Avtar Gill Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Avtar Gill is an Indian veteran actor who predominantly works in Hindi and Punjabi films. In four decades of his career, he has worked in more than 300 films and 15+ TV serials. He is famous for his negative roles. He got the chance to work with all famous directors such as Mahesh Bhatt, David Dhawan, Raja Krishna Menon and actors such as Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Tarsem Jassar, Gippy Grewal etc. Despite earning a name in Hindi cinema and Television he still works in theatre and is a member of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), Mumbai. He won the National Excellence Award in 2016.

Contents

Wiki/Biography

Avtar Gill was born on Saturday, 13 May 1950 (age 73 years; as of 2023) in Kalakh, Ludhiana, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Taurus. After 40 days of his birth, his family moved to Chembur, Mumbai. He studied there to complete his school education and then pursued a bachelor’s at Khalsa College, King’s Circle, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Director Raman Kumar and actor Javed Khan were his batchmates; they helped him to get started with acting.

Avtar Gill in his childhood

Avtar Gill in his school days

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 10″

Weight (approx.): 75 kg

Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Avtar belongs to the Gill family of the Punjabi Jatt community.

Parents & Siblings

Avtar’s father was a lorry driver in Mumbai and his mother was a housewife. Avtar has 3 siblings, 1 brother, and 2 sisters.

Avtar Gill with his mother

Wife & Children

Avtar got married to Parminder Gill. Together they have 2 children, a son, and a daughter. His daughter wants to become a director and his son an actor.

Avtar Gill with his wife, Parminder Gill

Religion

Avtar Gill follows Sikkhism.

Career

Film

Avtar’s debut film was ‘Udeekan’ (1978), a Punjabi film. His debut Bollywood film was ‘Noorie’ (1979). Yash Chopra Production produced this film; it was a super hit and the seventh highest-grossing film at the Indian box office in 1979.

Avtar Gill with the cast and crew of the film Noorie

He then worked in ‘Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai’ (1980). The film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil in the lead roles and won the 1981 Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie.

Avtar Gill (right) with Naseerudin Shah

Apart from these, he worked as Avtar in ‘Saath Saath’ (1982), as Police Commissioner in ‘Shahenshah’ (1988), as MLA Becharam in ‘Ilaaka’ (1989), as Usman Bhai in ‘Agneepath’ (1990), as Police Inspector Deshpande in ‘Aashiqui’ (1990), as Salim Bhai in ‘Sadak’ (1991), as Natwar Lal Yadav in ‘Dilwale’ (1994), as Amrit Pal in ‘Airlift’ (2016), ‘Rabb Da Radio 2’ (2019), and ‘Kaamyaab’ (2020) etc.

Avtar Gill in the film Dilwale

Avtar Gill (left) in the film Rabb Da Radio 2

He has worked in more than 300 films in Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Telugu, and English. His portrayal of negative roles made him famous and he became part of almost all films released in the 80s-90s. About his roles, he spoke in an interview, he said,

Mirror tells the truth and I see my face in the mirror daily. I knew from the start that I will not become a hero with this face but I certainly can become a villain so here I am.”

Television

He debuted in television with the serial ‘Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi’ (1984) aired on DD National. He got a major breakthrough in the serial ‘Nukkad’ (1986-87) where he played the role of Kader Bhai. This serial was loved by everyone at that time. There was a famous line about it that, ‘Nukkad’ brought the streets of Mumbai into the living room. Due to its fame another season with the name of ‘Naya Nukkad’ was aired in 1993-94.

Nukkad poster starring Avtar Gill and others

Avtar Gill (in the middle of the first row) in a scene of Nukkad

He also worked in ‘Ye Duniya Gazab Ki’ (1992-1993), ‘Tara’ (1993-1995), ‘Gharwali Uparwali’ (2000 ), ‘Detective Karan’ ( 2003-2004), ‘Adaalat’ (2010), ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui’ (2019), ‘Ayodhya Ki Ramleela’ (2020), ‘Kyun Uthhe Dil Chhod Aaye’ (2021) etc.

Avtar Gill in the serial Kyun Utthe Dil Chhor Aaye

Theatre

Avtar’s career started with theatre. In his initial days of acting, he was introduced to IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) and his association with it still continues. In an interview, he spoke about his relationship with IPTA and said,

I continue to do plays with IPTA is because I enjoy doing theatre and share an emotional bond with the group. Theatre is an integral part of my life.”

He worked in many plays such as ‘Shatranj Ke Mohre,’ ‘Kashmakash,’ ‘Biwi O Biwi,’ ‘Tajmahal Ka Tender’ etc.