |work=The Indian Express |date=1 October 1993 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608084530/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19931001&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mrinal Sen]]'s 1993 Bengali drama ''Antareen'', which was adapted from [[Saadat Hasan Manto]]'s short story ''Badshahat ka Khatama'' (1950),{{sfn|Hood|2000|p=443}} was Kapadia's first non-Hindi project since ''Vikram'' (1986).<ref name="crossover"/> She played an unhappily married woman who develops a telephonic relationship with a stranger ([[Anjan Dutt]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Hood|1y=2000|1p=146–147|2a1=Rajadhyaksha|2a2=Willemen|2y=1999|2p=512}} Kapadia insisted on playing the role spontaneously and thus refused to enrol in a crash course in Bengali, believing she would manage to speak it convincingly.<ref name="IT93"/> Her voice was later dubbed by Anushua Chatterjee, a decision with which Kapadia was unhappy.<ref name="moody">{{cite news|author=Das Gupta, Ranjan|title=I am very moody|date=8 November 2009|access-date=23 December 2011|url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/08/stories/2009110850060200.htm|archive-date=11 November 2009|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111132038/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/08/stories/2009110850060200.htm}}</ref> ''Antareen'' was well-received and was named the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali|Best Bengali Film]] at the [[41st National Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite news | access-date=19 July 2020 | archive-date=19 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719112244/https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/the-confined-1200438840/ | first1=David | last1=Rooney | url=https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/the-confined-1200438840/ | title=''The Confined'' | url-status=live | work=Variety | date=24 October 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kumar Ghosh |first1=Swapan |title=Mrinal Sen's latest offering |work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |date=1994 |pages=80–81 |quote=The taut screenplay has been brought alive on screen by Shashi Anand's camerawork, Mrinmoy Chakraborty's editing, Goutam Bose's design and Anjan Dutta's and Dimple Kapadia's acting.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=41st National Film Festival |url=http://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/76_41stNfacatalogue.pdf |website=dff.nic.in |publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals |access-date=15 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928072259/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm41thNFAAward.aspx?PdfName=41NFA.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2011 |date=1994|url-status=live |page=72, hi}}</ref> but Kapadia was dissatisfied with the outcome and dismissed it as a poor film.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=19 September 2011|date=8 June 2007|title=I want to laugh, really laugh!|newspaper=[[Mid-Day]]|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_i-want-to-laugh-really-laugh_1101957|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107013255/http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_i-want-to-laugh-really-laugh_1101957|archive-date=7 November 2011}}</ref>

In 1994, in [[Mehul Kumar]]'s ''[[Krantiveer]]'', Kapadia portrayed the journalist Meghna Dixit, a rape victim who persuades an alcoholic, unemployed village man (Nana Patekar) to be a champion of justice for those around him.{{sfnm|1a1=Raj|1y=2014|1p=203|2a1=Rajadhyaksha|2a2=Willemen|2y=1999|2p=520}} The film was a box-office success and became India's third-highest-grossing picture of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=200&catName=MTk5NA==|title=Box Office 1994|publisher=Box Office India|access-date=30 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017072451/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=200&catName=MTk5NA==|archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref> ''The Indian Express'' complimented Kapadia for having developed into a leading character actor with this film.<ref>{{cite news |author=PR |title=Patriotism and Patekar all the way |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19940729&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=29 July 1994 |page=6 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613122636/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19940729&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> For her performance, Kapadia received her fourth Filmfare Award, this time in the [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] category.<ref name=FA94>{{cite news |title=The Winners – 1994|url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/368623.cms|access-date=26 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708210526/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/368623.cms|archive-date=8 July 2007}}</ref> A controversy arose in December 1993 when Kapadia walked out of [[Raj Kanwar]]'s ''[[Kartavya (1995 film)|Kartavya]]'', in which she played [[Divya Bharti]]'s mother in-law.<ref name="KartIE">{{cite news |last1=Tara Nayar |first1=Udaya |author1-link=Udaya Tara Nayar |title=Dimple, the spoilsport |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J39lAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA29 |access-date=29 April 2023 |work=The Indian Express |date=12 December 1993}}</ref> Following Bharti's death in April 1993, almost midway through the shooting, she was replaced by [[Juhi Chawla]].<ref name="KartIE"/> Concerned that it would damage her career, Kapadia refused to play a mother in-law to Chawla, who is a decade her junior.<ref name="KartIE"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhowal |first1=Tiasa |title=Dimple Kapadia refused to play Juhi Chawla's mom-in-law in Kartavya. On Tuesday Trivia |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/dimple-kapadia-refused-to-play-juhi-chawla-s-mom-in-law-in-kartavya-on-tuesday-trivia-1812426-2021-06-08 |access-date=29 April 2023 |work=India Today |date=8 June 2021}}</ref> The Film Makers' Combine circulated a ban against Kapadia from signing any new projects;{{sfn|Trivedi|1994|p=69}} the ban was withdrawn in May 1994 when the Cine Artistes' Association intervened in support of Kapadia.{{sfn|Da Cunha|1995|p=203}}<ref>{{cite news |title=You asked it |url=https://filminformation.com/flash-back/flash-back-25-may-2019/ |access-date=29 April 2023 |work=Film Information |date=28 May 1994}}</ref>

===Hiatus, setback and resurgence (1995–2008)===

After ''Antareen'', Kapadia was expected to work in more independent films but she took a three-year hiatus from acting, later saying she was "emotionally exhausted".<ref name="IT02"/> She returned to commercial cinema in 1997, playing Amitabh Bachchan's wife in ''[[Mrityudaata]]'' under Mehul Kumar's direction.<ref name="Rediffint">{{cite web|title=Mature beauty|author=Srinivasan, V. S.|work=Rediff.com|url=http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1998/may/06dimp.htm|date=6 May 1998|access-date=19 September 2011|archive-date=2 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102114236/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1998/may/06dimp.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was a critical and commercial failure; ''India Today'' panned its "comic book-level storytelling".<ref name="Rediffint"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Cosmic comedown|author=Chopra, Anupama|publisher=[[Living Media]]|magazine=India Today|volume=22|date=15 May 1997|page=100|access-date=19 May 2020|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19970515-movie-review-mrityudaata-starring-amitabh-bachchan-dimple-kapadia-831373-1997-05-15|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610085036/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19970515-movie-review-mrityudaata-starring-amitabh-bachchan-dimple-kapadia-831373-1997-05-15|url-status=live}}</ref> The trade journal ''Film Information'' said Kapadia had a role unworthy of her time, and Kapadia shared similar sentiments.<ref name="Rediffint"/><ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|date=30 April 1997|access-date=4 December 2011|title=It is sad to see a middle-aged man trying to recapture the panache and elan that was his trademark in his heyday|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/apr/30abcl.htm|archive-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130154712/http://www.rediff.com/movies/apr/30abcl.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> She next acted opposite Jackie Shroff in the murder mystery ''[[2001: Do Hazaar Ek]]'' (1998) and the romantic drama ''[[Laawaris (1999 film)|Laawaris]]'' (1999), which were rejected by audiences.<ref>{{cite news |title=Box – Office |url=http://expressindia.com/screen/feb27/reviews2.htm |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=Screen |date=27 February 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980513044040/http://expressindia.com/screen/feb27/reviews2.htm |archive-date=13 May 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=11 January 2023 | archive-date=17 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617004645/https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2448 | url=https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2448 | title=''Laawaris'' | publisher=Box Office India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=10 June 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610084739/https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2592 | url=https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2592 | title=''2001 – Do Hazaar Ek'' | url-status=live | publisher=Box Office India}}</ref> ''Laawaris'' was criticised for its formulaic script and lack of originality and, according to ''[[Hindustan Times]]'', did not allow Kapadia "much to do except scream".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 June 2020 | archive-date=23 October 1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991023025532/http://www.digitalht.com/bollywood/reviewslawaaris.htm | url=http://www.digitalht.com/bollywood/reviewslawaaris.htm | title=''Laawaris'' | work=[[Hindustan Times]] | date=1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|title=Déjà vu again|date=6 March 1999|access-date=5 December 2011|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/mar/06lawa.htm|author=Taliculam, Sharmila|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924140540/http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/mar/06lawa.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In her final feature of the decade, ''[[Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain]]'' (1999), Kapadia played Devyani Chopra, the strict matriarch of a wealthy family.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=13 June 2020 | archive-date=13 October 1999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013004141/http://digitalht.com/bollywood/reviews.htm | first1=R. | last1=Vasudevan | url=http://digitalht.com/bollywood/reviews.htm | title=''Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain'' | work=Hindustan Times | date=1999 | agency=Digital}}</ref> Subhash K. Jha called the film an embarrassment while [[Suparn Verma]] gave a scathing review of Kapadia's performance, noting she "wears a permanent scowl" throughout the film.<ref name="Filmfare2001">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmfare|title=Life is so unsure|author=Jha, Subhash K.|url=http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/oct2001/ivw5.html |date=October 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525234252/http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/oct2001/ivw5.html|archive-date=25 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|title=A bad hangover|date=25 September 1999|access-date=5 December 2011|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/sep/25hum.htm|author=Verma, Suparn|archive-date=7 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707014020/http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/sep/25hum.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In her first film of the new millennium, Kapadia co-starred in [[Farhan Akhtar]]'s directorial debut ''[[Dil Chahta Hai]]'' (2001), which depicts the contemporary, routine life of Indian affluent youth, and focuses on a period of transition in the lives of three friends ([[Aamir Khan]], [[Saif Ali Khan]] and [[Akshaye Khanna]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Dasgupta|1a2=Datta|1y=2018|1pp=72–74|2a1=Dwyer|2y=2005|2pp=71–72}} Kapadia played the role of Tara Jaiswal, a middle-aged alcoholic woman, an interior designer by profession, and a divorcee who is not allowed to meet her daughter.{{sfnm|1a1=Dasgupta|1a2=Datta|1y=2018|1p=73|2a1=Dwyer|2y=2005|2p=71}} The film presents her story through the character of Siddharth (Khanna), a much-younger man whom she befriends and who falls deeply in love with her.{{sfnm|1a1=Dasgupta|1a2=Datta|1y=2018|1p=73|2a1=Mazumdar|2y=2007|2p=146}} Akhtar wrote the part specifically for Kapadia, who later called it "a role to die for".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 August 2021 | archive-date=11 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811075828/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/farhan-akhtar-reveals-if-dimple-kapadia-had-rejected-dil-chahta-hai-he-was-ready-to-scrap-film-1839465-2021-08-11 | first1=Rishita | last1=Roy Chowdhury | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/farhan-akhtar-reveals-if-dimple-kapadia-had-rejected-dil-chahta-hai-he-was-ready-to-scrap-film-1839465-2021-08-11 | title=Farhan Akhtar reveals if Dimple Kapadia had rejected ''Dil Chahta Hai'', he was ready to scrap film | work=India Today | date=11 August 2021| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Filmfare2001"/> Critics lauded ''Dil Chahta Hai'' as a groundbreaking film for its realistic portrayal of India's modern society, and it won the Best Hindi Film award at the [[49th National Film Awards]].{{sfnm|1a1=Dasgupta|1a2=Datta|1y=2018|1pp=72–74|2a1=Dwyer|2y=2005|2pp=71–72|3a1=Mazumdar|3y=2007|3pp=143–144}} Commercially, it performed well in large cities but failed in the rural areas, which trade analysts attributed to the urban lifestyle depicted in it.{{sfnm|1a1=Dasgupta|1a2=Datta|1y=2018|1p=73|2a1=Gulzar|2a2=Nihalani|2a3=Chatterjee|2y=2003|2p=128}} [[Saibal Chatterjee]], in a review for ''Hindustan Times'', noted, "Dimple Kapadia, in a brief, somewhat underdeveloped role, presents a poignant study of loneliness".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=1 December 2011 | archive-date=9 February 2002 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020209150113/http://167.216.192.98/infotainment/cinema/reviews/bollywood/reviewsdch.shtml | url=http://167.216.192.98/infotainment/cinema/reviews/bollywood/reviewsdch.shtml | title=''Dil Chahta Hai'' | date=9 February 2002 | author=Chatterjee, Saibal | newspaper=Hindustan Times | author-link=Saibal Chatterjee}}</ref>

