Nitu Chandra is an Indian actress, film producer and theatre artist. She is also a classical dancer and a sportsperson, involved in the promotion of
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
in the country through her close association with the NBA and
Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...
, being a fourth Dan black-belt. She has her own production house named ''Champaran Talkies'', winning the National Award for the film ''
Mithila Makhaan''. The national award-winning film was directed by her brother Nitin Chandra.
Early life and education
Chandra's mother tongue is
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
.
She was educated at the
Notre Dame Academy, Patna and completed her undergraduate education at Delhi's
Indraprastha College. She started modelling and Nitu gives credit of her success to her mother, a native of
East Champaran
East Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India.The district headquarters are located at Motihari. Prior to 1st Dec 1977, there was a single district called "Champaran". On 1st Dec 1977, the district was divided int ...
in Bihar. She has appeared in several
advertisements
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
and videos for firms since her graduation. She holds two Dan
black belts
In East Asian martial arts, the black belt is associated with expertise, but may indicate only competence, depending on the martial art. The use of colored belts is a relatively recent invention dating from the 1880s.
Origin
The systematic use ...
in
Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...
and represented
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
in the 1997
World Taekwondo Championships
The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo.
Competitions
1 Wuxi, China, was originally selected to host the 2021 World Taekwondo Championships. Due to the impact of the Global COVID-19 pandemic, Wuxi gave up ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
Chandra's brother is Nitin Chandra who directed the movie ''Deswa''.
Acting career
Chandra debuted in the Hindi film industry in 2005 with ''
Garam Masala
Garam masala Hindustani / (''garm masala'', "hot spices")] is a Spice mix, blend of ground spices originating from India. It is common in Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines. It is used alone or with other ...
'' in which she portrayed the role of Sweety, an air-hostess. She also acted in ''
Godavari (2006 film), Godavari'', a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
film, in 2006. In 2007 she appeared in
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar (born 26 August 1968) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. In 2016,Bhandarkar was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, by the Government of India.
The drama film '' Chandni B ...
's film, ''
Traffic Signal
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic.
Traffic light ...
''.
In 2008, she had four releases, being directed by
Dibakar Banerjee
Dibakar Banerjee (born 21 June 1969) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and advertisement-filmmaker known for his work in Hindi films. Banerjee started his career in advertising, being a feature filmmaker, he still continues t ...
, Rahul Dholakia, Ashwini Dheer and Vikram. Her
Tamil film
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 ...
, ''
Yavarum Nalam
''Yavarum Nalam'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language horror film written and directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra. Produced by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, the film was simultaneously filmed and released ...
'' with
Madhavan, released in 2009, was declared a major hit. In 2010 she was seen in four Hindi films, ''
Rann'', ''
Apartment'', ''
No Problem
''No problem'' is an English expression, used as a response to '' thanks'' (among other functions). It is regarded by some as a less formal alternative to '' you're welcome'', which shares the same function.
Informality
Some people find the expr ...
'', in which she made a special appearance, and ''
Sadiyaan'', and one Tamil film, ''
Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai''.
In 2011 ''
Deswa
''Deswa'' ( en, Country) is a 2011 Indian Bhojpuri language film written and directed by Nitin Chandra. The film is a social drama - crime thriller Bhojpuri genre. The first film to be produced by actress Neetu Chandra. The film introduces new a ...
'', a
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
film which she produced and which was directed by her brother, was released.
In 2013, she acted in the Tamil-language action film ''
Ameerin Aadhi-Bhagavan'' alongside
Jayam Ravi
Mohan Ravi (born 10 September 1980), better known by his stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He has won a Filmfare Award and three SIIMA Awards. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made hi ...
. She has completed filming for a Greek film ''Home Sweet Home'', in which she plays an Indian girl. She had to learn Greek for the film and also dubbed herself. She has two Hindi films, ''Kusar Prasad Ka Bhoot'' and ''Shooter'', coming up.
In 2020, she appeared in the Hollywood show ''Gown and out'' in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
with Bollywood actor Sammy John Heaney.
Other work
Chandra became the brand ambassador for the Hoop, a Gitanjali brand. She also took part in a commercial for
Mysore Sandal Soap
Mysore Sandal Soap is a brand of soap manufactured by the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a company owned by the government of Karnataka in India. This soap has been manufactured since 1916, when Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, the k ...
. Nitu Chandra also appeared in music director
Ismail Darbar
Ismail Darbar is an Indian film score composer, instrumentalist, violinist and music director.
Career
Ismail Darbar is from Surat, Gujarat. He worked for several years as a session violinist for leading music directors Laxmikant Pyarelal, Ka ...
's
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
"Rasiya Saajan" along with
Zubeen Garg
Zubeen Garg (born Zubeen Borthakur; 18 November 1972) is an Indian singer, music director, composer, lyricist, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, script writer and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assam ...
. She was also seen in the music video of
Bombay Vikings' singer
Neeraj Shridhar
Neeraj Shridhar is an Indian film composer and singer-songwriter who was the lead vocalist of Indian pop and rock group Bombay Vikings. Bombay Vikings became popular with remix hits like "Kya Soorat Hai", "Woh Chali" and "Chod Do Anchal."
C ...
's hit single ''"Aa Raha Hoon Main"''.
She also appeared in a successful remix of ''Sajna Hai Mujhe'' from D.J. Hot Remix Vol.1 (and the song appeared in 7 other albums after that), and the super hit song ''Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila'' (CD - Sophie & Dr.Love, DVD - D. J. Hot Remix Vol.2 & The Return Of Kaanta Mix) alongside
Sophie Choudry (the song appeared in 9 other albums after that).
In 2013, Chandra made her debut in theatre, in a play, called Umrao, which featured her in the title role. ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
''". She has been hosting Rangoli on DD National since May 2017. In 2018, Chandra became Community Ambassador for Patna Pirates in
pro kabbadi league.
In the media
In 2008, 7Seas Technologies launched a 3D
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA t ...
, ''Nitu — The Alien Killer'', with Nitu Chandra as the lead character.
Nitu was featured on the cover of the January 2009 issue of ''
Indian Maxim''.
Filmography
As Actress
As producer
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, Neetu
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses from Bihar
Living people
Female models from Bihar
Delhi University alumni
Actresses from Patna
Actresses in Telugu cinema
21st-century Indian actresses
Indian film actresses
Indian women film producers
Businesswomen from Bihar
Indraprastha College for Women alumni
Indian female taekwondo practitioners
Year of birth missing (living people)