Mrunal Thakur (born 1 August 1992) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi and Telugu films.[1] She began her acting career in television, starring in the soap operas Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan (2012) and Kumkum Bhagya (2014–2016), which earned her an ITA Award. She made her Hindi film debut with Love Sonia (2018) and played the leading lady in the commercially successful films Super 30 and Batla House (both 2019).

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
Mrunal Thakur
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Thakur in 2022
Born (1992-08-01) 1 August 1992 (age 32)
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present
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After a career downturn, Thakur gained popularity with the Telugu romantic dramas Sita Ramam (2022) and Hi Nanna (2023), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for the former.[2]

Early life

Mrunal Thakur was born on 1 August 1992 to a Marathi-speaking family[3][4][5] in Dhule, Maharashtra. She attended St. Joseph's Convent School, Jalgaon, and Vasant Vihar High School, near Mumbai.[6] Thakur left KC College without graduating as she was pursuing a television career at the time.[7][8]

Career

Early career and television (2012–2016)

While attending college, Thakur landed a lead role as Gauri Bhosle opposite Mohit Sehgal in the Star Plus series Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan. The show aired from 2012 to 2013. Later in 2013, Thakur appeared in an episodic appearance on the mystery thriller Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek – Arjun, in which she played a journalist named Sakshi Anand.[9]

In February 2014, Thakur was cast for Zee TV's soap opera Kumkum Bhagya, for which she began shooting the following month.[10] The show, co-starring Sriti Jha, Shabir Ahluwalia, Arjit Taneja, and Supriya Shukla, started airing on 15 April, and saw Thakur portray Bulbul Arora Khanna, a woman who along with her elder sister (played by Jha) helps their mother (played by Shukla) run a marriage hall. The show received mostly positive to mixed reviews from critics. Thakur quit the show in January 2016.[11]

Thakur appeared as a Contestant on Box Cricket League 1 in 2014 and Nach Baliye 7 in 2015. In 2016, she danced in a special episode of &TV's SauBhagyalaxmi[citation needed] and had a Guest appearance in Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn. Her final appearance before she retired from television was on the Indonesian serial Nadin, where she played Tara.

Expansion to Hindi films (2014–2021)

Thakur made her film debut with the Marathi film Vitti Dandu, which was released in 2014. She played Sandhya. Her next Marathi film was Surajya, where she played the role of Dr. Swapna.

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Thakur promoting Super 30 in 2019

In 2016, Thakur began work on her first Hindi project, the international film Love Sonia, for which she stayed at Kolkata. The film was released in September 2018 after various delays and featured her in the titular role of a village girl who brings to light the issue of global human trafficking. For preparation, Thakur stayed at a brothel to study the body language of prostitutes. Although the film was generally well reviewed, it was a failure at the domestic box office.[12]

Thakur's Bollywood debut came in 2019 with Vikas Bahl's biographical drama Super 30, narrating the story of mathematician Anand Kumar (played by Hrithik Roshan in the film) and his educational program of the same name, in which she portrayed Supriya, a classical dancer and Kumar's love interest. It emerged as a commercial success and one of the top-grossing Hindi films of 2019.[13] In the same year, she played John Abraham's wife Nandita Kumar in Nikkhil Advani's Batla House, based on the 2008 Batla House encounter case. It grossed over 1.11 billion (US$13 million) worldwide becoming a commercially successful venture.[14]

In 2020, Thakur appeared in a Netflix venture, the four-part anthology horror film Ghost Stories as Ira in the Segment: Karan Johar's segment.[15] The same year she appeared in a music video "Gallan Goriya", alongside John Abraham.

In 2021, Thakur starred in the sports drama, Toofaan,[16] directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and co-starring Farhan Akhtar, which premiered on 16 July 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.[17] In addition, she co-starred in the action thriller Dhamaka, directed by Ram Madhvani and co-starring Kartik Aaryan and Amruta Subhash, which released on Netflix on 19 November 2021.[18] She also appeared in two music videos in the year 2021, "Bad Boy x Bad Girl" with Badshah and "Aise Na Chhoro" with Guru Randhawa.

Expansion to Telugu films (2022–present)

The sports drama Jersey, a remake of the 2019 Telugu film of the same name, co-starring Shahid Kapoor, finally released in 2022 after getting delayed multiple times due to COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Thakur co-starred with Shahid Kapoor in the film, which received critical praise but failed commercially.[20][21] Thakur made her Telugu film debut opposite Dulquer Salmaan in Hanu Raghavapudi's period romantic drama Sita Ramam (2022), which proved to be a turning point in her career.[22] The film received positive reviews and emerged as a sleeper hit, with her character gaining cult following.[23][24][25] Her performance in Sita Ramam received several awards and nominations, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu.[26]

