Biography: Amrita Rao, Bollywood Actress

Date of Birth: 7 June 1981, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Birth Name: Amrita Deepak Rao

Height: 5' 5" (1.65 m)


Occupation: Actress and model
Years active: 2002–present
Religion: Hindu


Mini Biography
Amrita was born in the Rao family on June 7, 1981 in Mumbai, She speaks Konkani. She comes from a well to do Hindu family. Her dad owns an Advertising Agency.

Amrita did not want to purse any career with Bollywood as she wanted to graduate in psychology, which she eventually did.

No stranger to cameras and bright lights, she has modeled for approximately 35 advertisements. Her first assignment was for Fairever Face Cream. Amongst other assignments that got her noticed were Hindustan Lever's 'Close-up' Cadbury's Perk, & Nestle Bru Coffee. Ken Ghosh approached Amrita for his debut movie Ishq Vishq after seeing her in the perk commercial, where she plays a hungry bride eagerly awaiting the arrival of her husband on the religious occasion of 'Karva Chauth'. Ishq Vishq was a world-wide hit and made her famous virtually overnight. Amrita Rao is also a Brand Ambassador for D'Damas Gold Jewellery, Parachute Hair Oil, and Miss Players Apparels.

Her other hit movies 'Masti', 'Main Hoon Na' & 'Vivah' added to her popularity and stardom. While 'Pyare Mohan', 'Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi', 'Shikhar' 'Deewar' were average at the box office. So far she has won 6 awards, mostly related to her performances in 'Ishq Vishk' and 'Vivah'.

Barely 12 movies' old, she is already quite well-known for her skilled performances and her dancing talent. Madhuri Dixit went gaga over her performance at the Filmfare Awards 2007. Renowned artist M.F Hussain chose her as his Muse and theme of paintings after Madhuri Dixit.

She also has a Telegu movie to her credit which turned out a huge box office hit. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, and her mother-tongue, Konkani. She is passionate about reading short stories. Allergic to spicy Indian food, she prefers bland continental, and loves dessert such as Gulab Jamun

She has co-starred with Shahid Kapur, Zayed Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Akshay Khanna, and Mahesh Babu.

A winner of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award at the young age of 25, Amrita Rao is all set for her successful innings at Bollywood.

Trivia
Daughter of Deepak Rao

Comes from a very well-to-do Saraswat Brahmin family

Philosophy of life: Life is short and sweet, so make others happy and never let anyone down.

Brands modeled for: Hindustan Lever's - Close-up, Godrej - Nikhaar Soap (2 ads.), Nestle - Bru Coffee, Wringly Chewing Gum, Anne French, Fena Detergent, Jolen Bleach, 3 Roses Tea (South India), Johnson & Johnsons - Clean & Clear Face Wash, Proctor & Gamble - Pantene Hair Wash, Cadbury's - Perk Chocolates, Parachute Jasmine - Hair Oil, Domino's Pizza, HMT Watches, Allukas Jewellery (South India), and Allapet Jewellery (South India).

Amrita Rao's younger sister Preeta Rao is a journalist/columnist and a movie critic.

Is a vegetarian.


Personal Quotes
Marriages are forever, they should be forever. I think marriages are falling apart these days because egos have become larger than life. Women have become independent and so they easily walk out of relationships. Earlier the woman would totally depend on the man. There will be ups and downs in marriage and we should deal with it gracefully. Selfishness will leave us lonely at the end of the day. In my profession, girls are more committed; if they see someone or are married then they stick to their commitment. Guys just get carried away. So it is very difficult to say whether I will marry an actor. There are a few successful marriages in the industry too, but still... I feel that the first choice should be the last choice and that is also the reason why I haven't got a boy friend. If I decide to go around with a guy, I would want to marry him otherwise it doesn't make sense. So not just marriage but I must say that relationships are forever.

On Shoaib Akhtar: He is decent looking, but I don't know about his sex appeal. You need to have a good personality and moral qualities, apart from looks to be sexy. He is a good cricketer, but I don't think he is sexy.


Amrita Rao born 7 June 1984 in Mumbai, India, is an Award Winning Indian Actress who was a Model before joining Indian Bollywood films.
Amrita made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002). She then starred in Ken Ghosh's blockbuster romantic film Ishq Vishk (2003) which earned her a Filmfare nomination in the "Best Female Debut" category. She won the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for "Best Actress" for Vivah in 2007 and the Stardust Searchlight Best Actress Award for Welcome to Sajjanpur in 2009 along with Amitabh Bachchan who won the Best Actor in the same category.