In 2002, Kapadia portrayed the title role in the drama ''[[Leela (2002 film)|Leela]]'', an American production that was directed by Somnath Sen and co-stars [[Deepti Naval]], Vinod Khanna and Amol Mhatre.{{sfn|Adarkar|2003|p=262}} Kapadia's part, which was written specially for her, is that of a forty-year-old, married [[Mumbai University]] professor who, after the death of her mother, loses her sense of happiness and takes a job as a visiting professor of [[Indology|South Asian studies]] in California.<ref name="IT02"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dinesh |first1=Chethana |title=Class apart |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov10/ent6.asp |access-date=3 June 2020 |work=[[Deccan Herald|Sunday Herald]] |date=10 November 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021201234128/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov10/ent6.asp |archive-date=1 December 2002}}</ref> The story follows Leela's acclimation to her new surroundings and her relationship with a young Indian-American man named Kris (Mhatre), one of her students. Kapadia was nervous during the making of the film but believed the tension helped elevate her acting.<ref name="Leelaint"/> The film was reviewed favourably by American critics,{{sfn|Adarkar|2003|p=262}}<ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 June 2020 | archive-date=14 November 2002 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021114132218/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-leela,0,5358866.story | author-link1=Kevin Thomas (film critic) | date=8 November 2002 | first1=Kevin | last1=Thomas | url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-leela,0,5358866.story | title=''Leela'' a deft bicultural portrait | url-status=dead | work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 June 2020 | archive-date=4 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604081710/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/08/movies/film-in-review-leela.html | author-link1=Dave Kehr | date=8 November 2002 | first1=Dave | last1=Kehr | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/08/movies/film-in-review-leela.html | title=FILM IN REVIEW; ''Leela'' | url-status=live | work=The New York Times}}</ref> among whom [[Maitland McDonagh]] from ''[[TV Guide]]'' wrote: "Dimple Kapadia shines in this family melodrama&nbsp;... [her] intelligent, nuanced performance is the film's highlight".<ref>{{cite magazine | access-date=19 September 2011 | archive-date=7 June 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607014523/http://movies.tvguide.com/leela/review/136316 | title=''Leela'': Review | author=McDonagh, Maitland | magazine=[[TV Guide]] | url=http://movies.tvguide.com/leela/review/136316 | url-status=live | year=2002}}</ref> Reviews in India were similarly approving of ''Leela'' and Kapadia's work.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=19 September 2011 | archive-date=11 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211043246/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/11/15/stories/2002111501040203.htm | author-link=Ziya Us Salam | url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/11/15/stories/2002111501040203.htm | title=''Leela'' | date=15 November 2002 | author=Us Salam, Ziya | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=9 June 2020 | archive-date=1 December 2002 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021201212255/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov10/filmr.asp | first1=Chethana | last1=Dinesh | url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov10/filmr.asp | title=''Leela'' | work=[[Deccan Herald]] | date=10 November 2002}}</ref>

Kapadia played the lead role of army wife Sandra Williams, whose palatial household becomes plagued by eerie occurrences, in ''[[Hum Kaun Hai?]]'' (2004), a supernatural thriller. The film opened to a mixed critical reception, but critics agreed Kapadia's performance and charismatic presence enhance an otherwise weak script.<ref>{{cite magazine | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=10 September 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040910000321/http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/843650.cms | magazine=Filmfare | url=http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/843650.cms | title=''Hum Kaun Hain'' | date=5 September 2004 | author=Jha, Subhash K. | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Tribune|author=Sharma, Rama|date=5 September 2004|access-date=30 December 2011 |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040905/cth2.htm#9 |title=Enthralling suspense thriller |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113223819/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040905/cth2.htm#9|archive-date=13 January 2013}}</ref> A year later, Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor reunited as a lead couple for the third time after ''Bobby'' and ''Saagar'' in ''[[Pyaar Mein Twist]]'', starring as middle-aged single parents who fall in love and are subsequently confronted with the reaction of their children.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Telegraph|author=Mitra, Mandira|title=Where, where?|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050909/asp/etc/story_5200771.asp|date=9 September 2005|access-date=6 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821165409/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050909/asp/etc/story_5200771.asp|archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref> The film generated mostly negative reviews but critics concurred the chemistry between the lead pair was enough of a reason to watch it, acknowledging the nostalgic value of the pairing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Give nostalgia a chance|author=Us Salam, Ziya |date=4 September 2005|access-date=6 December 2011 |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/04/stories/2005090415460200.htm |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517083357/http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/04/stories/2005090415460200.htm|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=17 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|author=Mohamed, Khalid|date=3 September 2005|access-date=6 December 2011|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_jhooth-bole-bobby-kaate_1138|title=''Jhooth bole Bobby kaate?''}}</ref> Few people went to see the film; within two weeks it was declared a failure.<ref>{{cite web|work=Rediff.com|title=Chocolate, James sink at the box office|date=20 September 2005|accessdate=6 December 2011|author=Kuckian, Uday|url=http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/sep/20box.htm|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821175232/http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/sep/20box.htm|archivedate=21 August 2014}}</ref> In 2016, scholar Afreen Khan cited Kapadia's character as a departure from the conventional portrayal of mothers in Hindi films, believing her role to be a modern mother whom daughters dream of having.<ref name="Madhya">{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Afreen |title=Hindi Cinema: Changing Portrayal of Female Characters |journal=Madhya Pradesh Journal of Social Sciences |date=1 December 2016 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=46–64 |url=https://mpissr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MPJSS-Dec-2016.pdf#page=52 |issn=0973-855X |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028214222/https://mpissr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MPJSS-Dec-2016.pdf#page=52 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, Kapadia co-starred with Saif Ali Khan and [[Naseeruddin Shah]] in the black comedy ''[[Being Cyrus]]'', an English-language independent feature and the directorial debut of [[Homi Adajania]], who would often cast her in his future endeavours.{{sfnm|1a1=Mazumdar|1y=2010|1p=162|2a1=Murali|2y=2017|2p=299}} Kapadia played Katy Sethna, Shah's neurotic and unfaithful wife who has an affair with Cyrus (Khan), a young drifter who enters their house as an assistant.{{sfn|Mazumdar|2010|p=162}} The film was well received at a number of film festivals before its theatrical release in India,<ref>{{cite news |title=Out-of-the-box drama |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/out-of-the-box-drama/37317/ |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]] |date=19 March 2006 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611134830/https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/out-of-the-box-drama/37317/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tolani |first1=Pooja |title=Their first time |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/their-first-time/cid/970745 |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=14 April 2006 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611134832/https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/their-first-time/cid/970745 |url-status=live }}</ref> upon which it was embraced by critics and audiences, making a considerable profit against its small budget.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sinha Walunjkar |first1=Somashukla |last2=Tarafdar |first2=Suman |title=Small is Bountiful |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/small-is-bountiful/171188/ |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=The Financial Express |date=16 July 2006 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015405/https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/small-is-bountiful/171188/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=11 June 2020 | archive-date=12 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015404/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/munnabhai-basanti-big-at-star-127482 | first1=Nyay | last1=Bhushan | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/munnabhai-basanti-big-at-star-127482 | title=''Munnabhai'', ''Basanti'' big at STAR nods | url-status=live | work=The Hollywood Reporter | date=9 January 2007}}</ref> The [[BBC]]'s Poonam Joshi stated, "the descent into despair of Dimple Kapadia's Katy is enthralling"<ref>{{cite web | access-date=7 December 2011 | archive-date=30 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930095542/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/03/24/being_cyrus_2006_review.shtml | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/03/24/being_cyrus_2006_review.shtml | title=''Being Cyrus'' (2006) | url-status=live | publisher=[[BBC]] | date=19 March 2006 | author=Joshi, Poonam}}</ref> but other critics, including [[Derek Elley]] from ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' and Shradha Sukumaran from ''[[Mid-Day]]'', criticised her for excessively overacting.<ref name="elley">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|author=Elley, Derek|author-link=Derek Elley|date=30 March 2006|access-date=7 December 2011|title=''Being Cyrus''|url=https://variety.com/2006/film/reviews/being-cyrus-1200517323/|archive-date=22 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822121800/http://variety.com/2006/film/reviews/being-cyrus-1200517323/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Sukumaran, Shradha|url=http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2006/mar/133830.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903155542/http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2006/mar/133830.htm|archive-date=3 September 2012|newspaper=[[Mid-Day]]|date=26 March 2006|access-date=9 December 2011|title=Good start}}</ref> In the mystical love story ''[[Banaras (2006 film)|Banaras]]'' (2006), Kapadia played a wealthy [[Brahmin]] woman whose daughter falls in love with a man of a [[Caste system in India|lower caste]].<ref>{{cite news | access-date=18 May 2020 | archive-date=2 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702165847/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bollywood/Banaras-A-Mystic-Love-Story/articleshow/1484313.cms | first1=Nitin | last1=Nambiar | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bollywood/Banaras-A-Mystic-Love-Story/articleshow/1484313.cms | title=''Banaras – A Mystic Love Story'' | url-status=live | work=The Times of India | date=10 April 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=11 June 2020 | archive-date=10 April 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060410105713/http://ww1.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/april/134791.htm | first1=Sarita | last1=Tanwar | url=http://ww1.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/april/134791.htm | title=Film review: ''Banaras'' | work=[[Mid-Day]] | date=8 April 2006}}</ref>

[[File:Dimple kapadia 54.jpg|thumb|Kapadia at the Sansui Television Awards in 2008|alt=Kapadia at an event]]

[[V. K. Prakash]]'s romance ''[[Phir Kabhi]]'' (2008) stars Kapadia and Mithun Chakraborty as ageing people who meet at a school reunion and rekindle their high-school romance. The film was awarded seven prizes, including the Best Film Award in the Narrative Feature section, at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=25 April 2020 | archive-date=3 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703033742/https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/iphir-kabhii-gets-international-award/673843 | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/iphir-kabhii-gets-international-award/673843 | title=''Phir Kabhi'' Gets International Award | url-status=live | work=Outlook | date=1 February 2010}}</ref> It was released direct-to-video a year later and was simultaneously distributed via [[pay-per-view]] [[Satellite television|direct-to-home]] (DTH) services, becoming the first Hindi film to premier on streaming media platforms.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=25 April 2020 | archive-date=2 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702132327/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/phir-kabhi-to-release-directly-on-dth-home-video/story-WilMIsEFejfMhgC2H415GK.html | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/phir-kabhi-to-release-directly-on-dth-home-video/story-WilMIsEFejfMhgC2H415GK.html | title=''Phir Kabhi'' to release directly on DTH, Home Video | work=Hindustan Times | date=21 August 2009 | agency=[[Indo-Asian News Service]] | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Shubhra |title=Time after time |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/time-after-time/518810/ |access-date=19 May 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=19 September 2009 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015404/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/time-after-time/518810/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the request of her son-in-law Akshay Kumar, Kapadia voiced the character Devi, the mother of the elephant Jumbo (Kumar), in the animated feature ''[[Jumbo (2008 film)|Jumbo]]'' (2008), a remake of the 2006 Thai computer animation ''[[Khan Kluay]]''.<ref name="lucky09">{{cite news|author=Das Gupta, Ranjan|date=9 January 2009|access-date=7 December 2011|title=Lucky once again|url=http://www.hindu.com/cp/2009/01/09/stories/2009010950110300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602034123/http://hindu.com/cp/2009/01/09/stories/2009010950110300.htm|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=2 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 June 2020 | archive-date=6 June 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606235208/https://archive.mid-day.com/entertainment/2008/dec/081208-Kompin-Kemgumnird-Khan-Kluay-Akshay-Kumar-Lara-Dutta-Jumbo-Bollywood-Filmy-Adlabs.htm | first1=Amul | last1=Sharma | url=https://archive.mid-day.com/entertainment/2008/dec/081208-Kompin-Kemgumnird-Khan-Kluay-Akshay-Kumar-Lara-Dutta-Jumbo-Bollywood-Filmy-Adlabs.htm | title=Akshay Kumar's ''Jumbo'' is official remake of Thai movie | work=[[Mid-Day]] | date=8 December 2008}}</ref><!--<ref>{{cite news | access-date=23 June 2020 | archive-date=7 June 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607122040/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/KhalidMohamed/Review-Jumbo/Article1-361006.aspx | first1=Khalid | last1=Mohamed | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/KhalidMohamed/Review-Jumbo/Article1-361006.aspx | title=Review: ''Jumbo'' | url-status=dead | work=Hindustan Times | date=26 December 2008}}</ref> -->

===Recognition for character roles (2009–2014)===

Kapadia was cast in [[Zoya Akhtar]]'s first directorial venture ''[[Luck by Chance]]'' (2009), a satirical take on the Hindi film industry.{{sfn|Bose |2017 |pp=217–218}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Genzlinger |first1=Neil |author-link1=Neil Genzlinger |title=A Bollywood Satire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/movies/30luck.html?ref=movies |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=29 January 2009 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105922/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/movies/30luck.html?ref=movies |url-status=live }}</ref> She played Neena Walia, an erstwhile superstar—referred to in the film as "a crocodile in a chiffon saree"—who struggles to launch her young daughter into the movie business.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=9 December 2011 | archive-date=20 July 2012 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720082725/http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=76&contentid=20090130200901302044304630061598&sectxslt= | url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=76&contentid=20090130200901302044304630061598&sectxslt= | title=''Luck By Chance'': Show (you) must go on | date=30 January 2009 | author=Shekhar, Mayank | newspaper=[[Bangalore Mirror]] | url-status=dead}}</ref> Kapadia was approached for the part because it required an actress who had been a mainstream star in the past. Akhtar noted Kapadia's edgy portrayal of the character's fickle nature, saying Kapadia is "all warm, soft sunshine and then there's a flip and she's hard, cold, steely".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=29 May 2020 | archive-date=13 December 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213025325/http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2009/jan/040109-Zoya-Akthar-Luck-By-Chance-Scriptwriters-Mumbai-Play-Bollywood.htm | first1=Shradha | last1=Sukumaran | url=http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2009/jan/040109-Zoya-Akthar-Luck-By-Chance-Scriptwriters-Mumbai-Play-Bollywood.htm | title=Zoya Akhtar on ''Luck by Chance'' | url-status=dead | work=[[Mid-Day]] | date=4 January 2009}}</ref> ''Luck By Chance'' opened to a warm critical response, though its financial income was modest.{{sfn|Bose |2017 |pp=217–218}}<ref>{{cite news|author=Devi Dundoo, Sangeetha|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/02/13/stories/2009021350230100.htm|date=13 February 2009|access-date=9 December 2011|title=Goodwill hunting for a hit|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218064848/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/02/13/stories/2009021350230100.htm|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=18 February 2009}}</ref> Critics were appreciative of Kapadia's performance, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at Filmfare.{{sfn|Singh|2014|p=52}} Deepa Karmalkar from ''[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]]'' characterised her role as "gloriously bitchy"<ref>{{cite magazine | access-date=9 December 2011 | archive-date=11 September 2012 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911065614/http://www.screenindia.com/news/luckbychancehindi/419189/ | magazine=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]] | url=http://www.screenindia.com/news/luckbychancehindi/419189/ | title=''Luck By Chance'' (Hindi) | date=6 February 2009 | author=Karmalkar, Deepa | url-status=dead}}</ref> while Avijit Ghosh of ''The Times of India'' believed Kapadia had delivered "one of her most nuanced performances" in a character he found to be "a rare kind of Hindi film mother" who is "hawk-eyed, tough as nails but vainglorious, and in a strange way, vulnerable as well".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ghosh |first1=Avijit |title=Mother India? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Mother-India/articleshow/4504427.cms |access-date=22 April 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=10 March 2009 |archive-date=10 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710193414/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Mother-India/articleshow/4504427.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, Kapadia played the small part of [[Salman Khan]]'s asthmatic mother in action comedy ''[[Dabangg]]'', which was the most popular film of the year in India and the [[List of highest-grossing Hindi films|second-highest grossing Hindi film of all-time]] up to that point.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=7 December 2011 | archive-date=3 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603180855/http://boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3327&nCat=box_office_news | url=http://boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=3327&nCat=box_office_news | title=''ZNMD'' Amongst All Time Top Ten Worldwide Grossers | date=17 August 2011 | publisher=Box Office India}}</ref>{{sfn|Ganti|2012|p=363|ps=: "An even more intriguing instance of nostalgia is manifest in ''Dabangg'' (Fearless), which was the biggest hit of 2010."}} Reviews for Kapadia's role were varied; Blessy Chettiar of ''[[Daily News and Analysis]]'' likened her character to "the mothers in Hindi cinema of yore, self-sacrificing, torn between relationships, slightly over-the-top, likeable nevertheless".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=12 January 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112015351/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dabangg/680036/ | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dabangg/680036/ | title=''Dabangg'' | date=10 September 2010 | author=Gupta, Shubhra | newspaper=The Indian Express | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=7 May 2020 | archive-date=21 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621011054/https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/review-review-dabangg-is-an-out-and-out-entertainer-1436258 | first1=Blessy | last1=Chettiar | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/review-review-dabangg-is-an-out-and-out-entertainer-1436258 | title=Review: ''Dabangg'' is an out-and-out entertainer | url-status=live | work=Daily News and Analysis | date=10 September 2010}}</ref> Next followed ''[[Tum Milo Toh Sahi]]'' (2010), a romantic comedy which stars Kapadia as Delshad Nanji, a [[Parsi]] woman in charge of an [[Irani café]] whose business is under threat from developers and who falls in love with the lawyer (Nana Patekar) who represents her in court. Kapadia adopted a Parsi accent for the role and while preparing for it, visited several Irani cafés in Mumbai to adapt to the character's cultural milieu.<ref name="tmtdibn">{{cite web | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=21 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821163453/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/first-cut-tum-milo-toh-sahi/112536-47.html | url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/first-cut-tum-milo-toh-sahi/112536-47.html | title=First Cut: ''Tum Milo&nbsp;...'' saved by Nana-Dimple | publisher=IBN Live | date=1 April 2010 | author=Parande, Shweta | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2 April 2010|url=http://www.hindu.com/cp/2010/04/02/stories/2010040250220800.htm|access-date=10 December 2011|title=Plays the stewardess|agency=Bollywood News Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608055056/http://www.hindu.com/cp/2010/04/02/stories/2010040250220800.htm|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=8 June 2010}}</ref> The film opened to average reviews but Kapadia's performance received generally positive feedback.<ref name="tmtdibn"/><ref>{{cite news | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=20 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520231703/http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2010/apr/030410-Tum-Milo-Toh-Sahi-Movies-Review.htm | url=http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2010/apr/030410-Tum-Milo-Toh-Sahi-Movies-Review.htm | title=''Tum Milo Toh Sahi''&nbsp;– Movie Review | date=3 April 2010 | author=Joshi, Tushar | newspaper=[[Mid-Day]] | url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Anupama Chopra]], the character of Delshad "veers into caricature" but Kapadia "plays her with affection and energy and at least has some fun doing it".<ref>{{cite web | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=23 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023025829/https://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/anupama-chopra-reviews-tum-milo-toh-sahi-498 | author-link=Anupama Chopra | url=https://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/anupama-chopra-reviews-tum-milo-toh-sahi-498 | title=Review: ''Tum Milo Toh Sahi'' | publisher=[[NDTV]] | date=2 April 2010 | author=Chopra, Anupama | url-status=dead}}</ref> In her only film of 2011, Kapadia was cast as Rishi Kapoor's wife and her son in-law Akshay Kumar's mother in [[Nikhil Advani]]'s ''[[Patiala House (film)|Patiala House]]'', a sports film revolving around cricket.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=10 June 2020 | archive-date=12 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015406/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/patiala-house/748930/ | first1=Shubhra | last1=Gupta | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/patiala-house/748930/ | title=''Patiala House'' | url-status=live | work=The Indian Express | date=11 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=30 December 2011 | archive-date=31 December 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231094542/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Patiala-House/movie-review/7476943.cms | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Patiala-House/movie-review/7476943.cms | title=''Patiala House'' | date=11 February 2011 | author=Kazmi, Nikhat | newspaper=The Times of India | url-status=live}}</ref> <!-- She appeared in her first Malayalam film ''[[Bombay Mittayi]]'', for which she started learning the language. She played the wife of a celebrated [[Ghazal]] singer played by [[Amar Singh (politician)|Amar Singh]], on whose behest she was offered the part.<ref name="sari-roles"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Dimple in Malayalam |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2010/apr/06/dimple-in-malayalam-147616.html |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=The New Indian Express |date=6 April 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610173033/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2010/apr/06/dimple-in-malayalam-147616.html |url-status=live }}</ref> -->

Kapadia collaborated again with Homi Adajania in ''[[Cocktail (2012 film)|Cocktail]]'' (2012) and ''[[Finding Fanny]]'' (2014), both critical and commercial successes.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=20 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620164247/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/after-hits-like-cocktail-and-finding-fanny-deepika-homi-join-hands-for-a-cause/story-G4MkYnHo6WfTvyI9Pmbj1H.html | first1=Jigar | last1=Shah | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/after-hits-like-cocktail-and-finding-fanny-deepika-homi-join-hands-for-a-cause/story-G4MkYnHo6WfTvyI9Pmbj1H.html | title=After hits like ''Cocktail'' and ''Finding Fanny'', Deepika-Homi join hands for a cause | url-status=live | work=Hindustan Times | date=14 December 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Murali|2017|p=293–296}} ''Cocktail'', a romantic comedy, saw her play Saif Ali Khan's loud Punjabi mother, Kavita Kapoor, an appearance to which Aniruddha Guha of ''Daily News and Analysis'' referred as a "veritable treat".<ref>{{cite news | access-date=10 June 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610222519/https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dimple-missing-from-cocktail-promotions/articleshow/21348874.cms | first1=Sonal | last1=Chawla | url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dimple-missing-from-cocktail-promotions/articleshow/21348874.cms | title=Dimple missing from ''Cocktail'' promotions | url-status=live | work=[[Bangalore Mirror]] | date=12 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=4 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704030600/https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/review-aniruddha-guha-reviews-cocktail-is-a-heady-mix-of-humour-and-romance-1714738 | first1=Aniruddha | last1=Guha | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/review-aniruddha-guha-reviews-cocktail-is-a-heady-mix-of-humour-and-romance-1714738 | title=Aniruddha Guha reviews: ''Cocktail'' is a heady mix of humour and romance | url-status=live | work=Daily News and Analysis | date=13 July 2012}}</ref> While filming ''Cocktail'', Adajania shared the script of the satirical road movie ''Finding Fanny'' with Kapadia. Believing he is a director capable of bringing the best in her, she expressed keen interest in the project.<ref name="prosthetic">{{cite news |last1=Dubey |first1=Bharati |title=Censors wanted to see me in bikini, but since I had a skirt on, they cut the scene: Dimple |url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/censors-wanted-to-see-me-in-bikini-but-since-i-had-a-skirt-on-they-cut-the-scene-dimple/15562187 |access-date=20 April 2020 |work=[[Mid-Day]] |date=28 August 2014 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321150805/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/censors-wanted-to-see-me-in-bikini-but-since-i-had-a-skirt-on-they-cut-the-scene-dimple/15562187 |url-status=live }}</ref> She was cast as Rosalina "Rosie" Eucharistica, a conceited-but-well-meaning woman who joins her late son's widow ([[Deepika Padukone]]) on a road trip across Goa.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=20 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620083115/https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/finding-fanny-review/article6404665.ece | first1=Anuj | last1=Kumar | url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/finding-fanny-review/article6404665.ece | title=''Finding fanny'': Lost and found | url-status=live | work=The Hindu | date=12 September 2014}}</ref> Kapadia was required to wear a heavy prosthetic posterior for the role, and her portrayal earned her a fourth Best Supporting Actress nomination at Filmfare.<ref name="prosthetic"/> Rachel Saltz of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote Kapadia "inhabits and enhances her role" and "steers clear of caricature and even milks some humor out of the unfunny script".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saltz |first1=Rachel |title=Searching for the Object of a Mailman's Longing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/movies/finding-fanny-a-bollywood-comedy-with-dimple-kapadia.html |access-date=27 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=11 September 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413010224/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/movies/finding-fanny-a-bollywood-comedy-with-dimple-kapadia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013, Kapadia was the protagonist in the comedy ''[[What the Fish]]'', portraying Sudha Mishra, an irate Delhi-based divorcee who begrudgingly entrusts her niece with taking care of her house while she is away.<ref>{{cite news |title=A wtf! Watch with Dimple as the sole saving grace |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/a-wtf-watch-with-dimple-as-the-sole-saving-grace/cid/230312 |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=14 December 2013 |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610124208/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/a-wtf-watch-with-dimple-as-the-sole-saving-grace/cid/230312 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kapadia was enthusiastic about the part, feeling challenged to play its different traits.<ref name="Geety"/> Reviews of both the film and Kapadia's work were mixed. ''The Times of India'' panned the film's script for making "Kapadia's tryst with comedy seem loud and forced", and Raja Sen deemed her part the most forgettable of her career.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=10 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710074833/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/what-the-fish/movie-review/27248183.cms | author1=TNN | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/what-the-fish/movie-review/27248183.cms | title=''What the Fish'' Movie Review | work=The Times of India  | url-status=live | date=26 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=21 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921175612/http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-what-the-fish-is-a-huge-letdown/20131213.htm | first1=Raja | last1=Sen | url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-what-the-fish-is-a-huge-letdown/20131213.htm | title=Review: ''What The Fish'' is a huge letdown | url-status=live | work=Rediff.com | date=13 December 2013}}</ref> Sarita A. Tanwar of ''Daily News and Analysis'' considered the film "a rather audacious entertaining attempt" and said Kapadia was "in top form", and similarly positive comments were written by Subhash K. Jha.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=18 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318081326/http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-film-review-what-the-fish-presents-dimple-kapadia-in-top-form-1934543 | first1=Sarita A. | last1=Tanwar | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-film-review-what-the-fish-presents-dimple-kapadia-in-top-form-1934543 | title=Film Review: ''What The Fish'' presents Dimple Kapadia in top form | url-status=live | work=Daily News and Analysis | date=13 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=14 November 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114205916/http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/what-the-fish-movie-review-906 | first1=Subhash K.| last1= Jha | url=https://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/what-the-fish-movie-review-906 | title=''What The Fish'' movie review| publisher=[[NDTV]] | date=12 September 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Limited work, ''Tenet'' and beyond (2015–present)===

