Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989
[Indian Express](_blank)
mentioned her birthday 3 March 1987
The Times of India's
article from 4 March 2016 mentioned her age 27. As pe
according to TOI her birthday year is 1989.) is an Indian actress who primarily works in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
films. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has been featured in ''
Forbes India''
Celebrity 100
Celebrity 100 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Forbes'' magazine since 1999, preceding by the ''Forbes'' Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, so ...
list since 2014 and was featured by ''
Forbes Asia
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...
'' in their
30 Under 30 list of 2016.
The daughter of actor
Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 600 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor teame ...
, she began her acting career with a brief role in the 2010 heist film ''
Teen Patti'', and followed it with her first leading role in the teen drama ''
Luv Ka The End
''Luv Ka The End'' () is a 2011 Hindi comedy drama film directed by Bumpy, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Taaha Shah in the lead roles. The film was the first production of Y-Films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films and released to mostly positive ...
'' (2011). Kapoor had her breakthrough for playing a singer in the commercially successful romance ''
Aashiqui 2
''Aashiqui 2'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical drama film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the Vishesh Films and T-Series Films, with Mahesh Bhatt serving as ...
'' (2013), for which she received a nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress
The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954 ...
. The following year, she portrayed a character based on
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...
in
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
's critically acclaimed drama ''
Haider'' (2014). Kapoor established herself with starring roles in the romantic thriller ''
Ek Villain'' (2014), the dance drama ''
ABCD 2
''Disney's ABCD 2'', also known as ''Any Body Can Dance 2'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language dance film directed and choreographed by Remo D'Souza and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur under Walt Disney Pictures. A stand-alone sequel to the 201 ...
'' (2015) and the action film ''
Baaghi'' (2016).
Following a series of poorly received films, her highest-grossing releases came with the comedy horror ''
Stree'' (2018), the action thriller ''
Saaho
''Saaho'' () is a 2019 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations. It stars Prabhas in the title role with an ensemble cast including Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Jackie Shroff, Arun Vijay, Nei ...
'' (2019), and the comedy-drama ''
Chhichhore
''Chhichhore'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari, written by Tiwari in association with Piyush Gupta and Nikhil Mehrotra, and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Ent ...
'' (2019).
In addition to acting in films, Kapoor has sung several of her film songs. She is the celebrity endorser for several brands and products, in 2015, she launched her own line of clothing.
Early life and background
Kapoor was born and raised in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
. On her father's side, Kapoor is of
Punjabi descent, and on her mother's side, she is of
Marathi and
Konkani ancestry. Her maternal grandfather Pandharinath Kolhapure, (the nephew of
Deenanath Mangeshkar
Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was a well-known Marathi theatre actor, a Natya Sangeet musician and a Hindustani classical vocalist. He is also the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Meena Kh ...
) belonged from
Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is ...
and her maternal grandmother hailed from
Panaji
Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...
,
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
.
[If I had my way, I would have worked with Raj Kapoor all my life: Padmini Kolhapure](_blank)
Times of India 13 September 2013 In an interview with The
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
, Kapoor revealed that, she was raised as a
Marathi as her maternal relatives lived in
Maharashtra. She has said that she went through a tomboyish phase as a child and described herself as having a strong attitude, because of which she was deliberately picking fights with boys.
Kapoor's family members include her father
Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 600 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor teame ...
and mother Shivangi Kapoor, her elder brother
Siddhanth Kapoor, her two aunts
Padmini Kolhapure
Padmini Kolhapure is an Indian actress and singer, who works primarily in Hindi films. She began her acting career in 1972 at the age of seven, and her early works include ''Zindagi'' (1976) and ''Dream Girl'' (1977). She had her breakthroug ...
and
Tejaswini Kolhapure are all actors in
Indian Cinema
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...
. She is the great-niece of
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...
,
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur
and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
,
Meena Khadikar
Meena Khadikar is an Indian Marathi and Hindi language playback singer and composer. She is the second eldest daughter of Pt. Deenanath Mangeshkar and sister of singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar
...
,
Usha Mangeshkar
Usha Mangeshkar (born 15 December 1935) is an Indian singer who has recorded many Marathi, Manipuri, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Assamese songs.