Personal life
Amrita was born in Mumbai to a Mangalorean Brahmin family in Mumbai. Her father owns an advertising company in Mumbai and also turned author in 2008. She speaks Hindi, English, Marathi, besides her mother tongue, Konkani. She attended the C.G.High School (Prabhadevi) in Mumbai, and later enrolled in Sophia College to pursue a degree in Psychology. Her younger sister, Preetika Rao, is a model and a well known Film Journalist / Columnist.

Modeling
Rao walking the ramp for Archana Kochar at Lakme Fashion Week 2012– Day 5
While studying in Sophia College, Amrita auditioned for an advertisement for Fairever Face Cream. She filmed many commercials and did numerous photo shoots. Her appearance in Cadbury’s Perk Karwa Chaut ad and the Bru Coffee advertisement helped her receive offers from film directors in Bollywood. She also appeared in numerous music videos by artists such as Alisha Chinoy.
Even after becoming a well-known actress in Bollywood, she continues do model and wal ramps for designers, as a celebrity guest.

Acting
Rao with Indian boxer Vijender Singh in 2009.
2002–2006
Amrita made her acting debut in Ab Ke Baras (2002) alongside Arya Babbar. She went on to star with Shahid Kapoor in his debut film, Ishq Vishk (2003) and became an overnight star after the success that film for her portrayal of Payal. She followed this up in 2004 with Masti, Main Hoon Na with Shahrukh Khan and Zayed Khan, and Deewaar. The year 2005 saw her performing as Priya in Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! and Madhvi in Shikhar. In 2006, she starred in Pyare Mohan alongside Vivek Oberoi, and Sooraj R. Barjatya's blockbuster Vivah opposite Shahid Kapoor.

2007– Present
Her first part in 2007 was a special appearance for the song "Heyy Babyy" in the eponymous film, Heyy Babyy. She then made her debut in the Telugu film industry with Athidhi opposite Mahesh Babu.  Amrita's movies in 2008 include My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves with Nikhil Dwivedi and Welcome to Sajjanpur with Shreyas Talpade. The following year, she portrayed Nandini in Victory and Mansi in Shortkut opposite Arshad Warsi.
Amrita was signed for ABCL Corp's The Legend Of Kunal and for a Tip's Film with Neil Nitin Mukesh to be directed by Ken Ghosh , but both the movies did not take-off and her only release in 2011 was Rajshree Production's Love U...Mr. Kalakaar!, produced by Sooraj Barjatia in which she played Ritu, the main role, alongside Tusshar Kapoor.  She acted in Hook Yaa Crook, which is awaiting release. Kick starting 2013 with Fox Star's Hit Film Jolly LLB    starring Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani, Amrita Rao is currently working on two major big-budget films Singh Saab - The Great opposite Sunny Deol and director Anil Sharma of Gaddar fame, and Prakash Jha's Satyagrah both movies scheduled to be released in 2013.

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
2007: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahid Kapoor for Vivah

 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 Searchlight Best Actress Award for Welcome to Sajjanpur

 Other awards won
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	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
2004	Masti	Aanchal Mehta
	Main Hoon Na	Sanjana (Sanju) Bakshi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Deewaar	Radhika
2005	Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!	Priya
	Shikhar	Madhvi
2006	Pyare Mohan	Piya
	Vivah	Poonam
2007	Heyy Babyy	Special appearance in song "Heyy Babyy"
	Athidhi	Amrita	Telugu film
2008	My Name is Anthony Gonsalves	Riya
	Shaurya	Neerja Rathode	Special appearance
	Welcome to Sajjanpur	Kamla	Winner, Stardust Best Actress Award
2009	Victory	Nandini
	Short Kut: The Con is On	Mansi
	Life Partner	Anjali Kumar	Special appearance
2010	Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai	Tara's sister	Special appearance
2011	Love U...Mr. Kalakaar!	Ritu
2013	Jolly LLB	Sandhya
2013	Singh Saheb The Great	Journalist
2013	Satyagraha
2013	Hungame pe Hungama	Simran