[[File:DimpleKapadia2018.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Kapadia in 2018|alt=Kapadia looking at the camera]]

For the rest of the decade, Kapadia returned to film twice for minor roles in the action comedies ''[[Welcome Back (film)|Welcome Back]]'' (2015) and ''[[Dabangg 3]]'' (2019). She played a conwoman in [[Anees Bazmee]]'s ''Welcome Back'' along with an ensemble cast led by Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=11 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611165204/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/welcome-back-movie-review-john-abraham-anil-kapoor-nana-patekar-make-way-for-the-bhais-just-for-laughs-welcome-back-review-release-261148-2015-09-04 | first1=Ananya | last1=Bhattacharya | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/welcome-back-movie-review-john-abraham-anil-kapoor-nana-patekar-make-way-for-the-bhais-just-for-laughs-welcome-back-review-release-261148-2015-09-04 | title=''Welcome Back'' movie review: The Bhais and the laughs are back | url-status=live | work=India Today | date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=6 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506223801/http://www.news18.com/news/movies/welcome-back-review-the-film-is-overlong-over-plotted-and-unmistakably-silly-1073667.html | first1=Rajeev | last1=Masand | url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/welcome-back-review-the-film-is-overlong-over-plotted-and-unmistakably-silly-1073667.html | title=''Welcome Back'' review: The film is overlong, over-plotted and unmistakably silly | date=4 September 2015 | url-status=live | publisher=News18}}</ref> ''Dabangg 3'', the third instalment of the [[Dabangg (film series)|''Dabangg'' film series]], saw her briefly reprise the role of Naina Devi.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=27 April 2020 | archive-date=2 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702135402/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-to-return-as-chulbul-pandey-s-mom-in-salman-khan-s-dabangg-3/story-rpxhezJoKPuvPWjyahahvN.html | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-to-return-as-chulbul-pandey-s-mom-in-salman-khan-s-dabangg-3/story-rpxhezJoKPuvPWjyahahvN.html | title=Dimple Kapadia to return as Chulbul Pandey's mom in Salman Khan's ''Dabangg 3'' | url-status=live | work=Hindustan Times | date=29 May 2019}}</ref> In her first film of the 2020s, Kapadia appeared alongside [[Irrfan Khan]] and [[Kareena Kapoor]] in the comedy-drama ''[[Angrezi Medium]]'' (2020), her fourth project under Homi Adajania's direction. A [[spiritual sequel]] to the 2017 film ''[[Hindi Medium]]'', it was theatrically released in India on 13 March amid the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], which affected its commercial performance due to the closing of cinemas.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roy |first1=Priyanka |title=Irrfan Khan is the best thing about a confused film that's about two-halves and two ideas |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/bollywood/angrezi-medium-irrfan-khan-is-the-best-thing-about-a-confused-film-thats-about-two-halves-and-two-ideas/cid/1753465 |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=13 March 2020 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611154341/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/bollywood/angrezi-medium-irrfan-khan-is-the-best-thing-about-a-confused-film-thats-about-two-halves-and-two-ideas/cid/1753465 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="release date">{{cite news | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=18 February 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218214832/https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/bollywood/story/angrezi-medium-to-release-a-week-earlier-on-march-13-gunjan-saxena-delayed-for-a-month-1647277-2020-02-17 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/angrezi-medium-to-release-a-week-earlier-on-march-13-gunjan-saxena-delayed-for-a-month-1647277-2020-02-17 | title=''Angrezi Medium'' to release a week earlier on March 13 | work=India Today | date=17 February 2020 | url-status=live}}</ref> Initial plans for a re-release were cancelled and the film was made available digitally less than a month later.<ref name="hotstar">{{cite web | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=28 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428082915/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/irrfan-khan-s-angrezi-medium-premieres-online-after-being-pulled-out-from-theatres-due-to-lockdown/story-MtvgOQQh3aM74ZPZr3fjWN.html | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/irrfan-khan-s-angrezi-medium-premieres-online-after-being-pulled-out-from-theatres-due-to-lockdown/story-MtvgOQQh3aM74ZPZr3fjWN.html | title=Irrfan Khan's ''Angrezi Medium'' premieres online after being pulled out from theatres due to lockdown | url-status=live | work=Hindustan Times | date=6 April 2020}}</ref> Kapadia played a strict store owner estranged from her daughter (Kapoor), a role Vinayak Chakravorty of ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]'' thought was "used to highlight loneliness among the aged" but believed could have been stronger.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=21 April 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610030633/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/angrezi-medium-irrfan-deepak-dobriyal-shine-in-aimless-film-ians-review-rating---amp-12-/1759032 | author-link=Vinayak Chakravorty | date=12 March 2020 | first1=Vinayak | last1=Chakravorty | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/angrezi-medium-irrfan-deepak-dobriyal-shine-in-aimless-film-ians-review-rating---amp-12-/1759032 | title=''Angrezi Medium'': Irrfan, Deepak Dobriyal shine in aimless film | url-status=live | work=Outlook}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=21 April 2020 | archive-date=26 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426082306/http://theasianchronicle.com/movie-review-angrezi-medium/ | first1=Karamvir | last1=Kamal | url=http://theasianchronicle.com/movie-review-angrezi-medium/ | title=Movie Review: ''Angrezi Medium'' | url-status=live | work=The Asian Chronicle | date=22 March 2020}}</ref>