Personal life
Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer. She is the fou ...
and
Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Hridaynath Mangeshkar (Marathi pronunciation: �ɾud̪əjnaːt̪ʰ məŋɡeːʃkəɾ is an Indian music director. He is the only son of musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and younger brother of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. He is popularly kno ...
. Hailing from a family of actors, Kapoor desired to become an actress since a young age. Wearing her parents' clothes, she used to rehearse film dialogues and dance to Bollywood songs in front of the mirror. She also accompanied her father to various shooting locations in her childhood. During one of
David Dhawan
David Dhawan (born Rajinder Dhawan; 16 August 1951) is an Indian director of Hindi films. A member of the Dhawan family, he has directed over 42 films. The 1993 action thriller '' Aankhen'' and 1999 comedy '' Biwi No.1'' earned him two Filmfa ...
's shoots, Kapoor befriended actor
Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes ...
, to play with him, and they were holding a torch pretending it to be a camera while delivering film lines to each other, and they were also dancing to
Govinda
Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...
's film songs.
Kapoor did her schooling at
Jamnabai Narsee School
Jamnabai Narsee School is a private school in Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 17 January 1971 and is managed by the Narsee Monjee Education Trust. The school building is unusual and unique in architecture with three clusters o ...
and at the age of 15, she shifted to the
American School of Bombay
The American School of Bombay is a coeducational, independent day school in Mumbai, India that serves children from Pre-K through Grade 12.
History
In 1981, a group of international parents, started the American School of Bombay with 12 stu ...
. In an interview with The Times of India, Shetty revealed that they all used to participate in dance competitions. Believing herself to be competitive at the age of 17, Kapoor played soccer and handball as she thought these games were challenging. When interviewed by The Hindustan Times in 2016, both Kapoor and Shroff admitted that they had a crush on each other in school, but never proposed to each other.
Kapoor then enrolled in
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
to major in psychology, but she left in her freshman year to appear in her debut film after she was seen on Facebook by producer Ambika Hinduja, who cast her for a role in ''
Teen Patti''. In an interview with the
Filmfare magazine, Shakti Kapoor revealed that Kapoor was barely 16 years old when she was offered her first film, ''
Lucky: No Time for Love'' by
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
, after he saw one of her school play performances, but she rejected the proposal as she was aspiring to become a psychologist. Kapoor was trained as a singer since her childhood as her maternal grandfather and mother are classical singers.
Career
Career struggles and breakthrough (2010–2016)
Kapoor made her acting debut in the 2010 drama ''Teen Patti'', alongside
Amitabh Bachchan,
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...
and
R. Madhavan
Ranganathan Madhavan (born 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil and Hindi films. Madhavan has won four Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Madhava ...
. She played the role of a college girl. The film received generally negative reviews, though her performance was better received. Preeti Arora, writing for
Rediff.com stated that: "though a bit raw, she has a lot of potential."
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...
reviewed: "Shraddha Kapoor makes an interesting debut as the edgy youngster who sheds her specs for sleaze, with alacrity." Kapoor was nominated for the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut
The Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (previously known as Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year) is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films to recognise a performance by a female actor in their deb ...
, but the film failed to do well at the box office. After her debut, she signed a three-film deal with
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
and featured in their 2011 teen comedy ''
Luv Ka The End
''Luv Ka The End'' () is a 2011 Hindi comedy drama film directed by Bumpy, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Taaha Shah in the lead roles. The film was the first production of Y-Films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films and released to mostly positive ...
'', with
Taaha Shah.
Kapoor portrayed the lead role of a teenage student who plots against her boyfriend after he cheats on her. The film underperformed at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. However, Kapoor's performance received a positive critical reception.
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
wrote: "Shraddha is a revelation, catching you unaware with a confident performance. She's electrifying in the sequence when she breaks down after getting to know the true intentions of her lover." For her performance, Kapoor received the Stardust Searchlight Award for Best Actress. Kapoor was subsequently offered the lead female role in ''
Aurangzeb'' as a part of her deal with Yash Raj Films. However, she signed on to
Vishesh Films
Vishesh Films is an Indian film company founded in 1986 and currently owned by Mukesh Bhatt. Vishesh Films is one of the most successful Indian film production houses. The production company is named after Vishesh Bhatt, the son of Mukesh Bhat ...
' ''
Aashiqui 2
''Aashiqui 2'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical drama film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the Vishesh Films and T-Series Films, with Mahesh Bhatt serving as ...
'' instead, thereby cancelling the three-film contract with Yash Raj Films.
In 2013, Kapoor found her breakthrough role in
Mohit Suri's romantic musical drama ''Aashiqui 2'', the sequel to the 1990 film ''
Aashiqui
Aashiqui () is a 1990 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film and first installment of Aashiqui series directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori in pivotal roles. The film was known for its music, by com ...
''. She was cast as Aarohi Keshav Shirke, a small-town bar singer who becomes a successful playback artist with the help of a popular male singer (played by
Aditya Roy Kapur
Aditya Roy Kapur (born 16 November 1985) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 2009 with the musical drama film ''London Dreams''. Kapur had his first commercial success came with the romantic mu ...
). The film was a major box office success with a global revenue of .
Film critic
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
called Kapoor a "real triumph" and added that her "porcelain face has a haunting vulnerability." However, Vinayak Chakravorty of ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'' wrote that she "looks pretty though fails to add spark." Kapoor received several nominations in the Best Actress category, including one at the
Filmfare Awards.
That year, she also appeared in a guest appearance for the romantic comedy ''
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
''Gori Tere Pyaar Mein'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Punit Malhotra. Produced by Karan Johar under the banner Dharma Productions, the film stars Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
Plot
Sriram ...
'', playing the fiancée of
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
's character.
Kapoor next reunited with Suri for the thriller ''
Ek Villain'' (2014), for which she also sang the song "Galliyan".
The film tells the story of a hardened criminal (played by
Sidharth Malhotra
Sidharth Malhotra (; born 16 January 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model, but left it to pursue an acting career. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the television serial ''Dhart ...
) whose terminally ill wife (played by Kapoor) is brutally murdered by a serial killer. The film was generally perceived to be plagiarised from the
Korean film ''
I Saw the Devil'', although Suri claimed that it was an original film. In her review, Raedita Tandon of ''
Filmfare'' called the film a "gritty, engaging thriller", and stated that Kapoor was a revelation in it. The film eventually emerged as a major commercial success with domestic revenues of over . Her second release that year was
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
's critically acclaimed drama ''
Haider'', an adaptation of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', set during the
Kashmir conflict of 1995. She played the
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...
-based character, a journalist named Arshia, opposite
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, in ...
and
Tabu. Writing for ''
Deccan Chronicle
''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'', critic Kusumita Das praised Kapoor's effort in capturing the varied nuances of her character and noted that her portrayal was "surprisingly composed". Also that year, Kapoor performed an
item number
In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and ...
in the
Karan Johar-produced thriller ''
Ungli
''Ungli'' () is a 2014 Indian vigilante crime thriller film directed by Rensil D'Silva and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under Dharma Productions. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Kangana Ranaut, Neha Dhupia, Angad Be ...
''.
In 2015, Kapoor starred in a sequel to the dance film ''
ABCD: Any Body Can Dance'', entitled ''
ABCD 2
''Disney's ABCD 2'', also known as ''Any Body Can Dance 2'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language dance film directed and choreographed by Remo D'Souza and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur under Walt Disney Pictures. A stand-alone sequel to the 201 ...
'', she portrayed the role of a hip-hop dancer who competed in an international hip-hop competition alongside her childhood friend Suresh Mukund (essayed by
Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes ...
). In preparation for her role, she learned different genres of dance form from choreographers
Prabhudeva
Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed ...
and
Remo D'Souza
Remo D'Souza (born Ramesh Gopi Nair; 2 April 1974), is an Indian choreographer, actor, film director and producer, based in Mumbai. He is best known for his works in ''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (2014) and ''Bajirao Mastani'' (2016). In a career ...
. Produced by
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
, the film earned worldwide to become her most widely seen film to that point.
