Shilpa Saklani

Shilpa Saklani Agnihotri (born 5 June^[1]) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi television. She is recognised for her portrayal of Ganga Joshi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kkusum Deshmukh Kapoor in Kkusum, Vrinda in Vish Ya Amrit: Sitara, Kaikeyi in Shrimad Ramayan and Ambika Devi Singhania in Parineetii.

Shilpa Saklani Agnihotri
Saklani in 2013
Born	5 June Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Occupations	Actor model
Years active	1999–present
Known for	Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Kkusum Vish Ya Amrit: Sitara Shrimad Ramayan Parineetii
Spouse	Apurva Agnihotri ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	1

Career

Saklani started her acting career in 2001 with the Hindi film Tere Liye, where she played Ritu Malhotra opposite Arjun Punj. The film failed at the box office.^[2] From 2001 to 2022, she played Yamini in Ek Tukdaa Chaand Ka. In 2002, Saklani played Tina in the film Na Tum Jaano Na Hum.^[3]

Saklani's career marked a turning point with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, where she portrayed Ganga Joshi Virani opposite Sandeep Baswana and Amit Sarin from 2002 to 2008.^[4] The series was her breakthrough and her performance earned her the ITA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.^[5]

In 2003, she appeared in Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat and later in 2004, Saklani played the titular role of Lavanya in Lavanya.^[6] In 2005, she played dual roles of Kkusum Deshmukh Kapoor and Swati Gautam in Kkusum opposite Anuj Saxena. In the same year, she participated in Nach Baliye 1.^[7] Post this, she played supporting parts of Shalu in Shanno Ki Shaadi, Vidhi in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, Ritu in Jyoti and Radha Kelkar in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai.^[8]

From 2006 to 2007, Saklani hosted Mera Star Superstar and Fame X.^[9] Saklani then went onto participate in several reality series: Mr. & Ms. TV and Saas v/s Bahu both in 2008, Pati Patni Aur Woh in 2009, Meethi Choori No 1 in 2010, Survivor India – The Ultimate Battle in 2012 and Welcome – Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki in 2013.^[10][11]

Later in 2013, Saklani participated in the reality series Bigg Boss 7, where she finished at 16th place.^[12] From 2015 to 2016, she participated in Power Couple. Additionally, she appeared in episodes of Haunted Nights, Yeh Hai Aashiqui, Savdhaan India, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Code Red and Darr Sabko Lagta Hai.^[13] In 2015, she played Nandini Pandey in Dosti... Yaariyan... Manmarziyan.^[14]

After a three year hiatus, Saklani returned to television in 2018, with Mahakali – Anth Hi Aarambh Hai, where she played Diti.^[15] In the same year, she played Roma Kapoor in Kaleerein.^[16] From 2018 to 2019, she played a vishkanya Vrinda opposite Sandeep Baswana in Vish Ya Amrit: Sitara.^[17] Following a small hiatus, she appeared in Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal, in 2023 as Sudha.^[18]

Since January 2024, Saklani is portraying Kaikeyi in Shrimad Ramayan.^[19][20] Since June 2024, she is also seen playing Ambika Devi Singhania in Parineetii.^[21]

Personal life

Saklani married actor Apurva Agnihotri on 29 June 2004 in Dehradun.^[22][23] Saklani gave birth to their daughter on 2 December 2022, 18 years after their marriage.^[24][25]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2001	Tere Liye	Ritu Malhotra		[26]
2002	Na Tum Jaano Na Hum	Tina
2015	Ab Rab Hawale - An Untold Story Of A Known Irony	Daljeet	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2001–2002	Ek Tukdaa Chaand Ka	Yamini
2002–2008	Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi	Ganga Joshi Virani		[27]
2003	Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat	Pooja	Episodes 74-98
2004		Tanu / Rachel D'Mello	Episodes 226-252
	Lavanya	Lavanya
2005	Kkusum	Kkusum Deshmukh Kapoor / Swati Gautam		[28]
	Nach Baliye 1	Contestant	6th place
2005–2006	Shanno Ki Shaadi	Shalu		[29]
2006–2007	Mera Star Superstar	Host
	Fame X	Host
2008	Mr. & Ms. TV	Contestant
	Saas v/s Bahu	Contestant
2009	Pati Patni Aur Woh	Contestant		[30]
2010	Meethi Choori No 1	Contestant
2012	Survivor India – The Ultimate Battle	Contestant	18th place
	Haunted Nights	Shilpa	Episodes 6-10
2013	Welcome – Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki	Contestant	Episodes 43-48
	Bigg Boss 7	Contestant	16th place	[31]
2014	Yeh Hai Aashiqui	Aditi	Episode 30
	Savdhaan India	Sonali Rane	Episode 925
2015	Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya	Aparna	Season 3, Episode 12
	Code Red	Ganga	Episode 78
	Dosti... Yaariyan... Manmarziyan	Nandini Pandey		[32]
	Darr Sabko Lagta Hai	Dr. Shehnaz Mistry	Episode 5
2015–2016	Power Couple	Contestant	7th place	[33]
2018	Mahakali – Anth Hi Aarambh Hai	Diti		[34]
	Kaleerein	Roma Kapoor		[35]
2018–2019	Vish Ya Amrit: Sitara	Vrinda
2023	Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal	Sudha
2024	Shrimad Ramayan	Kaikeyi		[36]
2024–present	Parineetii	Ambika Devi Singhania		[37]

Special appearances

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2006	Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin	Vidhi
2010	Jyoti	Ritu
2012	Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai	Radha Kelkar
2014	Bigg Boss 8	Herself
2017	Chandrakanta — Ek Mayavi Prem Gaatha	Ratnaprabha Jai Singh	[38]
2020	Bigg Boss 14	Herself

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2005	Indian Television Academy Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi	Won	[39]
2015	Los Angeles Independent Film Festival	Best Ensemble Cast	Ab Rab Hawale	Nominated	[40]

See also

• List of Indian television actresses
• List of Hindi television actresses