Kirti Kulhari (born 30 May 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi-language films and series. She made her acting debut with the film Khichdi: The Movie in 2010 and then starred in Shaitan in 2011.[3] She then appeared in the films Jal (2013), Pink (2016), Indu Sarkar (2017), Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), and Mission Mangal (2019). Kulhari has starred in several web series, which includes Four More Shots Please! (2019–present), Criminal Justice (2020) and Human (2022).

Kirti Kulhari
Kulhari in 2023
Born (1985-05-30) 30 May 1985 (age 39)[1][2]
OccupationActress
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Saahil Sehgal
(m. 2016; sep. 2021)

Personal life

Kulhari was born and brought up in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra. Her family hails from Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan.[4] Her father was a Commander in the Indian Navy.[5] Kulhari married actor Saahil Sehgal in 2016.[6] She announced separation from him on 1 April 2021.[7]

Acting career

Early career

Kulhari started her career in theatre and TV commercials. She did a one-month acting workshop with a Hindi theatre group called Yatri Theatre, under the direction and guidance of Om Katare. After that, She worked on three plays - Chinta Chhod Chintamani with Yatri Theatre, Shehenshah of Azeemo with AK Various Productions and a Hindi adaptation of Sakharam Binder with Yatri Theatre. Kulhari was the face of many television commercials – Lotus Mutual Funds, Travel Guru, Videocon Air Conditioners, Parachute Gorgeous Hamesha Campaign, ICICI Bank, Kaya Skin Clinic, Taj Mahal Tea, Everyuth Face Wash, Whirlpool Refrigerators, Spice Mobile, Virgin Mobiles, Close-up, JK White Cement and Tic Tac mouth freshener.[5] For two years, Kulhari was the face of the beauty brand Nivea Visage Sparkling Glow's face. Kulhari was also a part of music videos – "Hik Vich Jaan" in the Desi Rockstar 2 album by Gippy Grewal.

Kulhari started her film acting career in Bollywood with Khichdi: The Movie,[8] which released in October 2010. Kulhari was noticed as an actress for her second film, Shaitan,[9] which released in June 2011.

Breakthrough (2016–present)

In 2016, she was seen in Pink with Tapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bacchan in which her performance was praised.[10][11] The film was both commercially and critically successful and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2017, she appeared in the title role of Indu in Madhur Bhandarkar's political thriller film Indu Sarkar. In 2018, she starred in Blackmail with Irrfan Khan.

In 2019, she appeared in the role of an Indian Air Force officer Seerat Kaur in the commercially and critically successful military action film Uri: The Surgical Strike. The same year, she also appeared in the web television series Four More Shots Please! on Amazon Prime Video and Bard of Blood on Netflix. She acted in Mission Mangal (2019) a film based on India's Mars Orbiter Mission.

In 2020, Kulhari joined the cast of The Girl On The Train directed by Ribhu Dasgupta.[12] It also features Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Avinash Tiwary, Sammy Jonas Heaney. Her performance was well received and earned her a second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.[13]

In 2022, Kulhari turned producer by launching production house Kintsukuroi Films and will star in its first project, a dark comedy thriller film Nayeka written and directed by Ajaykiran Nair.[14]

As of April 2023, Kulhari has been shooting for Hisaab Barabar, co-starring with R. Madhavan.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Khichdi: The Movie Parminder
2011 Shaitaan Tanya Sharma
2013 Sooper Se Ooper Gulabo (Gul)
Rise of the Zombie Vinny
2014 Jal Kesar
2016 Cute Kameena Avantika
Pink Falak Ali
2017 Indu Sarkar Indu Sarkar
2018 Blackmail Reena Kaushal
2019 Mission Mangal Neha Siddiqui
Uri: The Surgical Strike Flight lieutenant Seerat Kaur
2021 The Girl on the Train Dalbir Kaur Bagga Released on Netflix
Shaadisthan Sasha Released on Disney Plus Hotstar
2023 Khichdi 2: Mission Paanthukistan Parminder
Hisaab Barabar Filming[15]

Web series

Year Title Role Platform
2019–present Four More Shots Please! Anjana Menon Amazon Prime Video
2019 Bard of Blood Jannat Netflix
2020 Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors Anuradha Chandra Disney Plus Hotstar
2022 Human Dr. Saira Sabharwal
2024 Shekhar Home JioCinema

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominated work Category Result Ref.
2017 Filmfare Awards Pink Best Supporting Actress Nominated [16]
2019 Maya Best Actress in a Short Film Won [17]
2022 The Girl on the Train Best Supporting Actress Nominated [18]
2020 Filmfare OTT Awards Four More Shots Please! Best Actress in a Drama Series Nominated [19]
2021 Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors Nominated [20]
2019 Indian Television Academy Awards Four More Shots Please! Best Actress - Web Series Nominated
2022 Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors Best Actress - Drama (OTT) Won
2017 Jagran Film Festival Pink Special Jury Award Won[a]
2012 Screen Awards Shaitan Best Ensemble Cast Nominated
2017 Pink Best Actress (Critics) Nominated
2018 Indu Sarkar Nominated
2012 Zee Cine Awards Shaitan Best Female Debut Nominated

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Tied with Taapsee Pannu and Andrea Tariang for the same film.

References

  1. ^ "Kirti Kulhari's on a self love trip this birthday". Hindustan Times. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Kirti Kulhari to don khaki in her next". The New Indian Express. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022. The 36-year-old actor wrote
  3. ^ Awaasthi, Kavita (2 August 2012). "Eyes are the most important". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Coming Soon: Aapno Zombie". DNA. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b Bora, Sugandha (1 April 2021). "Kirti Kulhari: 10 Things To Know About The Versatile Actor". SheThePeople. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Kirti Kulhari Says Marriage To Saahil Sehgal Has Affected Her Career in 'the Best Possible Way'". News18. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  7. ^ Raghuvanshi, Aakanksha (1 April 2021). "Actress Kirti Kulhari Announces Separation From Husband Saahil Sehgal: "Not On Paper But In Life"". NDTV. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ^ Barua, Richa (5 October 2010). "Khichdi was fun: Kirti Kulhari". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  9. ^ Nayak, Elina Priyadarshini (9 June 2011). "Shaitan is not my first film: Kirti Kulhari". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Overwhelmed with the recognition for Pink: Kirti Kulhari". The Hindu. 21 September 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  11. ^ "People are talking about every character in Pink: Kirti Kulhari". The New Indian Express. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Kirti Kulhari to play British cop in Parineeti Chopra-starrer The Girl On The Train Hindi remake". India Today. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ "'The Girl On The Train': Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari, Avinash Tiwary's character posters out". DNA India. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Kirti Kulhari turns producer with 'Nayeka', launches her banner Kintsukuroi Films". Press Trust of India. 10 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b "R Madhavan and Kirti Kulhari shoot in Purani Dilli". The Times of India. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  16. ^ "62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 Nominations". Filmfare. 10 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Filmfare Awards 2019: List Of Winners". NDTV. 23 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Nominations for the 67th Filmfare Awards 2022". Bollywood Hungama. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Nominees for the Flyx Filmfare OTT Awards". filmfare.com. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  20. ^ "My Glamm Filmfare OTT Awards 2021 - Nominations". FilmFare. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.