Kapoor began 2016 by featuring as star
Tiger Shroff
Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990) is an Indian actor and martial artist known for his work in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his Baaghi action franchise, ''Heropanti'' (2014) and ''War'' (''2019''). He has featured in For ...
's love interest in the action drama ''
Baaghi'', about a pair of rebellious lovers set against the backdrop of a martial arts school. The role required her to practice
Kalaripayattu (a
martial art
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
originating in the south of India). Shubhra Gupta of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' considered her character in it to be dated, but thought that she played the romantic and action sequences "well enough". Commercially, the film performed well and collected a total of .
Career struggles (2016–2017)
Kapoor's final release in 2016 was the
rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...
drama ''
Rock On 2'', a sequel to 2008's ''
Rock On!!
''Rock On!!'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written and directed by Abhishek Kapoor, produced by Farhan Akhtar, and with music by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The film marks the successful Bollywood debut of Akhtar and Prac ...
''. She was cast alongside
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...
,
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...
and
Prachi Desai
Prachi Desai (born 12 September 1988), is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and television. She started her television career as a lead in the successful TV drama '' Kasam Se'' on Zee TV. She made her Bollywood debut in the 2008 film ' ...
. She played the role of Jiah Sharma, an introverted singer and keyboard player, who suffers a neglectful relationship with her father.
To prepare, she spent time reading books in isolation
and undertook vocal training under the singer
Samantha Edwards.
Namrata Joshi
Namrata Joshi is an Indian film critic based in New Delhi. Originally working for ''Outlook'', she remained there from 1999 till 2015, when she joined ''The Hindu''. She won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2004
Career
Joshi is ...
of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' disliked the film and considered Kapoor's performance "self-consciously meek and submissive". ''Rock On 2'' did not recoup its investment.
In 2017, Kapoor starred in
Shaad Ali
Shaad Ali is an Indian filmmaker.
Early life and education
Ali was born to Muzaffar Ali and Subhashini Ali (née Sahgal), an Indian politician and member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is thus the grandson of Azad Hind Fauj co ...
's romantic drama ''
Ok Jaanu'', reuniting with Aditya Roy Kapur. A remake of
Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...
's Tamil romantic drama ''
O Kadhal Kanmani'', the film was produced by
Karan Johar under the banner of
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Joh ...
. Kapoor next appeared in the romance ''
Half Girlfriend
Half Girlfriend is an Indian English coming of age, young adult romance novel by Indian author Chetan Bhagat. The novel, set in rural Bihar, New Delhi, Patna, and New York, is the story of a Bihari boy in quest of winning over the girl he ...
'', in which she was paired opposite
Arjun Kapoor
Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance '' Ishaqzaade'' whic ...
. It was based on
Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat (born 22 April 1974) is an Indian author, columnist and YouTuber. He was included in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Five of his novels have been adapted into films.
Family, education, a ...
's
novel of the same name, and reunited her with director Mohit Suri. In a review of the latter film, Raja Sen of
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
considered it to be a "preposterously dimwitted romance" and criticised Kapoor as "shrill and insubstantial". Later in 2017, Kapoor appeared in
Apoorva Lakhia
Apoorva Lakhia is an Indian film director.
Early life
Lakhia was born and brought up in Ahmedabad, India. He was educated at the Lawrence School, Sanawar. He dropped out of a filmmaking course in New York University to assist Mira Nair on ''T ...
's ''
Haseena Parkar'', a biopic of terrorist
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim (; born 26 December 1955) is an Indian mafia gangster, drug kingpin, and wanted terrorist from Dongri, Mumbai. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim ...
's sister, who ran a crime ring of her own. Kapoor played the titular role, alongside her brother
Siddhanth Kapoor, who essayed Ibrahim's character. The film met with negative reviews;
Anna M. M. Vetticad
Anna Mercy Mathews Vetticad, commonly known as Anna M. M. Vetticad, is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, ''Star Trek'', on Headlines Today ...
of ''
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Ragh ...
'' considered Kapoor's performance to be as "bland as the screenplay", adding that "she tries to appear mature and menacing, but the effort shows too much". None of her 2017 releases performed well at the box office.