Thakur had five releases in 2023, the first four being Hindi films. Gumraah and Aankh Micholi bombed badly,[27][28] while Lust Stories 2[29] and the Ishaan Khatter starrer war action film Pippa[30] were released digitally. In her last 2023 release, Thakur starred in the Telugu romance Hi Nanna opposite Nani, which cemented her fame in Telugu and became her sole box-office success of the year.[31][32]

In 2024, Thakur played an entrepreneur Indu, in her third Telugu film, The Family Star opposite Vijay Deverakonda.[33] The film received negative reviews from critics and was a flop in box office .[34] Thakur will next appear in Maddock Films Pooja Meri Jaan alongside Huma Qureshi.[35]

Media image

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Thakur at an event in 2021

The Telegraph finds Thakur to be "honest and heartwarming".[36] On her choice of films, she said, "I just want to be associated with good scripts, to play woman of substance, and see what she's contributing to."[37] Thakur ranked 8th in Eastern Eye's Top 30 under 30 Global Asian Stars List of 2021.[38] In 2022, Thakur curated a food donation drive in collaboration with "All About Them", a foundation that helps stray and community animals.[39] Thakur is a celebrity endorser for several brands and products, including Lakme and Dulux.[40][41]

Filmography

Films

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
More information Year, Title ...
Mrunal Thakur film credits
Year Title Role(s) Language Notes Ref.
2014 Hello Nandan Rubi Marathi
Vitti Dandu Sandhya Jain [42]
Surajya Dr. Swapna [43]
2018 Love Sonia Sonia Hindi [44]
2019 Super 30 Supriya [45]
Batla House Shobhna Yadav [46]
2020 Ghost Stories Irawati "Ira" Kapoor Karan Johar's segment [15]
2021 Toofaan Dr. Ananya Prabhu Ali [47]
Dhamaka Saumya Mehra [48]
2022 Jersey Vidya Rao Talwar [49]
Sita Ramam Sita Mahalakshmi/Princess Noor Jahan[lower-alpha 1] Telugu [50]
Jahaan Ghazal Hindi Short film [51][52]
2023 Selfiee Unnamed Special appearance in song "Kudiyee Ni Teri" [53]
Gumraah Shivani Mathur [54]
Lust Stories 2 Veda Kaushal R. Balki's segment [55]
Aankh Micholi Paro Singh [56]
Pippa Radha Mehta [57]
Hi Nanna Yashna/Varsha[lower-alpha 1] Telugu [58]
2024 The Family Star Indeshwari Reddy aka Indu [59]
Kalki 2898 AD Divya Cameo appearance [60]
Pooja Meri Jaan Pooja Hindi Post-production [61]
2025 Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai TBA Filming [62]
Son of Sardar 2 TBA Filming [63]
Tum Hi Ho TBA Filming [64]
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Television

  • All shows are in Hindi, unless otherwise mentioned
More information Year, Title ...
Mrunal Thakur television credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012–2013 Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan Gauri Bhonsle [9]
2013 Arjun Sakshi Anand
2014–2016 Kumkum Bhagya Bulbul Arora Khanna [10]
2014 Box Cricket League 1 Contestant Team: Mumbai Warriors [65]
2015 Nach Baliye 7 Contestant 8th place [66]
2016 Saubhagyalaxmi Herself Guest appearance [67]
Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn Herself Indonesian TV show; Guest appearance [68]
2017 Nadin Tara Indonesian TV show; Special appearance [69]
2023 Made in Heaven 2 Adhira Arya Episode: "Beauty and the Beast" [70]
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Music videos

More information Year, Title ...
Mrunal Thakur music video credits
Year Title Singer(s) Ref.
2020 "Gallan Goriya" Dhvani Bhanushali, Taz [71]
2021 "Bad Boy x Bad Girl" Nikhita Gandhi, Badshah [72]
"Aise Na Chhoro" Guru Randhawa [73]
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Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...
Awards and nominations received by Mrunal Thakur
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2015 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Kumkum Bhagya Won [74]
Gold Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
2016 Nominated [75]
2017 Bollywood awards Emosi Meluap-luap Nadin Won [76]
2018 London Indian Film Festival Best Newcomer Award Love Sonia Won [77]
2019 Gold Awards Rising Star From Indian Television to Films Won [78]
2020 Screen Awards Most Promising Newcomer – Female Super 30 Nominated [79]
2021 Lokmat Stylish Awards Most Stylish Rising Star (Female) Won [80]
2022 Most Stylish Game Changer Won [81]
2023 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Diversity in Cinema Award Won [82]
South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress – Telugu Sita Ramam Nominated [83]
Best Actress Critics – Telugu Won
Best Female Debut – Telugu Won
Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Telugu Won [84]
Filmfare OTT Awards Best Actress in a Short Film Jahaan Won [85]
2024 Pinkvilla Screen and Style Icons Awards Most Stylish Trendsetter of The Year Won [86]
Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Telugu Hi Nanna Nominated [87]
South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress – Telugu Nominated [88]
Best Actress Critics – Telugu Won
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Notes

  1. Thakur played a single character with two names.

References

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