Lillete Dubey (born 7 September 1953) is an Indian actress and theatre director. She has worked in Indian and international theatre, television and films in Hindi and English languages. Dubey began her career with Barry John in Delhi and was the founding member of his group - Theatre Action Group in 1973. In 1991 she set up her own theatre company - The Primetime Theatre Company.
Dubey is best known for her acclaimed performances in films like Zubeidaa, Monsoon Wedding (Winner Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival), Chalte Chalte, Baghban, Kal Ho Naa Ho, My Brother…Nikhil, Delhi in a Day, Bow Barracks Forever (Best Actress Filma Madrid International Film Festival), 3 Days to Go (Best Actress Simon Sabela Awards, KZN South Africa), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (BAFTA- Best Ensemble Cast) and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Sonata.
In theatre, she is known for her work like, '30 Days in September', 'Adhe Adhure' (Best Actress Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards), 'August - Osage County', Dance Like a Man, 'Where did I Leave my Purdah', and 'Salaam Noni Appa' amongst others.
Early life
Ms Dubey was born in Pune to Sindhi Hindu parents. Her father, Gobind Keswani, was an engineer with the Indian Railways, and her mother, Lila Keswani, was a Gynaecologist from Lady Harding who later worked with the Indian Army. After Ms Dubey's birth the family moved to Bikaner and later to Lucknow where she studied at Loretto Convent and then went to Rustom Boarding school in Pune. After Rustoms, she came to Delhi and studied at Carmel Convent. When she was in Class IX, the family moved back to Pune and she joined St. Mary's (Pune), where she first started acting. Her earliest role was that of Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. As she was good at academics, her parents were keen on her pursuing Science, however, Ms Dubey wanted to study Arts. After a great deal of persuasion she was allowed to study English literature at Lady Shri Ram College (LSR). It was during this period that she met her husband Ravi Dubey who was doing his M.A in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She completed her M.A in English from LSR and her second master's degree in mass communications from IIMC. She married Ravi Dubey on 12 September 1978.
Personal life and family
Lillete's husband Ravi Dubey was the youngest-ever General Manager of the Taj Mansingh hotel and rose to be the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at the Tata Group before he quit in 2004. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2015.
The couple have two daughters, Neha and Ira, both of whom have played a variety of small and supporting roles in theatre, film and television. Additionally, Neha is a psychotherapist with an independent practice in Mumbai.
Lillete is the eldest of three siblings. She has a sister, Lushin, (named after Ilyushin, a Russian aircraft), and a brother, Patanjali , named in honour of the ancient rishi who compiled the Yoga Sutras. He is the founder of the Lemon Tree hotel group. Lushin is the wife of Pradeep Dubey, a noted academic.
