Neha Dhupia (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the title of Femina Miss India in 2002 and represented India at Miss Universe 2002. She is primarily known for her work in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films and television. Dhupia made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Ninne Istapaddanu'' (2003) and her Hindi debut with '' Qayamat: City Under Threat'' (2003), receiving nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her notable films include: '' Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005), ''

Chup Chup Ke ''Chup Chup Ke'' () is a 2006 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Ya ...

'' (2006), '' Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), '' Singh Is Kinng'' (2008), '' De Dana Dan'' (2009), '' Tumhari Sulu'' (2017) and '' A Thursday'' (2022). Beside films, Dhupia is known for her role as a Gang leader in '' MTV Roadies''. She is married to actor Angad Bedi, with whom she has two children.

Early life

Dhupia was born in

Kochi, India Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernakul ...

and graduated from

Jesus and Mary College Jesus and Mary College (JMC) is a women-only college of the University of Delhi located in New Delhi, India. The college offers bachelor's degrees in Commerce, Arts, and Mathematics. The college offers honours degrees in Elementary Education, H ...

in Delhi.

Career

Dhupia made her acting debut in a play in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

called ''

Graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

''. Thereafter she appeared in a music video for Indipop band

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

and modeled for advertisement campaigns. She then appeared in the TV serial ''Rajdhani''. In 2002, she participated in the Femina Miss India pageant, where she was crowned as Miss India 2002. She was subsequently sent to the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

2002 pageant in Puerto Rico where she placed in the top 10. After placing in the pageant, Dhupia intended to pursue a career in the

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a Central Civil Services, central civil service of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India under the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External A ...

, but turned to acting instead.

Film career

Her Bollywood debut was with the 2003 film ''Qayamat: City Under Threat'', which had an average performance at the box office. She rose to fame with her title role in '' Julie'' and then appeared in '' Sheesha'' (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, but it did not do well at the box office. Dhupia then starred in films such as '' Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005) and ''

Shootout at Lokhandwala ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Sanjay Gupta, and Ekta Kapoor. Based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle bet ...

'' (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film '' Dus Kahaniyaan'' (2007). In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including ''

'' (2006), '' Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (2007), '' Mithya'' (2008), '' Maharathi'' (2008), and '' Singh Is Kinng'' (2008) and '' Dasvidaniya'' (2008). In 2011, she played Eva Braun in the film '' Dear Friend Hitler'' about Mahatma Gandhi.

Other

Dhupia has modeled on the runway for designers such as

Rohit Bal Rohit Bal (8 May 1961 – 1 November 2024) was an Indian fashion designer, known for his designs catering to both men and women. He began his career in 1986, founding Orchid Oversea Pvt. Ltd with his brother, and debuted his independent collecti ...

and D'damas. In 2016, Dhupia conceptualized and hosted a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

podcast called ''#NoFilterNeha'' on the Indian music app Saavn, in which she interviews Bollywood celebrities. The show received positive reviews, with over 2.3 million listeners. Dhupia debuted season four in November 2019 and planned to expand the podcast into a web series.

Personal life

Dhupia married actor Angad Bedi, the son of former Indian cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi in a private ceremony at a Gurudwara on 10 May 2018. On 18 November 2018, she gave birth to a girl named Mehr Dhupia Bedi. Dhupia was fat-shamed for her post-pregnancy weight gains by certain sections of the media in 2019. On 19 July 2021, she and Angad announced that they are expecting their second child with an Instagram post. She gave birth to her second child, a boy on 3 October 2021 and named him Guriq Singh Dhupia Bedi. Dhupia is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

Media image

Neha Dhupia at Maxim - Artic Vodka bash 04

In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Dhupia was placed 26th in 2009 and 49th in 2010. Dhupia has run in the Mumbai Marathon to support the Concern India Foundation and helped to raise over 5 lakhs. She also helped to raise money for victims of the 2011 Sikkim earthquake. She performed at the GR8 Women's Award 2012. She participated in the Hiru Golden Film Awards 2014 in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

as a special guest with actors

Sunil Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty ha ...

, Vivek Oberoi,

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Indian television and international films. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a ...

, and actress

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she List of awards and nominations received by Bipasha Basu, has received a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award. In the 2000s and 2010s, she was ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

*
Neha Dhupia
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dhupia, Neha 1980 births Beauty pageant contestants from Kerala Living people Indian film actresses Female models from Delhi Actresses from Kochi Female models from Kerala Punjabi women Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Indian television actresses Actresses in Hindi television Femina Miss India winners Miss Universe 2002 contestants 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses