Amrita Rao

Amrita Rao
Born	June 17, 1981 (1981-06-17) (age 29) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actress / Model
Years active	2002–present

Amrita Rao (Konkani: ಅಮೃತಾ ರಾವ್, pronounced [əmrɪtaː ˈraːʊ]; born 17 June 1981)^[1] is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films.

Beginning her career as a model, Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002) for which she won her best debut award. She then starred in Ken Ghosh's love-story Ishq Vishk (2003) and earned her first Filmfare nomination in the Best Female Debut category. She is best known for Main Hoon Na (2004) and Vivah (2006), her biggest commercial success so far.

Personal life

Rao was born in Mumbai to a Konkani Hindu family from Mangalore, Karnataka.^[2] She speaks Marathi, Hindi, English and her mother tongue, Konkani.^[3] She attended Canossa High school in Mumbai, and later enrolled in Sophia College to pursue a degree in Psychology.

Career

Modeling

While studying in Sophia College, Rao auditioned for an advertisement for Fairever Face Cream. Her appearance in Cadbury’s Perk Karwa Chaut ad and the Bru Coffee advertisement helped her receive offers from film directors in Bollywood. As she wanted to complete her education, she refused them. After earning a degree in psychology, she began her profession as an actress, working in numerous films.

Acting

Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002), and followed that with her 2003 film, Ishq Vishk, in which she portrayed Payal. In 2004 her films Masti and Main Hoon Na, Deewaar (2004) were released. Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005), Shikhar (2005), and Pyare Mohan (2006) followed. She starred in Sooraj R. Barjatya's Vivah (2006) opposite Shahid Kapoor.^[4] Her performance earned her a Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award.

In 2006 Rao made her debut in Tollywood, with the Telugu film Athidhi opposite Mahesh Babu.^[5] Amrita's releases in 2008 include My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves and Welcome to Sajjanpur. Amrita's releases in 2009 are Victory, and Shortkut.

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards

Nominated

• 2004: Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for Ishq Vishk
• 2005: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Main Hoon Na

Star Screen Awards

Nominated

• 2003: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Ab Ke Baras
• 2004: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Ishq Vishk
• 2007: Star Screen Award Best Actress for Vivah^[6]
• 2007: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahid Kapoor - Vivah^[7]

Zee Cine Awards

Nominated

• 2004: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for Ishq Vishk

International Indian Film Academy Awards

Winner

• 2004: IIFA Awards, Best Female Debut for Ishq Vishk

Stardust Awards

Winner

• 2004: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Female for Ishq Vishk
• 2009: Stardust Best Actress Award for Welcome to Sajjanpur

Other Awards

• 2004: Sansui Awards, Best Debut - Female for Ishq Vishk
• 2007: GR8 Women Awards, Young Achiever
• 2007: Anandalok Puroshkar Awards, Most Promising New Talent for Vivah
• 2007: Sports World Awards, Jodi of the Year along with Shahid Kapoor for Vivah

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2002	Ab Ke Baras	Anjali Thapar/Nandini
	The Legend of Bhagat Singh	Mannewali
2003	Ishq Vishk	Payal Mehra	Nominated, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award	Winner, IIFA Best Female Debut Award
2004	Masti	Aanchal Mehta
	Main Hoon Na	Sanjana (Sanju) Bakshi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Deewaar	Radhika
2005	Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi	Priya
	Shikhar	Madhvi
2006	Pyare Mohan	Piya
	Vivah	Poonam	Winner, "Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award for Best Actress"
2007	Heyy Babyy		Special appearance in song Heyy Babyy
	Athidhi	Amrita	Telugu film
2008	My Name is Anthony Gonsalves	Riya
	Shaurya	Neerja Rathode	Cameo appearance[8]
	Welcome to Sajjanpur	Kamla	Winner, Stardust Best Actress Award
2009	Victory	Nandini
	Short Kut: The Con is On	Mansi
	Life Partner	Anjali Kumar	Guest appearance
2010	Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai	Tara's Sister	Cameo appearance
	The Legend Of Kunal	Kanchanmala	Pre-production
	Hook Ya Crook	Anjali	Post-production