Amrita Rao
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Amrita Rao (born 7 June 1981) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Known for her quintessential girl-next-door portrayals, Rao is the recipient of several accolades including an IIFA Award and two Stardust Awards, along with nominations for two Filmfare Awards.<ref name=girl>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002), which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Rao won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female for her portrayal of a college student in the romantic drama Ishq Vishk (2003), her first commercial success. She had further success in the masala action comedy Main Hoon Na (2004), the romantic drama Vivah (2006), the comedy Masti (2004) and the satire Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008), winning the Stardust Award for Best Actress for her performance in the lattermost.
Following a career downturn, Rao achieved box office success with the National award winning film Jolly LLB (2013).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also began playing supporting parts with the action drama Singh Saab the Great (2013), the political drama Satyagraha (2013) and the biopic Thackeray (2019). Rao expanded to television with the soap opera Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai (2016), portraying a singer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early life
Rao has never publicised her birthday details.<ref name="Birthdate">Template:Cite news</ref> Hindustan Times reported her birthdate as 7 June.<ref name="7June">Template:Cite web</ref> She comes from a Konkani - speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family.<ref name="indiatoday.in">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rao studied at Canossa Girls School, Andheri (Bombay) then to Sophia College (Mumbai) to pursue a graduate degree in Psychology but dropped out to pursue a modeling career. She has a younger sister Preetika Rao, who is also an actress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Debut, breakthrough and success (2002–2006)
Before starting her career as an actor, Rao along with her sister Preetika appeared in several commercials during her college days. Her first public appearance was in the music video for Alisha Chinai's song Woh Pyar Mera.<ref name="Debut song">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2002, Rao played her first leading role as Anjali Thapar in Raj Kanwar's fantasy thriller Ab Ke Baras alongside debutante Aarya Babbar.<ref name=Initial>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Performance>Template:Cite web</ref> The film, which depicts the story of U.S based girl (played by Rao) having recurrent dreams of a parallel life in India, proved to be financially unsuccessful; however, Rao received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance. Rao next starred alongside Ajay Devgn in the biographical period film The Legend of Bhagat Singh.<ref name="LBS 2002">Template:Cite web</ref> In the film, which narrates the story of Indian independence Freedom Fighter Bhagat Singh, she played the role of Mannewali (Bhagat's fiancé). The film did not perform well at the box office, grossing only ₹129 million (US$2.7 million in 2002).<ref name="LBS Box office">Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2003, Rao starred in the coming-of-age romance film Ishq Vishk opposite Shahid Kapoor, in their first of several collaborations, as a college student. The film was a success at the box office proving to be a breakthrough for Rao. Both the film and Rao's performance received critical acclaim. Rao's portrayal earned her the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female.<ref name="Debut"/><ref name=iifa2004>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2004, Rao starred in three films. Her first release of the year was Indra Kumar's adult comedy Masti, opposite Vivek Oberoi.<ref name="Masti 04"/><ref name=masti>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Pretties>Template:Cite web</ref> The film featured an ensemble cast (Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Lara Dutta, Tara Sharma, and Genelia D'Souza) and earned around Template:INRConvert worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics and also did well at the box office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rao's performance as the over-possessive wife was well received by critics.<ref name="Hungama">Template:Cite web</ref> Rao next had a supporting role in the Farah Khan's masala film Main Hoon Na, where she co-starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Suniel Shetty, Sushmita Sen, and Zayed Khan. The film emerged as the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2004 with over Template:INRConvert in revenue worldwide. Her role as an army officer's daughter Sanjana (Sanju) Bakshi received positive reviews and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her third and final release of 2004 was Milan Luthria's action drama Deewar. Rao had a minor role named Radhika, Akshaye Khanna's love interest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rao co-starred in the 2005 drama Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! alongside Shahid Kapoor.<ref name="VLHTA">Template:Cite web</ref> Critical response to the film was negative, although Rao garnered acclaim for her performance as a school teacher.<ref name="Review 2005">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="VLHTA Review">Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, Rao took the lead role in the John Matthew Matthan drama Shikhar, in which she portrayed Madhvi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She then appeared in the 2006 comedy Pyare Mohan, a film loosely based on the 1989 American film See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and her second collaboration with Vivek Oberoi. The movie received mixed reviews from critics; Rajeev Masand wrote, "Amrita hit career lows, producing the low-fashion chemistry".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rao played the female lead role in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romance Vivah (2006). The film depicted the journey of two individuals from engagement to marriage. In her fourth collaboration with Shahid Kapoor, Rao portrayed Poonam, a traditionally raised young woman. The film received mixed reviews by critics but became one of the highest-grossing films of the year, as well as Rao's biggest commercial success to date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Taran Adarsh wrote, "Amrita Rao gets a new lease of life with Vivah. She looks the character and is splendid all through."<ref name=Vivah>Template:Cite web</ref> Rao received a nomination for the Screen Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.<ref name=asian>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career fluctuations and setback (2007–2016)