Kapadia next played arms dealer Priya Singh in [[Christopher Nolan]]'s spy thriller ''[[Tenet (film)|Tenet]]''.<ref name="Roeper">{{cite news | access-date=27 August 2020 | archive-date=28 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828040004/https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2020/8/26/21403010/tenet-review-christopher-nolan-john-david-washington-movie | author-link=Richard Roeper | url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2020/8/26/21403010/tenet-review-christopher-nolan-john-david-washington-movie | title=''Tenet'' a mind-bending blast in a time zone of its own | work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date=26 August 2020 | last=Roeper | first=Richard | url-status=live}}</ref> Her screen test for the role was shot in 2019 by Adajania before filming for ''Angrezi Medium'' began, followed by an audition for Nolan in Mumbai.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=22 February 2020 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20200222010415/https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/dimples-tenet/ | first1=Rajeev | last1=Masand | url=https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/dimples-tenet/ | title=Dimple's ''Tenet'' | url-status=live | work=[[Open (Indian magazine)|Open]] | date=21 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=11 December 2020 | archive-date=29 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529093609/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/dimple-kapadia-had-never-auditioned-for-christopher-nolans-tenet-until-now/21001171 | first1=Mohar | last1=Basu | url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/dimple-kapadia-had-never-auditioned-for-christopher-nolans-tenet-until-now/21001171 | title='Dimple Kapadia had never auditioned for Christopher Nolan's ''Tenet'' until now' | work=[[Mid-Day]] | date=24 May 2019}}</ref> Impressed with her charisma and poise, Nolan cast Kapadia in the part, believing she thoroughly embodied his vision of the character.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=12 December 2020 | archive-date=12 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212094435/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/hollywood/story/dimple-s-charisma-and-poise-was-what-i-wanted-for-tenet-says-nolan-to-twinkle-1748561-2020-12-11 | first1=Jyoti | last1=Kanyal | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/hollywood/story/dimple-s-charisma-and-poise-was-what-i-wanted-for-tenet-says-nolan-to-twinkle-1748561-2020-12-11 | title=Dimple Kapadia's charisma and poise was what I wanted for ''Tenet'', says Nolan to Twinkle | url-status=live | work=India Today | date=11 December 2020}}</ref> The film opened amid the pandemic to a worldwide audience and, having grossed $364{{nbsp}}million worldwide, became the [[2020 in film#Highest-grossing films|fifth-highest-grossing film of 2020]].<ref>{{cite news | access-date=2 September 2020 | archive-date=2 September 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902030338/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/31/tenet-debut-boxoffice-pandemic/ | first1=Steven | last1=Zeitchik | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/31/tenet-debut-boxoffice-pandemic/ | title=Millions come to see ''Tenet'', bolstering hope theaters will survive the pandemic | date=31 August 2020 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Worldwide Box Office |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2020/?ref_=bo_cso_table_1 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026193726/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2020/?ref_=bo_cso_table_1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Critics reacted positively to her performance;<ref name="foray">{{cite news |last1=Roy |first1=Priyanka |title=Dream Foray |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/dream-foray-dimple-kapadia-speaks-about-making-her-big-hollywood-debut/cid/1798932 |access-date=30 November 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=29 November 2020 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130053849/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/dream-foray-dimple-kapadia-speaks-about-making-her-big-hollywood-debut/cid/1798932 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Richard Roeper]] of ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' wrote Kapadia "quietly steals every scene she's in" and Guy Lodge of ''Variety'' said she had given the film's "wiliest performance".<ref name="Roeper"/><ref>{{cite news | access-date=27 August 2020 | archive-date=24 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824061913/https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/tenet-review-christopher-nolan-1234742936/ | url=https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/tenet-review-christopher-nolan-1234742936/ | title=''Tenet'' Review: Christopher Nolan's Grandly Entertaining, Time-Slipping Spectacle Is a Futuristic Throwback | work=Variety | date=21 August 2020 | last=Lodge | first=Guy | url-status=live}}</ref> Having admitted to being a reluctant actor for years, Kapadia credited ''Tenet'' with restoring her passion for film acting.<ref name="foray"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bansal |first1=Ravi |title=It was a beautiful dream for me: Dimple Kapadia on Christopher Nolan's ''Tenet'' |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/it-was-a-beautiful-dream-for-me-dimple-kapadia-on-christopher-nolans-tenet/1983396 |access-date=30 November 2020 |work=Outlook |date=27 November 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025013/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/it-was-a-beautiful-dream-for-me-dimple-kapadia-on-christopher-nolans-tenet/1983396 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Ali Abbas Zafar]]'s 2021 [[Amazon Prime]] political streaming series ''[[Tandav (TV series)|Tandav]]'' starred Kapadia in her first appearance on a digital platform as Anuradha Kishore, a power-hungry politician who seeks to undermine the new political rival (Saif Ali Khan) of the Prime Minister of India, her longtime ally.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=16 January 2021 | archive-date=15 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115124146/https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/tandav-review-dimple-kapadia-saif-ali-khans-web-series-dances-to-a-facile-bollywood-beat-2-stars-out-of-5-2352860 | first1=Saibal | last1=Chatterjee | url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/tandav-review-dimple-kapadia-saif-ali-khans-web-series-dances-to-a-facile-bollywood-beat-2-stars-out-of-5-2352860 | title=''Tandav'' Review: Dimple Kapadia, Saif Ali Khan's Web-Series Dances to a Facile Bollywood Beat| publisher=NDTV | date=15 January 2021 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 January 2021 | archive-date=15 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115120839/https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/story/tandav-review-saif-ali-khan-and-dimple-kapadia-show-falls-like-a-house-of-cards-1759127-2021-01-15 | first1=Nairita | last1=Mukherjee | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/story/tandav-review-saif-ali-khan-and-dimple-kapadia-show-falls-like-a-house-of-cards-1759127-2021-01-15 | title=''Tandav'' Review: Saif Ali Khan and Dimple Kapadia show falls like a house of cards | url-status=live | work=India Today | date=15 January 2021}}</ref> The show opened amid massive protests and police complaints against its makers for allegedly insulting [[Hindu deities]] and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gettleman |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Raj |first2=Suhasini |author1-link=Jeffrey Gettleman |author2-link=Suhasini Raj |title=Amazon Web Drama Draws the Wrath of India's Hindu Nationalists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/business/india-amazon-tandav.html |access-date=17 April 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=18 January 2021 |archive-date=7 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707115602/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/business/india-amazon-tandav.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Dutta|2022|p=155}} following which Zafar cut several scenes and issued a formal apology.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Raj |first1=Suhasini |last2=Gettleman |first2=Jeffrey |title=Director of Amazon India Drama Cuts Scenes Amid Outcry From Hindu Nationalists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/business/india-amazon-tandav.html |access-date=17 April 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128203228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/business/india-amazon-tandav.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Reviewers responded variably to ''Tandav'', but Kapadia's efforts were better received.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 January 2021 | archive-date=16 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116030316/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/tandav-review-a-lackadaisical-attempt-at-portraying-indias-diverse-polity/article33580234.ece | first1=Sayan | last1=Ghosh | url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/tandav-review-a-lackadaisical-attempt-at-portraying-indias-diverse-polity/article33580234.ece | title=''Tandav'' review: A lackadaisical attempt at portraying India's diverse polity | url-status=live | work=The Hindu | date=15 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=17 April 2023 | archive-date=15 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115124146/https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/tandav-review-dimple-kapadia-saif-ali-khans-web-series-dances-to-a-facile-bollywood-beat-2-stars-out-of-5-2352860 | first1=Saibal | last1=Chatterjee | url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/tandav-review-dimple-kapadia-saif-ali-khans-web-series-dances-to-a-facile-bollywood-beat-2-stars-out-of-5-2352860 | title=''Tandav'' Review: Dimple Kapadia, Saif Ali Khan's Web-Series Dances to a Facile Bollywood Beat | publisher=NDTV | date=15 January 2021 | url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[A Thursday]]'' (2022), Behzad Khambata's [[Vigilante film|vigilante-hostage thriller]] starring [[Yami Gautam]], featured Kapadia in the fictional part of Prime Minister of India Maya Rajguru.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=18 February 2022 | archive-date=17 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217143943/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/a-thursday-movie-review-yami-gautam-s-film-is-one-of-the-best-thrillers-in-recent-times-1914147-2022-02-17 | first1=Grace | last1=Cyril | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/a-thursday-movie-review-yami-gautam-s-film-is-one-of-the-best-thrillers-in-recent-times-1914147-2022-02-17 | title=''A Thursday'' Movie Review: Yami Gautam's film is one of the best thrillers in recent times | work=India Today | date=17 February 2022| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=18 February 2022 | archive-date=18 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218162916/https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-a-thursday-movie-review-yami-gautam-atul-kulkarni-neha-dhupia-s-edgy-thriller-surpasses-expectations-2934560 | first1=Simran | last1=Singh | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-a-thursday-movie-review-yami-gautam-atul-kulkarni-neha-dhupia-s-edgy-thriller-surpasses-expectations-2934560 | title=''A Thursday'' movie review: Yami Gautam, Atul Kulkarni, and Neha Dhupia's edgy thriller surpasses expectations | work=Daily News and Analysis | date=16 February 2022| url-status=live}}</ref>

Kapadia had a cameo in [[Ayan Mukerji]]'s action fantasy ''[[Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva]]'' (2022) and starred in [[Siddharth Anand]]'s action thriller ''[[Pathaan (film)|Pathaan]]'' (2023), led by [[Shah Rukh Khan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-begins-shooting-shah-rukh-khans-pathan-plays-raw-agent/|title=Dimple Kapadia begins shooting for Shah Rukh Khan's ''Pathan'', plays a RAW agent|date=10 December 2020|website=Bollywood Hungama|access-date=21 December 2021|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221053428/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-begins-shooting-shah-rukh-khans-pathan-plays-raw-agent/|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Pathaan'', based in the [[YRF Spy Universe]], she played Nandini, a senior officer in charge of a unit of [[Research and Analysis Wing]] (RAW) agents. Her performance was particularly picked up for praise.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=26 January 2023 | archive-date=26 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126013437/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/pathaan-why-dimple-kapadia-is-the-real-boss-in-this-shah-rukh-khan-film-101674648360306.html | first1=Sweta | last1=Kaushal | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/pathaan-why-dimple-kapadia-is-the-real-boss-in-this-shah-rukh-khan-film-101674648360306.html | title=''Pathaan'': Why Dimple Kapadia is the real boss in this Shah Rukh Khan film | work=Hindustan Times | date=26 January 2023| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Nidhi |title="Pathaan" doesn't really need review—it's a phenomenon already |url=https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/pathaans-main-ambition-is-to-launch-bollywoods-first-spy-universe |access-date=26 January 2023 |work=[[Vogue India]] |date=25 January 2023|archive-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126001413/https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/pathaans-main-ambition-is-to-launch-bollywoods-first-spy-universe |url-status=live }}</ref> Sneha Bengani of [[CNBC TV18]] was appreciative of her "sharp and graceful, commanding, yet restrained" performance.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=27 January 2023 | archive-date=27 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127060836/https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/pathaan-movie-review-welcome-back-shah-rukh-khan-15768531.htm | first1=Sneha | last1=Bengani | url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/pathaan-movie-review-welcome-back-shah-rukh-khan-15768531.htm | title=''Pathaan'' movie review: Welcome back, Shah Rukh Khan | date=25 January 2023| url-status=live | website=CNBC TV18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=29 January 2023 | archive-date=26 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126103533/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/pathaan/movie-review/97298218.cms | first1=Renuka | last1=Vyavahare | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/pathaan/movie-review/97298218.cms | title=''Pathaan'' Review: An entertaining globetrotting spy thriller that's massy, messy and outlandish | url-status=live | work=The Times of India | date=26 January 2023}}</ref> The film broke several box-office records to become the [[List of Indian films of 2023#Box office collection|second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2023]] and the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=15 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315210045/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/50-days-of-pathaan-10-box-office-records-set-by-shah-rukh-khans-spy-action-thriller/cid/1922696 | first1=Agnivo | last1=Niyogi | url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/50-days-of-pathaan-10-box-office-records-set-by-shah-rukh-khans-spy-action-thriller/cid/1922696 | title=50 days of ''Pathaan'': 10 box office records set by Shah Rukh Khan's spy-action thriller | url-status=live | work=The Telegraph | date=15 March 2023}}</ref> Kapadia won a [[Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female]] for her performance.<ref name="ZeeC">{{cite web |title=2024 – Zee Cine Awards |url=https://zeecineawards.com/2024-2/ |website=[[Zee Cine Awards]] |publisher=[[Zee Entertainment Enterprises]] |access-date=3 July 2024|year=2024}}</ref>

A supporting role as the mother of [[Ranbir Kapoor]]'s character in [[Luv Ranjan]]'s romantic comedy ''[[Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar]]'' (2023) brought Kapadia positive notice.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=8 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308032109/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-review-ranbir-kapoors-return-to-rom-com-is-the-perfect-relief-we-waited-for-2343916-2023-03-08 | first1=Tushar | last1=Joshi | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-review-ranbir-kapoors-return-to-rom-com-is-the-perfect-relief-we-waited-for-2343916-2023-03-08 | title=''Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'' review: Ranbir Kapoor's return to rom-com is the perfect relief we waited for | work=India Today | date=8 March 2023| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=5 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405064735/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-review-ranbir-kapoor-shraddha-kapoor-s-problematic-romcom-is-a-montage-of-monologues-101678248618418.html | first1=Monika | last1=Rawal Kukreja | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-review-ranbir-kapoor-shraddha-kapoor-s-problematic-romcom-is-a-montage-of-monologues-101678248618418.html | title=''Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'' review: Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor's problematic romcom is a montage of monologues | work=Hindustan Times | date=8 March 2023| url-status=live}}</ref> Despite mixed reviews, the film enjoyed a strong run at the box office.<ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=23 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323113442/https://www.gqindia.com/binge-watch/collection/8-movies-like-tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-that-you-can-skip-available-on-amazon-prime-video-netflix-more/ | first1=Gaurav | last1=Sonavane | url=https://www.gqindia.com/binge-watch/collection/8-movies-like-tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-that-you-can-skip-available-on-amazon-prime-video-netflix-more/ | title=8 movies like ''Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'' that you can skip; on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix & more | work=[[GQ (Indian edition)|GQ]] | date=9 March 2023| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=15 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315100033/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-box-office-collection-day-7-ranbir-kapoor-shraddha-kapoor-rs-80-crore-2346792-2023-03-15 | first1=Janani | last1=K | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/tu-jhoothi-main-makkaar-box-office-collection-day-7-ranbir-kapoor-shraddha-kapoor-rs-80-crore-2346792-2023-03-15 | title=''Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'' box office collection Day 7: Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha's film crosses Rs 80 crore | work=India Today | date=15 March 2023| url-status=live}}</ref> Kapadia next reunited with Adajania for the [[Disney+ Hotstar]] crime thriller series ''[[Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo]]'', in which she played the protagonist Savitri, the powerful matriarch of a drug cartel selling a cocaine variant called flamingo.<ref name="SBFHindu">{{cite news |last1=Mitra |first1=Shilajit |title=''Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo'' series review: Dimple Kapadia anchors this quirky, uneven series |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-series-review-dimple-kapadia-anchors-this-quirky-uneven-series/article66815091.ece |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=The Hindu |date=5 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="HT23">{{cite news |last1=Fatima |first1=Syeda Eba |title=Dimple Kapadia says her daughters pushed her to work: Twinkle said, 'If you need money, leave your vanity home and get back to work' |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-s-lack-of-confidence-turned-into-career-advantage-pushed-by-daughters-to-resume-work-101686559125016.html |access-date=18 June 2023 |work=Hindustan Times |date=12 June 2023}}</ref> For the part, Kapadia was required to learn the local dialect to the fictional town of Runjh, located in northwest India.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Naman |author1-link=Naman Ramachandran |title=''Pathaan'', ''Tenet'' Star Dimple Kapadia on Disney+ Hotstar Hit ''Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo'': 'I Can Do Action Better Than Any of the Action Heroes' |url=https://variety.com/2023/global/asia/pathaan-dimple-kapadia-saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-disney-hotstar-1235632799/ |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=Variety |date=5 June 2023}}</ref> The show was well received and Kapadia earned rave reviews for her central performance.<ref name="SBFHindu"/><ref>Reviews for ''Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo'':
*{{cite news |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Anindita |title=''Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo'' Review: Dimple Kapadia, Radhika Madan's show is a riveting cooler with a dash of red |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/reviews/story/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-review-dimple-kapadia-radhika-madan-angira-dhar-isha-talwar-show-is-a-riveting-cooler-with-a-dash-of-red-2368731-2023-05-05 |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=India Today |date=5 May 2023}}
*{{cite news |last1=Jhunjhunwala |first1=Udita |title=''Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo'' review: Dimple Kapadia shines in this crime series |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/movies-tv/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-review-dimple-kapadia-shines-in-this-crime-series-111683289945268.html |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=Mintlounge |date=5 May 2023}}
*{{cite news |last1=Mishra |first1=Pratikshya |title=''Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo'' Review: Dimple Kapadia Rules; Women Run the World |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-full-show-review-homi-adajania-dimple-kapadia-radhika-madan#read-more |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=TheQuint |date=5 May 2023}}
*{{cite news |last1=Kotecha |first1=Ronak |title=''Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo'' Season 1 Review: A brutal celebration of raw women power |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo/season-1/seasonreview/99937178.cms |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=The Times of India |date=5 May 2023}}
*{{cite news |last1=Chatterjee |first1=Saibal |title=''Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo'' Review: Dimple Kapadia's Show Is Undeniably Bingeworthy |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/saas-bahu-aur-flamingo-review-dimple-kapadias-show-is-undeniably-bingeworthy-2-5-stars-4010211 |access-date=6 May 2023 |publisher=NDTV |date=6 May 2023}}
</ref> [[Shubhra Gupta]], writing for ''The Indian Express'', said Kapadia is "effortlessly in command of the room, and the situation".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Shubhra |title=''Saas Bahu and Flamingo'' review: Dimple Kapadia-fronted series is heady, a barrel of fun |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/saas-bahu-and-flamingo-review-dimple-kapadia-fronted-series-is-heady-a-barrel-of-fun-8592978/ |access-date=5 May 2023 |work=The Indian Express |date=5 May 2023}}</ref> For her work, Kapadia received a [[2023 Filmfare OTT Awards|Filmfare OTT Award]] for Best Actress in a Drama Series.<ref name="OTT">{{cite magazine |title=Filmfare OTT Awards 2023 |url=https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-ott-awards-2023/ |magazine=Filmfare |date=26 November 2023 |access-date=29 November 2023}}</ref>

