Govinda is an Indian actor who has predominantly worked in the Hindi film industry. Since his debut with Shibu Mitra's Ilzaam (1986), Govinda has acted in over 140 Hindi films and some guest appearances in regional cinemas. Known for his comedic roles, Govinda was also one of the pioneers of the disco dance movement in India. In a 1999 BBC News Online poll Govinda was voted the world's tenth-greatest star of stage or screen, a list topped by Amitabh Bachchan which also included stalwarts like Charlie Chaplin and Robert De Niro. Govinda received the Filmfare Special Award for Saajan Chale Sasural (1996). Apart from acting, Govinda has also donned the hat of a judge on Zee TV's dance reality show, Dance India Dance Super Mom Season 2. He was also a member of parliament, representing the Indian National Congress for the Mumbai North constituency of Maharashtra, India. But he quit politics to concentrate on films. Govinda is the lead actor in Dipankar Senapati's Aa Gaya Hero (2017). He's also serving as the producer for the movie. Aa Gaya Hero will be his third venture as producer, the previous two being Hatya (1988) and Ssukh (2005).

Early Life
Born on 21 December 1963 to former actor Arun Kumar Ahuja and singer-actress Nirmala Devi, Govinda has Punjabi and Sindhi roots. His pet name "Chi-Chi" means "little finger" in Punjabi, which is his mother tongue. He is the youngest of his six siblings. Govinda graduated from Annasaheb Vartak College with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. On his father's insistence, Govinda gave acting a shot.

Personal Life
Govinda has been married to Sunita since March 11, 1987. They have a daughter, Narmmadaa Ahuja and a son, Yashvardhan. Narmmadaa adopted her pet name Tina for the silver screen. Tina Ahuja made her Hindi film debut with Second Hand Husband (2015).

Television Career
Govinda took a break from acting to host a game show on Sony TV, Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke (2001). The show's initial reviews were off the charts but ended 13 episodes later due to poor ratings. He replaced dance legend Mithun Chakraborty as a judge on Zee TV's dance-reality show, Dance India Dance Super Mom Season 2. The show is quite popular amongst the masses and gained the highest TRP for the second season's premiere episode.

Movie Career
Govinda made his big screen debut with Ilzaam (1986), all though his first lead role was in Tan Badan (1986), a role offered to him by his uncle Anand. Ilzaam, which also had Shashi Kapoor and Shatrughan Sinha, went on to become the fifth highest grossing movie of 1986. The song "Street Dancer" from the movie was immensely popular and established Govinda as the dancing star. He followed that up with hit movies like Pyaar Karke Dekho (1987), Marte Dam Tak (1987), Khudgarz (1987), Dariya Dil (1988), Shiva Shakti (1988), Hatya (1988), Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988) and Taaqatwar (1989). Taaqatwar was directed by David Dhawan, with whom Govinda went on an acting spree of 17 movies, most of them hits.Govinda had a slew of successful comedy movies, most of them directed by David Dhawan. These include movies like Aankhen (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Hero No. 1 (1997), Deewana Mastana (1997), Amitabh Bachchan's comeback movie- Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) and Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999). For Haseena Maan Jaayegi Govinda won a Filmfare Best Comedian Award.

Govinda has played double roles in several movies like Gentleman (1989), Jaan Se Pyaara (1992), Aankhen (1993), Hathkadi (1995), Chhote Sarkar (1996), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Anari No.1 (1999), Waah! Tera Kya Kehna (2002) and Sandwich (2006). In Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000) he went on to play six roles.The early 2000's brought him a lot of misery as he had a string of flop movies. His next hit came with the multistarrer Bhagam Bhag (2006). The movie also starred Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta and Jackie Shroff. But it was David Dhawan who once again gave him his biggest hit with Partner (2007). Govinda co-starred with Salman Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif in the movie. He followed that up with Life Partner (2009), Raavan (2010), a voice role in Delhi Safari (2012) and Holiday (2014). In Dipankar Senapati's 2017 movie Aa Gaya Hero, Govinda plays a fearless cop. The movie also stars Richa Sharma, Makrand Deshpande, Chandrachur Singh and Poonam Pandey. His 2018 release includes FryDay. His 2019 release includes Rangeela Raja.

Singing Career
Govinda released his first album in 1998. It was named "Govinda". For the second album named Gori Tere Naina, Govinda became a lyricist, singer, and producer. It released in 2013 during the Navratri festival with four songs. The music videos featured television actress Puja Banerjee and Govinda himself. In some of his earlier interviews, Govinda has said that he wrote quite a few lyrics for the songs in his movies. It would later be refined and added to the movie how the director saw fit. He has previously sung for songs like "Meri pant bhi sexy" from Dulaara and "Gori gori" from Shola Aur Shabnam.