Rao was cast alongside Mahesh Babu in the 2007 Telugu action film Athidhi. The film was directed and co-written by Surender Reddy. She received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the chemistry between Rao and Mahesh Babu. Radhika Rajamani for Rediff.com noted, "Amrita Rao, who makes her debut in Telugu films, makes a mark."<ref name=telugu>Template:Cite web</ref> "Moviebuzz" for Sify wrote, "Amrita Rao is not only beautiful but also glamorous. She has proved that she could be yet another native girl of Tollywood. She emoted well with convincing histrionics fit for the Telugu screen."<ref name=Athidhi>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rao had two major releases in 2008: drama My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves opposite newcomer Nikhil Dwivedi, and Shyam Benegal's comedy film Welcome to Sajjanpur. My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves received overwhelmingly negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.<ref name=Anthony>Template:Cite web</ref> Rao's performance as an orphan who lives a middle-class lifestyle was praised by a few critics; OneIndia Entertainment noted, "Amrita Rao looks gorgeous, but her role isn't substantial enough."<ref name=newcomer>Template:Cite web</ref> In Welcome to Sajjanpur, Rao played the role of Kamala, a woman who is desperate for communication from her husband Bansiram (Kunal Kapoor), a laborer at a dockyard in Mumbai. Successful in creating an impact at the box office, the film obtained positive reviews from critics and earned Template:INRConvert, making it the second-highest-grossing film in Rao's career. Hindustan Times noted, "Amrita Rao is sweetness personified."<ref name="sweet Rao">Template:Cite news</ref> She received the Stardust Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the same year, Rao made a guest appearance as Nirja Rathore in the courtroom drama Shaurya.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rao made her debut as a Judge with the 2009 television show Perfect Bride.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She Judged the show alongside Shekhar Suman and Malaika Arora. She next starred with Harman Baweja in the 2009 film Victory. The film faced competition from other films such as Raaz 2 and Dev.D and failed to do well. With a huge budget, it only managed to gross Template:INRConvert and was declared a disaster by Boxoffice-India.<ref name=victory>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, Rao took on the lead role in Neeraj Vora's comedy-drama Short Kut: The Con is On opposite Akshaye Khanna, produced by Anil Kapoor. The film stars Rao as Mansi, the girlfriend of Akshaye's character. Critical response towards the film and Rao's performance received negative reviews: The Indian Express's Shubhra Gupta noted: "Everything is loud and plastic, and the actors all chant their lines at the top of their voices."<ref name="ShortKut Review">Template:Cite news</ref> Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated, "Amrita Rao tries too hard to look hot but lacks oomph in every possible angle".<ref name="TOI Review">Template:Cite news</ref> Though having grossed its budget back, it was considered a financial disappointment.<ref name=ShortKut>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rao's only film of 2011 was Love U...Mr. Kalakaar! and her second collaboration with Rajshri Productions.<ref name=banner>Template:Cite news</ref> The movie generated mostly negative reviews and emerged as a commercial failure. Though, her performance as the daughter of a businessman was praised by the critics. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India wrote, "Amrita Rao at best, but the film is so predictable and so long, it loses impact".<ref name=kalakar>Template:Cite news</ref> In later years, Rao made special appearances in comedy-drama Heyy Babyy (2007), romantic-comedy Life Partner (2007), and science fiction romance Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (2010).
In 2013, Rao starred in the national award-winning, courtroom, comedy-drama Jolly LLB. She played the lead role of Sandhya, the girlfriend of Arshad Warsi's character. The film received positive reviews and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.<ref name=national>Template:Cite web</ref> Rao with limited performance in the film received average applause. Mohar Basu of Koimoi commented, "Amrita Rao could have been avoided in the film altogether. Though she is immensely pleasant, she and her role have nothing to contribute to the film".<ref name=Jolly>Template:Cite news</ref>
Anil Sharma's action drama Singh Saab the Great was her next release. Co-starring alongside Sunny Deol, Rao played a journalist Shikha Chaturvedi.<ref name=journalist>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=dispute>Template:Cite news</ref> The film was largely panned by critics but Rao's performance earned positive reviews.<ref name="Saab Review">Template:Cite news</ref> Namrata Joshi of Outlook said, "Amrita Rao plays a role that feels like something she has already done, all the emotional support".<ref name=namrata>Template:Cite news</ref> The film received predominately negative reviews, nevertheless was an above-average grosser at the box office with revenues of Template:INRConvert. Later that year, she appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, and Manoj Bajpai in Prakash Jha's political drama Satyagraha. Rao played the role of Sumitra, the daughter-in-law of Amitabh Bachchan's character. Rao was praised in particular; Resham Sengar of Zee News wrote, "Ms. Rao has the sweetly cherubic looks. She is convincing in most of the emotional scenes. But again, her scope of performance is just limited to mouthing a few important dialogues."<ref name=satyagrah>Template:Cite news</ref> The film was poorly received by critics and failed to make a profit at the box office.<ref name=negative>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite having moderate reviews, the film grossed over Template:INRConvert at the domestic box office.<ref name=roles>Template:Cite news</ref>
Rao made her television acting debut in 2016 with &TV's Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai portraying the elder sister Kalyani Gaikwad. The story showed three generations of two sisters whose lives revolve around music.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her character's older version was played by Deepti Naval.<ref name="Deepti2016">Template:Cite news</ref>