Kapadia played a scientist in the romantic comedy ''[[Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya]]'' (2024), starring [[Shahid Kapoor]] and [[Kriti Sanon]], and featured alongside an ensemble cast in Adajania's mystery film ''[[Murder Mubarak]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/murder-mubarak-karisma-kapoor-sara-ali-khan-pankaj-tripathi-vijay-varma-team-up-for-netflixs-new-murder-mystery-13689952.html|title='Murder Mubarak': Karisma Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, Vijay Varma team up for Netflix's new murder mystery|work=Firstpost|date=5 February 2024|access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> She will next have a starring role opposite the former's father, [[Pankaj Kapur]], in [[Saurabh Shukla]]'s ''Jab Khuli Kitaab'', a romantic comedy about an older couple who seek divorce after 50 years of marriage.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/teri-baaton-mein-aisa-uljha-jiya-trailer-shahid-kapoor-romances-a-robot-kriti-sanon-watch-101705581330938.html | title=Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya trailer: Shahid Kapoor romances robot Kriti Sanon. | work= Hindustan Times | date=18 January 2024 | access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=6 January 2022 | archive-date=6 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106113711/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/pankaj-kapur-and-dimple-kapadia-to-star-in-jab-khuli-kitaab/article38004328.ece | url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/pankaj-kapur-and-dimple-kapadia-to-star-in-jab-khuli-kitaab/article38004328.ece | title=Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia to star in ''Jab Khuli Kitaab'' | work=The Hindu | date=21 December 2021| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Public image and artistry==
When Kapadia returned to films after her separation from Khanna, she faced constant comparison to her ''Bobby'' days and struggled to be taken seriously as an actor. According to Jyotika Virdi, the author of the book ''The Cinematic Imagination'', while Kapadia's trajectory is different from those of other female Hindi film stars, she turned her disadvantages to her advantage.{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}} Virdi said Kapadia's forthright manner made a major contribution to her career: "Speaking candidly to the press, she and the reporters plotted her life's narrative from the innocent teenager snared into an impossible marriage to the emergence of a mature 'woman with experience'."{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}} Kapadia is known for her assertive and moody nature;{{sfn|Dé |1998|pp=174–175}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rajendra |first1=M. |title=Tinsel Town |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12242/page/n197/mode/2up |access-date=10 November 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=6 April 1986 |page=11}}</ref> during the making of ''Janbaaz'' (1986), the director Feroz Khan said he had never met a woman with her levels of "pent-up aggression".<ref name="IT85"/> On the other hand, Mahesh Bhatt, the director of ''Kaash'' (1987), said generosity is her defining trait.<ref name="BhattMW">{{cite news |last1=Bhatt |first1=Mahesh |title=Mahesh Bhatt on Why Dimple Kapadia Is Still Desirable |url=https://www.mansworldindia.com/currentedition/from-the-magazine/mahesh-bhatt-dimple-kapadia-still-desirable/ |access-date=3 November 2023 |work=[[MW (Indian magazine)|Man's World]] |date=22 December 2002}}</ref> The journalist Bhawana Somaaya, who conducted a series of interviews with Kapadia during the 1980s, stated: "She's a strange bundle of contradictions. Her moods change in a jiffy."<ref name="Bhawanainterview"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Somaaya |first1=Bhawana |title=Dimple Kapadia – 1989 |url=http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=7374 |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=Screen |date=27 February 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823120948/http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=7374 |archive-date=23 August 2004}}</ref> According to some critics, this approach has sometimes been at the cost of professional opportunities as "her unpredictable nature and moods have distanced many well wishers".<ref name="moody"/> In reply to this, she said: "I am moody by nature. But I have never consciously hurt anyone."<ref name="moody"/>

Virdi wrote Kapadia fought her way to success by committing to serious and challenging work and described her parts in ''Aitbaar'' (1985), ''Kaash'' (1987) and ''Drishti'' (1990) as characters with which she "drew from the well of her own experience".{{sfn|Virdi|2003|p=142}} With ''Zakhmi Aurat'' (1988), Kapadia became one of the mainstream actresses associated with a new wave of women-centred revenge films.<ref name="express88"/><ref name="IT88">{{cite news |last1=Rahman |first1=M. |title=Women strike back |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19880715-hindi-films-on-screen-it-is-no-longer-men-alone-who-is-spilling-blood-797492-1988-07-15 |access-date=14 January 2021 |work=India Today |publisher=Living Media |date=15 July 1988 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130203826/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19880715-hindi-films-on-screen-it-is-no-longer-men-alone-who-is-spilling-blood-797492-1988-07-15 |url-status=live }}</ref> As an action heroine, she chose to perform her own stunts, which the critic M. Rahman thought made her performance more convincing. Although she enjoyed working in similar projects, such as ''Mera Shikar'' (1988) and ''Kali Ganga'' (1990), she bemoaned about being paid less than male action stars.<ref name="IT88"/> The author [[Dinesh Raheja]] believed Kapadia's involvement in art films in the 1990s happened at a time when she was no longer willing to play the "pretty prop in hero-oriented films", arguing her new choices "honed Dimple's talent for lending fine striations to complex emotions".<ref name="Dinesh"/> Mahesh Bhatt commended her for not turning into "a victim of her own success" by refusing to appear in films of strictly commercial value. According to Govind Nihalani, the director of ''Drishti'' (1990), Kapadia has a genuine interest in serious work that would challenge her talent and realise her potential. Similar sentiments were shared by Shashi Kapoor, who said Kapadia had always been eager to act in quality films. Kapadia said her involvement in independent films was a conscious decision to experiment in different cinema and prove her abilities.<ref name="IT93"/>

[[File:Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Smt. Dimple Kapadia on behalf of her husband late Shri Rajesh Khanna, at an Investiture Ceremony-II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 20, 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Kapadia in 2013]]

When questioned about her hiatus after ''Rudaali'' at her career peak, Kapadia said she needed space and that generally her "career has always been secondary" to her.<ref name="ffiv"/> Her infrequent work since then, which manifested in numerous gaps between her screen appearances, has gained her a reputation for being selective about her work.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ramnath |first1=Nandini |title=Interview Dimple Kapadia on her career and fishbowl life |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Z7CfUjjKNyAVqgy3MFsD2O/Interview--Dimple-Kapadia-on-her-career-and-fishbowl-life.html |access-date=31 May 2020 |newspaper=Mint |publisher=HT Media |date=4 December 2013 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206065034/http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Z7CfUjjKNyAVqgy3MFsD2O/Interview--Dimple-Kapadia-on-her-career-and-fishbowl-life.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Chopra|2014a|p=141}} Admitting her limited professional drive, she attributed it to the lack of worthy offers and the "huge effort" expended in film acting,{{sfn|Chopra|2014a|p=142}} which consumes time otherwise spent on her family and private life.<ref name="Sahani">{{cite news | access-date=23 April 2020 | archive-date=12 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015407/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dimple-kapadia-forty-years-on-i-am-still-living-off-bobby/1204072/0 | first1=Alaka | last1=Sahani | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dimple-kapadia-forty-years-on-i-am-still-living-off-bobby/1204072/0 | title=Dimple Kapadia: Forty years on, I am still living off ''Bobby'' | url-status=live | work=The Indian Express | date=6 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |title=A book on my life? No way: Dimple Kapadia |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/pets-and-environment/090616/a-tail-to-tell-1.html |access-date=15 June 2020 |work=Deccan Chronicle |date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615093914/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/pets-and-environment/090616/a-tail-to-tell-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Even so, Kapadia's later work was noted by film scholars, including [[Shoma Chatterji]] and Afreen Khan, who listed her among the female actors who represent a changing portrayal of mothers in Hindi films, with roles of women who consider their happiness to be of equal importance to that of their children.<ref name="Madhya"/>{{sfn|Chatterji|2020|p=75}} Similar thoughts were expressed by ''[[Mumbai Mirror]]''{{'}}s Trisha Gupta, who was impressed with Kapadia's diverse repertoire of maternal roles, ranging from ''Luck by Chance'' (2009) and ''Dabangg'' (2010) to ''Finding Fanny'' (2014).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Trisha |title=Mining the mother lode |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/trisha-gupta/mining-the-mother-lode/articleshow/51857869.cms |access-date=8 December 2020 |work=Mumbai Mirror |date=18 April 2016 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025034/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/trisha-gupta/mining-the-mother-lode/articleshow/51857869.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> Guided by her own judgement, Kapadia normally commits to a project without seeking advice<ref name="Sahani"/> and often willingly works with young or first-time directors, finding their enthusiasm and creativity beneficial to both the film and her performance.{{sfn|Chopra|2014a|p=144}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |title=Sometimes I need to do insignificant roles for the bank balance |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/sometimes-i-need-to-do-insignificant-roles-for-the-bank-balance/cid/969960 |access-date=23 April 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=24 March 2006 |archive-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620093445/https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/sometimes-i-need-to-do-insignificant-roles-for-the-bank-balance/cid/969960 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kapadia's screen image has been characterised in terms of her perceived beauty and sex appeal.<ref name="TOI"/> ''The Times of India'' wrote in reference to her role in ''Saagar'', "Dimple was a vision of lush beauty; quite the forbidden fruit, rising from the ocean like [[Aphrodite]] emerging from the waves and surf".<ref name="TOI"/> Speaking of her post-comeback screen persona, the critic Khalid Mohamed observed, "Her arsenal comprised, among other elements, expressive cognac eyes, a nuanced, resonating voice skilled in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] dialogue delivery, easy body language, and that seductive toss of her auburn hair."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mohamed |first1=Khalid |title=Being in Conversation With Mrs Gorgeousbones, Dimple Kapadia |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-over-the-years-in-conversation |access-date=23 April 2020 |work=[[The Quint]] |date=8 June 2017 |archive-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620161025/https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/bollywood/dimple-kapadia-over-the-years-in-conversation |url-status=live }}</ref> Mrinal Sen, who directed her in ''Antareen'' (1993), compared Kapadia to [[Sophia Loren]] and described her face as "a landscape of desolation".<ref name="IT93"/> Anil Kapoor, her co-star of ''Janbaaz'', hailed Kapadia as the most beautiful Indian actress since [[Madhubala]].<ref name="IT85"/> According to Dinesh Raheja, Kapadia's casting in ''Dil Chahta Hai'' (2001) and ''Leela'' (2002), in which she played middle-aged women who are the object of younger men's desire, served as "a kind of tribute to her eternal beauty".<ref name="Dinesh"/> [[Emma Thomas]], the producer of ''Tenet'' (2020), distinguished Kapadia as having "incredible magnetism, charisma, and glamour", which made her the right choice for the film.{{sfn|Mottram|2020|p=24}}

