Nikita Thukral is an Indian actress and model, who has acted in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, Telugu,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

and

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

Early life

Thukral was born into a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab regio ...

family and was 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 ...

. She completed her M.A in Economics from Kishinchand Chellaram College, Mumbai. She was spotted by producer

D. Ramanaidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed i ...

while dining at a hotel in

Juhu Juhu (Pronunciation: ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova to the north, Vile Parle to the east and Santacruz to the south ...

. He offered her a role in his upcoming film '' Hai'' (2002).

Career

Thukral was the part of Aati Rahengi Baharein crew, which was a popular television drama series that aired on Zee TV channel on 9 September 2002. She then shifted to the South film industry by debuting in the Telugu film '' Hai''. After appearing in ''Hai'', Thukral starred opposite

Fahad Fazil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Na ...

in his film debut '' Kaiyethum Doorath''. The Malayalam film was not a box office success, but she was able to find additional roles in Tamil and Telugu films like ''

Kurumbu ''Kurumbu'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Vishnuvardhan, making his directorial debut. The film, a remake of the 2002 Telugu film '' Allari'', stars Naresh, who also starred in the original version, whic ...

'' and ''

Sambaram ''Sambaram'' (English Translation: ''Celebration'') is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language drama film starring Nithiin and Nikitha in lead roles and directed by Kondapalli Dasaradh Kumar. Plot Ravi ( Nithiin) and Geeta ( Nikitha) are childhood fr ...

''. In 2005, she entered Kannada cinema with Kichcha Sudeepa's ''

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

''. Thukral then returned to star in a Tamil film and featured in

Venkat Prabhu Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his firs ...

's multistarrer '' Saroja'' as Kalyani, the concubine of a gangster portrayed by Sampath Raj, and won critical acclaim for her performance. Her appearance in the song "Kodana Kodi" was appreciated as the song became popular, while her role in the film also led to her winning the ITFA Best Supporting Actress Award. The success led her to sign on to appear in a big film production,

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...

's ''Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam'' in a role alongside

Trisha Krishnan Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She was noticed after winning Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the fil ...

, but the film was shelved after two schedules. After 2008, she shifted her priority from Telugu to Kannada cinema, going on to co-star with leading actors

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born sub ...

Puneeth Rajkumar Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Raj ...

V. Ravichandran Veeraswamy Ravichandran (born 30 May 1961), known mononymously as Ravichandran, is an actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor in the Kannada Film Industry. He is the son of film producer N. Veeraswamy. As producer, Ravi ...

and Darshan. After ''Prince'', she signed on to be part of several films including ''Cottonpet'' and ''Priyasakha'', opposite Ramesh Aravind and a Telugu film named ''Apartment'', but none of them saw a theatrical release. Her next releases were the Tamil thriller film '' Muran'', that saw her playing Indhu, alongside actors Cheran and Prasanna and the historical film, ''

Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna ''Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna'' is a 1967 Indian Kannada film, directed by B. T. Athani and produced by Neminatha Gat. The film stars V. S. Patil, Kamini Kadam, Dada Salavi, and Rajashekar in lead roles. The film had a musical score by Lakshma ...

''. Her only 2013 release was the Tamil masala film ''

Alex Pandian ''Alex Pandian'' is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Suraj that features Karthi and Anushka Shetty, with Karthi in the title role, while Santhanam, Milind Soman, Suman, Prathap Pothen and Nikita Thukr ...

''. In 2014, she was seen in three Kannada films, although two of them, '' Namaste Madam'' and '' Namo Bhootatma'', featured in her cameo roles only. Her future films include the crime drama '' Ring Road Shubha'', reportedly the first Kannada film to be made by an all-women crew, the horror flick ''

Avunu 2 ''Avunu 2 '' is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language horror thriller film written, directed, and produced by Ravi Babu. A sequel to the 2012 film '' Avunu'', the film stars Poorna and Harshvardhan Rane who reprise their roles from the original with ...

'' in Telugu as well as the anthological drama ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

'' that would mark her Hindi debut. In addition to acting, Thukral has also done modelling work for designer Roopa Vohra. She also participated in the first season of the reality show ''

Bigg Boss Kannada ''Bigg Boss Kannada (BBK)'' is the Kannada version of the reality TV show Bigg Boss which is broadcast in India through Colors Kannada Channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, who owns the global format of Big Brother. Kiccha ...

'', the Kannada version of ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

''. She completed 99 days in the ''Bigg Boss'' Home and was the second runner-up of the show.Nikita shoots for Software Ganda in Bangalore – The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (18 January 2014). Retrieved 30 October 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thukral, Nikita Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Living people Actresses in Malayalam cinema Punjabi people Indian television actresses International Tamil Film Award winners Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Bigg Boss Kannada contestants Year of birth missing (living people)