Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma

Film actress

Anushka Sharma is an Indian film actress, producer and former model. In 2008, she was signed by Aditya Chopra for a three-film contract with Yash Raj Films and consequently made her acting debut in Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Wikipedia

Born: May 1, 1988 (age 26), Bangalore, India

Height: 1.75 m

Siblings: Karnesh Sharma

Upcoming movies: Peekay, NH10

Parents: Ajay Kumar Sharma, Ashima Sharma

 Early work and breakthrough

Sharma says she originally wished to make it big in the modeling world but had no strong aspirations for films. She began her modeling career at the Lakme Fashion Week as a model for Wendell Rodricks's Les Vamps Show and was picked to be Rodricks's finale model at the Spring Summer '07 Collection. Since then she has done campaigns for Silk & Shine, Whisper, Nathella Jewelry and Fiat Palio.

Her first acting role was in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her performance was appreciated with film critic Taran Adarsh stating, "Anushka looks the character and surprises you with a confident performance. It's no small achievement to share screen space with an actor of the caliber of SRK and Anushka manages it very well from start to end."Sonia Chopra of Sify, also gave Sharma a favourable review, calling her "definite star material", and praised her dialogue delivery and range as an actor. The film received positive reviews and was declared a blockbuster, and had been concluded as the second-highest grossing film of all-time to that point by the end of the year.

Sharma with co-star Ranveer Singh at the DVD launch of Band Baaja Baaraat.

Her second film, Badmaash Company, also under Yash Raj Films, was released on 7 May 2010. Performing moderately at the box office, the film only received mixed reviews, as did her performance, with Adarsh adding, "Anushka is a revelation. She looks stunning, her performance is livewire and the chemistry with Shahid is electrifying." Aparajita Ghosh, of Apunka Choice contradicted Adarsh and stated, "Anushka Sharma looks gorgeous but has miles to go in terms of acting". 

"I was very young when I was in RNBDJ and that journey had enabled me as an actor. I am not very confident of my growth as an actor but I am very confident of my growth as a person."

—Sharma on her journey from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to Band Baaja Baaraat.

In 2010, Sharma completed her three-film contract with Yash Raj Films, starring in Band Baaja Baaraat, a romantic comedy directed by Maneesh Sharma and co-starring debutant Ranveer Singh.[18] She played a middle-class Delhi-Punjabi girl who goes on to launch her own independent business of wedding planning and later falls for her partner. In preparation for the part, Sharma was required to master the dialect of a young Punjabi woman from Delhi. She cited it as the toughest part of her role, describing the way the lead characters in the film interact as "crude but cute", and calling for her to "talk fast, sometimes mix words and even omit words completely". Prior to its release, she referred to it as her "best film till date". Some pundits, however, had expressed doubts about the film's prospects to leave a mark, citing the middling response to Yash Raj Films' last few productions, the lack of a male star, and claiming that by then Sharma was an "almost-forgotten" actress.

Band Baaja Baaraat was released on 10 December 2010 to positive reviews and went on to become a sleeper hit. Box Office India website reported that the film grossed approximately INR 214.4 million after five weeks, making it a moderate box office success. Sharma's performance was praised by critics, many of whom called it her best work up to that point. Taran Adarsh described her as "truly wonderful," noting that it is "the first time in her 3-film career, a film rests mainly on Anushka's shoulders, and she handles the responsibility so well." Noted film critic Anupama Chopra also praised Sharma's work in the film and said she "comes into her own as the ambitious Delhi girl, who dreams of upgrading to multi-crore Sainik Farms weddings".For her work in the film, Sharma received her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and earned several awards and nominations at different award ceremonies.It has often been noted that the film has acted as a major career move for the actress, as it brought her much recognition.

Sharma at the 58th Filmfare Awards, where she won the Best Supporting Actress award for Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Sharma's first venture outside the Yash Raj banner was Patiala House directed by Nikhil Advani and co-starring Akshay Kumar. Patiala House was released on 11 February 2011. Despite the film's lukewarm performance at the box office, Sharma received positive reviews. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India wrote, "Anushka Sharma’s vivacity may have an after taste of her bubbling Band Baaja Baraat act but her passage from Janakpuri’s dhinchak girl to Southall’s siren is sweet and smooth. Watch out for the girl; she’s truly on a roll." Sukanya Verma of Rediff also praised Sharma's work and called her a "metaphor for energy".

In December 2011, she re-united with her Band Baaja Baarat team of Ranveer Singh and Maneesh Sharma for Yashraj Films's Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. The film and Sharma's performance received mainly mixed reviews, with Piyali Dasgupta of NDTV Movies calling her "believable but not endearing". Despite negative media perception, the film was a moderate success at the box office.

In 2012, Sharma appeared in Yash Chopra's swan song, the romance Jab Tak Hai Jaan alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif. Whilst the film was commercially successful and earned a mostly positive reception from critics, her portrayal of the ambitious Discovery Chanel reporter Akira Rai, fetched her positive reviews from most critics, with Adarsh noting: "She's an integral part of this story and it must be said that she walks away with some of the best scenes and lines in the movie. Her performance is full of grit." Noted critic Rajeev Masand also praised Sharma's performance and said she "brings a spark to the film". Film critic Raja Sen however, disagreed and said, "while Anushka can indeed play spunky, she needed here to tone it down several notches". This would be her second film with Shah Rukh Khan, opposite whom she made her Bollywood debut with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and her fifth collaboration with the production house, Yash Raj Films. Additionally, for her role, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Sharma was last seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, a political satire set in the rustic surroundings of a village in Haryana. Co-starring alongside Pankaj Kapur, Imran Khan and Shabana Azmi, Sharma played the role of Bijlee Mandola, a strong headed, girl who is also a spoilt brat. Despite the hype, the film generated mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office. Whilst many critics noted that Sharma was being stereotyped as the loud, bubbly girl, Sharma's performance attracted mixed reviews from critics, much like the film. Raja Sen noted that she "is great in a couple of scenes near the climax," though Kanika Sikka was more critical, calling her performance "unconvincing."

Sharma has completed work on Navdeep Singh's action thriller NH10, which she is co-producing, Rajkumar Hirani's political satire P.K. alongside Aamir Khan, and Anurag Kashyap's period romance Bombay Velvet, opposite Ranbir Kapoor, all of which are scheduled for release in late-2014.She has also been signed on for Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, a drama about a dysfunctional Punjabi family co-starring Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra, in which Sharma will play Singh's love interest.[