Critics have been appreciative of Kapadia's acting prowess and some have analysed it in relation to her appearance.<ref name="AW93">{{cite magazine |magazine =Asiaweek|title=Dimple|publisher=Asiaweek Ltd.|volume=19|issue=27–51|year=1993|quote=Long a critic's darling, the popular actress has won two major awards so far this year for her role in ''Rudaali''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Beauty which takes your breath away |work=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]] |date=28 September 1990 |quote=Accompanied by a sharp intellect and insight. Yes, Dimple Kapadia is a rare combination of stunning looks and impressive prowess and range. It is this malleability which enables her to walk hand in hand with art and commercial ventures with equal panache.}}</ref> Ranjan Das Gupta called her "an instinctive actress, spontaneous and intelligent" who is best at playing "intense characters", and said her beauty is "her asset as well as limitation".<ref>{{cite news|author=Das Gupta, Ranjan|title=Evolved perfection|date=7 February 2011|access-date=9 December 2011|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/135090/evolved-perfection.html|newspaper=[[Deccan Herald]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821193702/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/135090/evolved-perfection.html|archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref> In 1988, Subhash K. Jha wrote that "besides her elastic and primeval looks", Kapadia "possesses an inbuilt instinct for grasping characters at a level way beyond the surface".<ref name="express88"/> While working with her on ''Kaash'', Mahesh Bhatt said Kapadia had been through so much in her private life she need not study [[method acting]] to play real women.<ref name="IT85"/><!-- In 2001, Bhatt noted her being "emotionally reckless" , which translates into her performances.<ref name="BhattMW"/> --> Academic writers [[Madhu Kishwar]] and [[Ruth Vanita]] of the feminist magazine ''Manushi'' noted Kapadia for being unafraid to look less attractive for the benefit of convincingly expressing anguish and emotion.<ref name="manushi"/> M.L. Dhawan from ''The Tribune'' commented, "All those who have been following Dimple Kapadia's career from ''Bobby'', ''Lekin'' and ''Rudaali'' will assert that she is more talented than glamorous".<ref>{{cite news|author=Dhawan, M.L.|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071209/spectrum/main6.htm|title=Queens of hearts|date=9 December 2007|access-date=22 September 2011|newspaper=The Tribune|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024034014/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071209/spectrum/main6.htm|archive-date=24 October 2012}}</ref> Kapadia has described herself as a "spontaneous actor who is guided by instinct"<ref name="Tribune2009"/> and on another occasion, "a competent actress yet to deliver her best".<ref name="moody"/>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ {{Screen reader-only|Table containing awards and nominations received by Dimple Kapadia}}
|-
! scope="col" |Year
! scope="col" |Award
! scope="col" |Category
! scope="col" |Film
! scope="col" |Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row" | 1973
| [[21st Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| ''[[Bobby (1973 film)|Bobby]]''
| {{won}}
|  style="text-align:center;" | {{sfn|Reuben |1995|p=393}}
|-
! scope="row" | 1985
| [[33rd Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| ''[[Saagar (film)|Saagar]]''
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite news |title=The Winners – 1986 |url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/368580.cms |access-date=26 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112040726/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/368580.cms |archive-date=12 January 2006}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 1991
| Priyadarshini Academy Awards
| [[Smita Patil Memorial Award for Best Actress]]
| —
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite web |title=7th Anniversary Global Awards |url=https://www.priyadarshniacademy.com/7th-anniversary-global-awards.php |website=Priyadarshini Academy |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 1991
| rowspan="2" | [[37th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| ''[[Lekin...]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite news |title=The Nominations – 1991|url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368596.cms|access-date=26 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704194306/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368596.cms|archive-date=4 July 2007}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 1991
| [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress|Outstanding Performance]]
| rowspan="2" | ''[[Drishti (film)|Drishti]]''
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="FF1992"/>
|-
! scope="row" | 1992
| [[Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards|55th Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards]]
| [[Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress (Hindi)|Best Actress (Hindi)]]
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="BFJA"/>
|-
! scope="row" | 1992
| [[38th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Performance – Critics]]
| rowspan="5" | ''[[Rudaali]]''
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite news |title=Filmfare Awards Winners 1993 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-awards/filmfare-awards-winners/bollywood/1993/101 |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=The Times of India  |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205215817/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-awards/filmfare-awards-winners/bollywood/1993/101 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| [[39th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Filmfare93">{{cite news |title=The Nominations – 1993|url=http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368610.cms|access-date=26 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520043519/http://filmfareawards.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/368610.cms|archive-date=20 May 2007}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| [[40th National Film Awards]]
| [[National Film Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name=NFA41/>
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| 8th [[Damascus International Film Festival]]
| Best Actress
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="damascusfest"/>
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| 38th [[Asia-Pacific Film Festival]]
| Best Actress
| {{won}}
|  style="text-align:center;" | {{sfn|Kumar|2002|p=172|ps=: "Bhupen Hazarika adjudged the best music director and Dimple Kapadia the best actress for 'Rudali' (Hindi) at Asia-Pacific International Film Festival Fukoaka, Japan"}}
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| [[39th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| ''[[Gardish]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="Filmfare93"/>
|-
! scope="row" | 1994
| [[40th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| ''[[Krantiveer]]''
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name=FA94/>
|-
! scope="row" |2001
|[[Zee Cine Awards|5th Zee Cine Awards]]
|[[Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female|Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female]]
|''[[Dil Chahta Hai]]''
|{{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite AV media | host= | date=28 August 2019|orig-date = 11 January 2002 | title=Zee Cine Awards 2002 | trans-title = Best Actress in Supporting Role | type=Award ceremony | location=Mumbai, India| publisher=[[Zee Cine Awards]]}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2009
| [[55th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| rowspan="3"|''[[Luck by Chance]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite news |title=55th Idea Filmfare Awards Nominations |url=http://www.filmfare.com/articles/55th-idea-filmfare-awards-nominations-461.html |work=Filmfare |date=11 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213061715/http://www.filmfare.com/articles/55th-idea-filmfare-awards-nominations-461.html |archive-date=13 February 2010|access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2009
| [[Producers Guild Film Awards|5th Producers Guild Film Awards]]
| [[Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite web|title=Nominations for 5th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/12/15/5838/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120203043/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/12/15/5838/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 January 2010|author=Bollywood Hungama News Network|work=Bollywood Hungama|date=15 December 2009|access-date=28 January 2011}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2009
| [[Stardust Awards|2010 Stardust Awards]]
| [[Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|title=Nominations for Max Stardust Awards 2010|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/644/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219045100/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/644/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 February 2014|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|date=16 January 2010|access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2010
| [[12th IIFA Awards]]
| [[IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| ''[[Dabangg]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://iifa.com/toronto2011/nominations2.html#toplist |title=Floriana IIFA Awards 2011 Popular Awards Nominations |accessdate=3 July 2024 |work=iifa.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508103106/http://iifa.com/toronto2011/nominations2.html#toplist |archivedate=8 May 2012}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2010
| [[Stardust Awards|2011 Stardust Awards]]
| [[Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{cite web|title=Nominations of Stardust Awards 2011|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2011/01/22/7034/index.html|date=22 January 2011|access-date=3 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814215053/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2011/01/22/7034/index.html|archive-date=14 August 2011 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2014
| [[60th Filmfare Awards]]
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| rowspan="5"| ''[[Finding Fanny]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite news |title=Nominations for the 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards |url=https://www.filmfare.com/news/nominations-for-the-60th-britannia-filmfare-awards-8237.html |access-date=26 April 2020 |work=Filmfare |date=19 January 2015 |archive-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110120443/http://www.filmfare.com/news/nominations-for-the-60th-britannia-filmfare-awards-8237.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2014
| rowspan="2"| [[Producers Guild Film Awards|10th Producers Guild Film Awards]]
| [[Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web|title=Nominations for 10th Renault Star Guild Awards|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/7741|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108165539/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/7741|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 January 2015|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|date=8 January 2015|access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2014
| [[Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role|Best Actor in a Comic Role]]
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2015
| [[21st Screen Awards]]
| [[Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/in-the-reckoning-3/ |title=21st Annual Life OK Screen Awards nominations |website=The Indian Express |date=8 January 2015 |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | 2014
| [[Stardust Awards|2014 Stardust Awards]]
| [[Stardust Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="stardust2014">{{cite web|title=Nominations for Stardust Awards 2014|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/7612|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210064653/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/7612|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2014|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|date=8 December 2014|access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |2023
|[[2023 Filmfare OTT Awards]]
|Best Actress in a Drama Series
|''[[Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo]]''
|{{nom}}
|style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="OTT"/>
|-
! scope="row" |2023
|[[Zee Cine Awards|22nd Zee Cine Awards]]
|[[Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female|Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female]]
|''[[Pathaan (film)|Pathaan]]''
|{{won}}
|style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="ZeeC"/>
|-
! scope="row" |2024
|[[2024 Filmfare OTT Awards]]
|Best Supporting Actress in a Web Original Film
|''[[Murder Mubarak]]''
|{{nom}}
|style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Nominations for the Danube Properties Filmfare OTT Awards 2024: Full List {{!}} Filmfare.com |url=https://www.filmfare.com/features/nominations-for-the-danube-properties-filmfare-ott-awards-2024-full-list-69862.html |magazine=Filmfare |date=4 December 2024 |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>
|}

