Shruti Seth (born 1977) is an Indian actress and
video jockey
A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, Much (TV channel), MuchMusic and Channel V.
Origins
The term " ...
. Having begun her career as television show host, she gained wider recognition with her roles as comedian in several television shows and the
Hindi film industry
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 "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...
.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Seth graduated
St. Xavier's College with a degree in
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
. She ventured into a modelling career and began hosting television shows for
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" as in the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney In ...
. A significant turning point came in her career when she cast in the role of Jiya Malhotra, a teenage in
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...
's comedy series
''Shararat'' (2003–06). The show's popularity grew over the years and Seth gained prominence for her performance.
Seth made her film debut in 2003 with
''Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part'' II, and later earned praise for her supporting roles in top-grossing productions
''Fanaa'' (2006) and ''
Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...
'' (2008). Seth starred in
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
's original series ''
The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir
''The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir'' is a Disney Channel India sitcom, which premiered between 8 April 2012 to 18 August 2013. The series is an Indian adaptation of the American show ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''.
Starring Siddharth Thakkar, ...
'' and continued to host such television shows as the
''Comedy Circus series''.
Personal life
Seth attended Ashok Academy and graduated from
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic Church, Catholic, institution of higher education run by the
Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on 2 January 1869. The college is ...
with a degree in
Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and
Commerce
Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
. She is married to film director
Danish Aslam, and together they have a daughter named Alina.
Seth is of
Punjabi Hindu
Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious g ...
origin.
A controversy arose when Aslam commented on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
in critique of
Indian Prime Minister
The prime minister of India (ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the e ...
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
's #''selfiewithdaughter'' campaign for women and girls, which he announced in his ''
Mann Ki Baat'' radio address. After this she started to receive abuse through Twitter and social media. This resulted in members of the media and Bollywood defending her against the abuse.
Career
Television roles
Seth started her career as a guest relation executive at the
Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay. She began modelling at the same time "to make some pocket money", and was soon offered guest roles in a few television shows.
Seth then hosted such successful shows as ''First Day First Show'' and ''Junglee Jukebox'' on
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" as in the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney In ...
. She said, in a later interview, that it was her time as a
video jockey
A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, Much (TV channel), MuchMusic and Channel V.
Origins
The term " ...
and
television presenter
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...
on the channel "that firmly put me on the map."

Seth auditioned for a role in the
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...
sitcom ''
Shararat''. Co-starring
Farida Jalal
Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
and Eva Grover, the show followed the life of teenager who, on her eighteenth birthday, discovers she has magical powers. Seth was cast in the lead role; her performance received positive response from critics and fans. The show was in itself a surprise success and ran for three years on the network.
Seth went on to star in other television show including ''
Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr'', ''
Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand'', and ''
Rishta.com'' on
Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (abbreviated as SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel that was launched in 1995 and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures.
History
This chann ...
. On ''Rishta.com'', she said in an interview that, "They (the Yash Raj serials) haven't got any TRPs at all. But it's not for the people who are watching TV in the first place. The whole TRP game is very skewed. I don't believe that in a population of over a billion people, 15,000 households decide what the entire country wants to watch. This lot of Yash Raj was conceptualised for those who are not watching TV". She further said in the same interview that "All our loyal audience for my serial on TV is in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It's not that the Indians will not like it, it's just sad that they are not aware of it, because the publicity has been disappointing". She has also hosted several seasons of ''
Comedy Circus
''The Comedy Circus Show '' is an Indian comedy show that aired on Sony Entertainment Television.
Overview
Comedy Circus 1: Hindi TV Show where daily soap stars perform stand-up comedy. Paired with the "finest" stand up talent from India and ...
'' on Sony Channel.
Film career
Seth has starred in a few films. On moving from television to films, she stated that, "I haven't really moved on to anything. It's not that I would not do TV and only do films. Yes, more avenues have started opening for me. I am game for doing something exciting on any medium – stage, celluloid or TV".
She is probably best known for her role as Fatima "Fatty" in ''
Fanaa'' (2006) with
Aamir Khan
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...
and
Kajol
Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee) (; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, such as six ...
. She starred in ''
Tara Rum Pum'', produced by
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films.
History
In 19 ...
and made an appearance in
Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as ''Hip Hip Hurray (film), Hip Hip Hurray'' (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand ...
's film ''
Raajneeti
''Raajneeti'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language political thriller film co-written, directed and produced by Prakash Jha, with a screenplay by Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha. Depicting an archetypal conflict between rival political families a ...
'' in 2010. On her role in ''Rajneeti'', she said in an interview that "I am hoping that my hard-hitting role in ''Rajneeti'' will change my being typecast, because it is the most unlikely character one would expect me to play".
Filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Shruti
Living people
Actresses from Mumbai
Indian television actresses
Indian film actresses
Female models from Mumbai
People from Mumbai
People of Punjabi descent
Punjabi Hindus
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Indian soap opera actresses
Actresses in Gujarati cinema
21st-century Indian actresses
Actresses in Hindi television
1977 births
Indian video jockeys