Intermittent work (2019–present)
After a five-year absence from the screen, Rao played a leading role in Abhijit Panse's 2019 film Thackeray, a biopic based on a right-wing pro-Marathi politician Balasaheb Thackeray. Rao played the role of Meena Thackeray, wife of Balasaheb Thackeray. The film as well as Rao received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters wrote, "Amrita Rao, who plays Thackeray's wife, has the cosmetic role of providing endless cups of tea to visitors and gaze at her husband dotingly".<ref name="Thackeray19">Template:Cite news</ref>
Rao reprised her role as Sandhya in Jolly LLB 3 opposite Arshad Warsi in 2025. The film marked her return to cinema after a six year hiatus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film received generally positive reviews from critics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
After seven years of dating, Rao married her boyfriend, Anmol Sood, a Radio Jockey on 15 May 2016 in Mumbai.<ref>Amrita Rao's husband RJ Anmol announces their marriage on Facebook; read here Template:Webarchive. The Indian Express (15 May 2016).i Retrieved on 15 May 2016.</ref> She gave birth to a baby boy, Veer on 1 November 2020.Template:Cn In February 2023, the couple launched their book "Couple of Things", and they own a YouTube channel with the same name.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
In the media
Rao has been part of many successful films and is often cited by the media as Bollywood's "quintessential girl-next-door".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kalwyna Rathod of Femina termed Rao a "darling of the audience".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Rao has been placed 24th in 2009, 16th in 2010 and 23rd in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=desirable>Template:Cite news</ref> Femina further placed her in its "50 Most Beautiful Women" list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Vivah is termed as a significant success in Rao's career and is noted among her best roles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bollywood Hungama placed her and Shahid Kapoor in its list of the top 10 best romantic couples of the decade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> M. F. Husain pronounced Rao as his second muse, 11 years after he painted Madhuri Dixit and made several paintings dedicated to the actress's role in Vivah (2006).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On her career, Rao said, "I have done some unforgettable films that I believe will hold relevance for a very long time. Perhaps many newcomers today haven't even seen the back-to-back success that I have seen right from the start of my career. My journey has been easy, yet difficult, because I had to carve my own path by trial and error. But the taste of being self-made is the sweetest."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023, Rao turned author, and published her memoir "Couple of Things", along with her husband.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ab Ke Baras | Anjali Thapar / NandiniTemplate:Efn | <ref name="AKB 2002">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| The Legend of Bhagat Singh | Mannewali | <ref name="LGBS 2002">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2003 | Ishq Vishk | Payal Mehra | credited as Amrita | <ref name="IV 2003">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2004 | Masti | Aanchal Mehta | <ref name="Masti 04">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Main Hoon Na | Sanjana "Sanju" Bakshi | <ref name="mhn 2004">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Deewaar: Let's Bring Our Heroes Home | Radhika Saluja | <ref name="Deewaar 04">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2005 | Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! | Piya | <ref name="VLHTA 2005">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Shikhar | Madhavi | <ref name="Shikhar 05">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2006 | Pyare Mohan | Priya Sharma | <ref name="PM 2006">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Vivah | Poonam "Bitto" Mishra Bajpayee | <ref name="Vivah 2006">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2007 | Heyy Babyy | Herself | Special appearance in song "Heyy Babyy" | <ref name="HB 2007">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Athidhi | Amrita | Telugu film | <ref name="Athidhi07">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2008 | My Name is Anthony Gonsalves | Riya Singh | <ref name="MNIAG 2008">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Shaurya | Neerja Rathore | <ref name="Shaurya08">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Welcome to Sajjanpur | Kamla Kumbharan | <ref name="WTS">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2009 | Victory | Nandini "Nandu" | <ref name="Victory09">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Short Kut | Mansi | <ref name="Short09">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Life Partner | Anjali Kumar Oberoi | Cameo appearance | <ref name="LP">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2010 | Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai | Tia | <ref name="JHSAH10">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2011 | Love U...Mr. Kalakaar! | Ritu | <ref name="LK09">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Jolly LLB | Sandhya | <ref name="JLLB13">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Singh Saab the Great | Shikha Chaturvedi | <ref name="SSTG13">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Satyagraha | Sumitra Anand | <ref name="SG13">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| 2014 | Sulemani Keeda | Herself | Special appearance | <ref name="SK14">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2019 | Thackeray | Meena Thackeray | <ref name="TCK09">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2025 | Jolly LLB 3 | Sandhya "Sandhu" Tyagi | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Perfect Bride | Judge | <ref name="TPB Show">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| 2016 | Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai | Kalyani Gaikwad | <ref name="MAHPH Show">Template:Cite news</ref> |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Singer(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Woh Pyar Mera" | Alisha Chinoy | <ref name="Debut song"/> |
| 2008 | "Chalte Chalte Phir" | Jal Band | <ref name="Rao Music">Template:Cite web</ref> |
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
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