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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* {{cite book |last1=Chatterji |first1=Shoma A. |author1-link=Shoma Chatterji |title=Bollywood Cinema Kaleidoscope |date=31 January 2020 |publisher=Doshor Publication |isbn=978-81-944429-1-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAk0EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417114951/https://books.google.com/books?id=BAk0EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Chaudhuri |first1=Diptakirti |title=Bollybook: The Big Book of Hindi Movie Trivia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gq-CBAAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-799-8 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025038/https://books.google.com/books?id=gq-CBAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Chopra |first1=Anupama |author-link1=Anupama Chopra |title=Freeze Frame |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ge9BCwAAQBAJ |date=2014a |publisher=Om Books International |isbn=978-93-81607-11-4 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025008/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ge9BCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Chopra |first1=Shaili |author-link1=Shaili Chopra |title=When I Was 25: The Leaders Look Back |date=2014b |publisher=Random House India |isbn=978-81-8400-677-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAKlBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT30 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025008/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAKlBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT30 |url-status=live }}
*{{cite book |last1=Da Cunha |first1=Uma |editor1-last=Cowie |editor1-first=Peter |editor1-link=Peter Cowie |title=Variety International Film Guide 1995 |date=1995 |publisher=Hamlyn |isbn=978-0-600-58516-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/varietyinternati0000unse_p8u5/page/202/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dasgupta |first1=Rohit K. |last2=Datta |first2=Sangeeta |author-link1=Rohit K. Dasgupta |title=100 Essential Indian Films |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YT9xDwAAQBAJ |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7799-1 |access-date=14 October 2020 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417114952/https://books.google.com/books?id=YT9xDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Dé |first1=Shobha |author-link1=Shobhaa De |title=Selective Memory: Stories from My Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuCrPYBTNkAC&pg=174 |date=1998 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-027784-5 |pages=174–175 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025022/https://books.google.com/books?id=RuCrPYBTNkAC&pg=174 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Derné |first1=Steve |title=Movies, Masculinity, and Modernity: An Ethnography of Men's Filmgoing in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-LoaAQAAIAAJ |date=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-31287-8 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020221754/https://books.google.com/books?id=-LoaAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}
*{{cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Anmol |editor1-last=Samuel |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Mitchell |editor2-first=Louisa |title=Streaming and Screen Culture in Asia-Pacific |date=15 October 2022 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-09374-6 |pages=145–160 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6_eVEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|chapter=Content Carnival? (Re)Viewing Representation, Indianness, and OTT Culture in India}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dwyer |first1=Rachel |author-link1=Rachel Dwyer |title=100 Bollywood Films |url=https://archive.org/details/100bollywoodfilm00dwye |date=2005 |publisher=Lotus Collection, Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-433-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Dwyer |first1=Rachel |title=All You Want is Money, All You Need is Love: Sexuality and Romance in Modern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6VlAAAAMAAJ |date=2000 |publisher=Cassell |isbn=978-0-304-70320-3 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020214247/https://books.google.com/books?id=M6VlAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gahlot |first1=Deepa |author-link1=Deepa Gahlot |title=Sheroes: 25 Daring Women of Bollywood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u9_YjgEACAAJ |date=2015 |publisher=Westland Limited |isbn=978-93-85152-74-0 |pages=69–73 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025009/https://books.google.com/books?id=u9_YjgEACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ganti |first1=Tejaswini |author-link1=Tejaswini Ganti |title=Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qniCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA158 |date=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-28854-5 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025009/https://books.google.com/books?id=qniCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA158 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ganti |first1=Tejaswini |title=Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hb83FwNGuR4C&pg=PA363 |date=2012 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-5213-6 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020221751/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hb83FwNGuR4C&pg=PA363 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ghose |first1=Vijaya |title=Women in Society: India |date=1994 |publisher=M. Cavendish |location=New York |isbn=978-1-85435-564-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/womeninsociety00ghos/page/46/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book|last1=Gulzar|last2=Nihalani|first2=Govind|last3=Chatterjee|first3=Saibal|author-link1=Gulzar|author-link2=Govind Nihalani|author-link3=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|title-link=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|year=2003|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica (India)|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Gulzar|first1=Meghna|author-link=Meghna Gulzar|title=Because he is&nbsp;...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgFlAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Rupa & Co.|isbn=81-291-0364-8|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020221042/https://books.google.com/books?id=mgFlAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hood |first1=John W. |title=The Essential Mystery: The Major Filmmakers of Indian Art Cinema |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialmystery00hood/page/344/mode/2up |date=2000 |publisher=Orient BlackSwan |isbn=978-81-250-1870-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Husain |first1=Maqbul Fida |author-link=M.F. Husain |title=Where Art Thou: An Autobiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MvXVAAAAMAAJ |date=2002 |publisher=M.F. Husain Foundation |page=77 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025009/https://books.google.com/books?id=MvXVAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
*{{cite book |last1=Mottram |first1=James |title=The Secrets of Tenet: Inside Christopher Nolan's Quantum Cold War |date=8 September 2020 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=978-1-64722-060-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Y0fEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24}}
* {{cite book |last1=Joshi |first1=Priya |title=Bollywood's India: A Public Fantasy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C3wyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |date=2015 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-53907-4 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025019/https://books.google.com/books?id=C3wyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Jha |first1=Subhash K. |author-link=Subhash K. Jha |title=The Essential Guide to Bollywood |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialguideto00jhas |date=2005a |publisher=Lustre Press |isbn=978-81-7436-378-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Arvind |title=Trends in Modern Journalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__lkAAAAMAAJ |date=2002 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-277-5 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615054439/http://books.google.com/books?id=__lkAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=K. Naresh |title=Indian Cinema: Ebbs and Tides |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gt1kAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-0344-9 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615050832/http://books.google.com/books?id=gt1kAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mazumdar |first1=Ranjani |title=Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xenNBrRKOGoC&pg=PA143 |date=2007 |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-4529-1302-5 |pages=143–144 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816071232/https://books.google.com/books?id=xenNBrRKOGoC&pg=PA143 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mazumdar |first1=Ranjani |editor1-last=Prakash |editor1-first=Gyan |editor1-link=Gyan Prakash |title=Noir Urbanisms: Dystopic Images of the Modern City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qo3DoD_MDBIC&pg=PA161 |date=2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3662-8 |chapter=Friction, Collision and the Grotesque: The Dystopic Fragments of Bombay Cinema |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/4899738 |pages=150–186 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070719/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qo3DoD_MDBIC&pg=PA161 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mazumdar |first1=Ranjani |editor1-last=Dutt |editor1-first=Bishnupriya |editor2-last=Reinelt |editor2-first=Janelle |editor3-last=Sahai |editor3-first=Shrinkhla |title=Gendered Citizenship: Manifestations and Performance |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0RADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-59093-6 |chapter=The Legal Unspeakable: Rape in 1980s Bombay Cinema |pages=163–179 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070643/https://books.google.com/books?id=F0RADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Monika |title=Censorship and Sexuality in Bombay Cinema |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJSh153_7QEC&pg=PA131 |date=2012 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-74251-2 |pages=131–158 |chapter=An Anomalous Dilemma: To Ban or to Certify the Self-Sacrificial Wife in Pati Parmeshwar |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070644/https://books.google.com/books?id=nJSh153_7QEC&pg=PA131 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Nash |first1=Jay Robert |author1-link=Jay Robert Nash|last2=Ross|first2=Stanley Ralph |author2-link=Stanley Ralph Ross |title=The Motion Picture Guide: 1988 Annual (The Films of 1987) |date=1988 |publisher=Cinebooks |isbn=978-0-933997-16-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturegui0000nash/page/132/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Jai Arjun |author-link1=Jai Arjun Singh |editor1-last=Misra |editor1-first=Jaishree |editor1-link=Jaishree Misra |title=Of Mothers and Others: Stories, Essays, Poems |date=2014 |publisher=Zubaan |isbn=978-93-83074-25-9 |pages=32–53 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MFSNDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 |chapter=Milky Ways: A Contemplation of the Hindi-movie Maa |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070647/https://books.google.com/books?id=MFSNDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mubarki |first1=Meraj Ahmed |title=Filming Horror: Hindi Cinema, Ghosts and Ideologies |date=2016 |publisher=Sage Publications India |isbn=978-93-5150-873-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lckdDAAAQBAJ |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012015409/https://books.google.com/books?id=lckdDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Nanda |first1=Ritu |author-link=Ritu Nanda |title=Raj Kapoor Speaks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnyaW9L6cKYC&pg=PP70 |date=2002 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-670-04952-3 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015042101/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnyaW9L6cKYC&pg=PP70 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Raj |first1=Ashok |title=Hero Vol. 2 |date=2009 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-81398-03-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wo9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT28 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025027/https://books.google.com/books?id=2wo9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT28 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Raj |first1=Ashok |title=The Hay House Book of Cinema that Heals |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSFnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT212 |date=2014 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-84544-14-0 |chapter=The Communal Environment in the 1990s and Beyond |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025034/https://books.google.com/books?id=YSFnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT212 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Rajadhyaksha |first1=Ashish |author-link1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |author-link2=Paul Willemen |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-94325-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofi0000raja }}
* {{cite book |last1=Reuben |first1=Bunny |title=Raj Kapoor, the Fabulous Showman: An Intimate Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ly8dAQAAIAAJ |date=1995 |publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7223-196-5 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607122402/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ly8dAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Piyush |title=Bollywood FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Film Story Never Told |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlCwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114 |date=2019 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-5083-3 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420025023/https://books.google.com/books?id=MlCwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1=Sabharwal|first1=Gopa|title=India Since 1947: The Independent Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKySGJAGVEQC&pg=PA250|year=2007|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-310274-8|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627183846/http://books.google.com/books?id=LKySGJAGVEQC&pg=PA250|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sen |first1=Meheli |title=Haunting Bollywood: Gender, Genre, and the Supernatural in Hindi Commercial Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZA7BDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA179 |date=2017 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-1-4773-1158-5 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070644/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZA7BDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA179 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Murali |first1=Sharanya |editor1-last=Iqbal Viswamohan |editor1-first=Aysha |editor2-last=John |editor2-first=Vimal Mohan |title=Behind the Scenes: Contemporary Bollywood Directors and Their Cinema |publisher=Sage Publications India |isbn=978-93-86062-40-6 |pages=291–307 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wigBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT199 |year=2017 |chapter=Finding Femininity: Homi Adajania and Representations of Urban Womanhood |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070726/https://books.google.com/books?id=wigBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT199 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Siegel |first1=Bernie |last2=Wing |first2=Diane |last3=Kenley |first3=Holli |last4=Levy |first4=Jay S. |editor=Depmsey, Ernest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VteqDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |author-link1=Bernie S. Siegel |title=Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. VI, No. 1) – Grief & Loss |date=2017 |publisher=Loving Healing Press |isbn=978-1-61599-340-6 |page=83 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015110124/https://books.google.com/books?id=VteqDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Siṃha |first1=Hara Mandira |title=Hindi filmography: 1981–1999, Volume 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TC9LAQAAIAAJ |date=2000 |publisher=Satinder Kaur |archive-date=3 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103070219/http://books.google.com/books?id=TC9LAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Somaaya |first1=Bhawana |author-link=Bhawana Somaaya |title=Hema Malini: The Authorized Biography |title-link=Hema Malini: The Authorized Biography |date=2008 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5194-048-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Subramani |author-link=Subramani |title=Altering Imagination |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-tlAAAAMAAJ |date=1995 |publisher=Fiji Writers' Association |isbn=978-982-328-001-1 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816070656/https://books.google.com/books?id=t-tlAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Thoraval |first1=Yves |title=The Cinemas of India |date=2000 |publisher=Macmillan India |isbn=978-0-333-93410-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/cinemasofindia0000thor}}
* {{cite book |last1=Trivedi |first1=Vijaya R. |title=A Chronicle of World Events, January-March 1994 |date=1994 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=9788121202138 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLShQ-Zq8TMC&pg=PA69}}
* {{cite book |last1=Usman |first1=Yasser |author-link=Yasser Usman |title=[[Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India's First Superstar]] |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-875-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Vasudev |first1=Aruna |author-link1=Aruna Vasudev |title=Frames of Mind: Reflections on Indian Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2V9ZAAAAMAAJ |date=1995 |publisher=UBSPD |isbn=978-81-7476-053-1 |archive-date=30 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430200005/http://books.google.com/books?id=2V9ZAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1=Virdi|first1=Jyotika|title=The Cinematic ImagiNation [sic]: Indian Popular Films as Social History|url=https://archive.org/details/cinematicimagina0000vird|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-3191-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cinematicimagina0000vird/page/140 140]–143}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0438092}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Dimple Kapadia
|list=
{{NationalFilmAwardBestActress}}
{{Filmfare Award for Best Actress}}
{{FilmfareCriticsAwardBestActress}}
{{FilmfareAwardBestSupportingActress 1981-2000}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapadia, Dimple}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Gujarati actresses]]
[[Category:Indian Ismailis]]
[[Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Best Actress National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Actresses in Tamil cinema]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Filmfare Awards winners]]
[[Category:Khoja Ismailis]]