Commercial success (2018–present)
Kapoor next starred opposite
Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...
in the comedy horror film ''
Stree'' (2018). Based on the
Nale Ba legend, the film featured her as a mysterious, unnamed woman who falls in love with Rao's character. The critic Saibal Chatterjee took note of the film's
feminist subtext and found Kapoor to be "suitably icy as the enigmatic woman".
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in his ...
opined that she "blends in nicely as the alluring out-of-towner with an air of mystery around her".
With gross earnings of over , ''Stree'' emerged as her highest-grossing release to that point. In the same year, Kapoor reteamed with Shahid Kapoor in ''
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
''Batti Gul Meter Chalu'' (; ) is a 2018 Indian drama film directed by Shree Narayan Singh and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Nitin Chandrachud, Nishant Pitti and Krishan Kumar. The film tells the story of inflated electricity bills in rural India ...
'', a
social problem film
A social problem film is a narrative film that integrates a larger social conflict into the individual conflict between its characters. In the context of the United States and of Hollywood, the genre is defined by fictionalized depictions of soc ...
about electricity issues in rural India. She agreed to the project due to the social message she found in the script. Filming was marred with dispute when the studio
KriArj Entertainment failed to remunerate the crew. Following a brief hiatus, production resumed after
Bhushan Kumar
Bhushan Kumar Dua (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer and music producer. He is the chairman and managing director of Super Cassettes Industries Limited, also known as T-Series. He is known for his work in Bollywood.
Career
K ...
took over the project. Writing for ''India Today'', Charu Thakur noted that Kapoor "needs to go a long way as far as her acting skills are concerned".
Kapoor was committed to star in a biopic of badminton player
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...
, directed by
Amole Gupte
Amole Gupte (born c. 1962) is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and director, known for his work on the 2007 Bollywood film ''Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth)'' as creative director and screenwriter. He conceived the film along with his wif ...
, but after filming for a few days she opted out of the project citing a scheduling conflict. She began 2019 by playing the leading lady opposite
Prabhas
Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in '' F ...
in
Sujeeth
Sujeeth Reddy is an Indian film director and writer. He made his directorial debut in Telugu Cinema with the romantic comedy thriller film '' Run Raja Run'' at the age of 23. Prior to films, Sujeeth started to study to be a chartered accountant ...
's action film ''
Saaho
''Saaho'' () is a 2019 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations. It stars Prabhas in the title role with an ensemble cast including Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Jackie Shroff, Arun Vijay, Nei ...
''. Budgeted at , it is one of the
most expensive Indian films produced. Kapoor shot her portions in Telugu and Hindi languages. In a scathing review for ''
Mid-Day
''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions wer ...
'',
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with ''Hindustan Times''. He previously worked under ''Mumbai Mirror'' and '' MiD DAY''. He also used to write a blog, ''Fad F ...
dismissed her part as "rather pale and pointless". The Telugu version of the film did not perform well but its Hindi version was a commercial success. Her next film release was
Nitesh Tiwari
Nitesh Tiwari is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist known for his works in Bollywood. He debuted as a co-director in '' Chillar Party'' (2011) which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for that year. He then he ...
's ''
Chhichhore
''Chhichhore'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari, written by Tiwari in association with Piyush Gupta and Nikhil Mehrotra, and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Ent ...
'', a comedy-drama about college life, co-starring
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He starred in a number of commercially successful Hindi films such as '' M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'' (2016), ''Kedarnath'' (201 ...
. Udita Jhunjhunwala of ''
Mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
'' labelled it a "lively homage to hostel life" and added that "in spite of a sketchy role, Kapoor delivers a moving and likeable performance". With a worldwide gross of over , the film emerged as one of her most successful.
Kapoor began the new decade by reuniting with Dhawan in the dance film ''
Street Dancer 3D'' (2020), which Namrata Joshi termed a "compilation of indistinguishable performances". It did not perform well commercially. She then reteamed with Shroff in the
spiritual sequel
A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...
''
Baaghi 3
''Baaghi 3'' () is a 2020 Indian action thriller film directed by Ahmed Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film is the third installment in ''Baaghi'' series and stars Tiger Shroff, Riteish Deshmukh and Shraddha Kapoor. It also featu ...
''. It underperformed commercially as theatres were shut due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Kapoor will next star opposite
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...
in
Luv Ranjan's romantic comedy ''
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
''Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'' () is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Luv Ranjan. The film is written by Ranjan and Rahul Mody, and produced by Luv Films and T-Series Films. It stars Shraddha Kapoor and Ranbir Ka ...
'', and in
Nikhil Dwivedi's film trilogy in which she will play the role of a shapeshifting serpent.
Other work and media image
In addition to acting in films, Kapoor has supported charitable organisations, performed for stage shows and sang in her films. She has also ramp walked in the
Lakme Fashion Week
Lakmé Fashion Week is a bi-annual fashion week which takes place in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Its ''Summer-Resort'' show takes place in April while the ''Winter-Festive'' show takes place in August.
History
The event first took place in 1 ...
for various fashion designers and has been the
cover model A cover model is a male or female whose photograph appears on the front cover of a magazine. The cover model is generally a fashion model, celebrity, or contest winner. Generally, cover models are depicted solitarily; however, on occasion magazines ...
for several magazines. Kapoor is the brand ambassador of several products, including
Lakmé
''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille.
The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in ...
,
Veet
Veet, formerly called Neet and Immac, is a Canadian brand of chemical depilatory products manufactured by the British company Reckitt. Hair removal cream, Lotions, gel, mousse, and wax products are produced under this brand, with differing variant ...
,
Lipton,
Marico
Marico Limited is an Indian multinational consumer goods company providing consumer products and services in the areas of health, beauty and wellness. With its headquarters in Mumbai, Marico is present in over 25 countries across Asia and Af ...
's Hair & Care and many others. Bollywood Hungama named her "one of the most wanted names" in the advertising industry. Later, in March 2015, she launched her own line of clothing for women, named Imara, in association with
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
. In 2021, she invested in the beverage brand Shunya.
Kapoor has established herself as one of the most popular celebrities in India. In 2013, a poll conducted by the Indian edition of ''
FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
'' ranked her fifth in their listing of the world's sexiest actresses. In 2014, she was placed at the sixth position and the following year she was placed at the second position in
McAfee
McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...
's most searched celebrities poll.
Google Trends
Google Trends is a website by Google that analyzes the popularity of top web search query, search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The website uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries over time. ...
also noted that Kapoor is one of the most searched Indian actresses between 2014 and 2015.
Rediff.com placed her in their listing of the top 10 Bollywood actresses in 2014. Kapoor was placed seventh on ''The Times of India''s listing of the Most Desirable Women in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, the Indian edition of the
International Business Times press positioned her fourth among the top actresses and Rediff.com featured her among the top earners.
In 2016, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine featured her as one of the most successful Asians under the age of 30 and the previous year, the Indian edition of the magazine featured her in their annual
Celebrity 100
Celebrity 100 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Forbes'' magazine since 1999, preceding by the ''Forbes'' Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, so ...
list with a total earning of US$1.3 million per year. The same year, she became the third most followed Indian actress on
Instagram with a total number of over 10 million followers. Kapoor has also gained recognition for her dressing sense. Various media outlets have praised her sense of style, and has been considered for ramp walks by several fashion designers. In 2016, she was featured among the highest paid actresses of Bollywood with a total earning of per film. In 2018, ''
Eastern Eye'' featured her as one of the eight sexiest women in Bollywood. In 2020, Kapoor became the third most followed Indian celebrity on Instagram and she was named the Hottest Vegetarian by
Peta India. In 2021, Shraddha was featured in a documentary Tails of Boo Boo & Cuddly Poo that highlighted the plight of stray animals.
Filmography
Films
Music video
Discography
Accolades
References
External links
*
*
__FORCETOC__
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapoor, Shraddha
1987 births
Living people
Indian film actresses
Singers from Mumbai
Marathi people
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses from Mumbai
Female models from Mumbai
Punjabi people
21st-century Indian actresses
Screen Awards winners
Indian Hindus