Manjari Fadnis (also spelled Phadnis and Fadnnis) is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
films, in addition to Telugu films. She is best known for her performance in the 2008 Hindi film '' Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na''. Her other notable films are '' Faltu'' (2006), '' Zokkomon'' (2011), '' Warning'' (2013), ''
Grand Masti
''Grand Masti'' (), also referred to as ''Masti 2'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language adult comedy film directed by Indra Kumar and produced by Ashok Thakeria. The film is a sequel to the 2004 film '' Masti'', and the second installment of '' M ...
'' (2013), ''
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon
''Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Abbas Mustan. The film garnered controversy over keeping names on Hindus gods. Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma made his Bollywood debut with this movie, as d ...
'' (2015), a short film ''Khamakha'' (2016) and '
Barot House
''Barot House'' is a 2019 Bollywood Psychological thriller film about an upper middle-class Indian family caught in the whirlwind of murder and crime. The film was released through Zee5 on 7 August 2019.
Plot
Amit Barot, the patriarch of the ...
' (2019).
Career
Fadnis was first seen on television during the second season of the Indian version of the singing reality show ''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...
'', which was aired on Channel India in 2003. She was one of the participants who made it to the finals for the musical band Aasma.
She started her film career with '' Rok Sako To Rok Lo'' in 2004, but her big break was '' Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na'' (2008) as the lead actor's girlfriend, for which she won a Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance-Female 2009. The film was successful with the audience and also enjoyed critical acclaim. Earlier she was part of the
National Film Award
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...
-winning Bengali feature film '' Faltu'' (2006) and also '' Mumbai Salsa'' (2007). In 2008, she made a debut in Telugu films with ''
Siddu From Sikakulam
''Siddu from Sikakulam'' (alternate spelling: ''Sidhu from Srikakulam'') is a 2008 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Romantic comedy, romantic comedy film written and directed by Eashwar, produced by Malla Vijayaprasad under Welfare Creati ...
'', following which her first
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
film ''
Muthirai
''Muthirai'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written by Aneez Tanveer Jeeva, wife of late director Jeeva, who also produces this film, and directed by actor Srinath, starring Daniel Balaji, Nithin Sathya, Lakshmi Rai and ...
'' (2009) got released. Notably, she had sung a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
song under the direction of
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
for the film ''Muthirai''. In September 2009, she signed to appear in a series of Onida Television commercials.
Fadnis' 2010 releases were the Telugu films ''
Inkosaari
''Inkosaari'' (''Once Again'', te, ఇంకోసారి ) is a 2010 Indian Telugu film, directed by Suman Pathuri. Produced by Kalyan Palla, it stars Raja, Manjari Phadnis and Richa Pallod. Pathuri won Best First Film of a Director and V ...
'' and ''
Shubhapradham
''Subhapradam'' () is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language Drama film directed by veteran director K. Viswanath, starring Allari Naresh and Manjari Phadnis.
Plot
Indu (Manjari Phadnis) is a music loving girl. Her mother is a Malayali and father (Vi ...
''. She then starred in the
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
Darsheel Safary
Darsheel Safary (born 9 March 1997) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and television. Safary made his film debut with the leading role of a student with learning disorder in Aamir Khan's directorial debut, the critically acclaimed d ...
in the titular role. The film received positive reviews from critics. She also worked in the Telugu film ''
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...
'' (2011) alongside Jr. NTR, and later in a Hindi film ''I M 24'' (2012) and her debut Kannada film ''
Munjane
''Munjane'' (English : ''Dawn'') is a 2012 released Kannada romantic drama film starring Ganesh and Manjari Phadnis. The film was written, produced and directed by S. Narayan, who also composed and written the songs and also acted in the film. Dh ...
'' (2012). The year 2013 saw release of her films '' Warning'', a 3D underwater film and ''
Grand Masti
''Grand Masti'' (), also referred to as ''Masti 2'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language adult comedy film directed by Indra Kumar and produced by Ashok Thakeria. The film is a sequel to the 2004 film '' Masti'', and the second installment of '' M ...
'' (opposite
Aftab Shivdasani
Aftab Shivdasani (born 25 June 1978) is an Indian actor, producer and model known for his works in Bollywood and also working for Tamil and Kannada film industry.
Shivdasani was selected as the Farex baby at the age of 14 months and eventually ...
). ''Grand Masti'' was the highest grossing Bollywood film with an A (Adults Only) certificate in India. Her next film was
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
debut. Then came her romantic comedy film ''
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon
''Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Abbas Mustan. The film garnered controversy over keeping names on Hindus gods. Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma made his Bollywood debut with this movie, as d ...
'' (2015) starring
Kapil Sharma
Kapil Sharma (born Kapil Punj; 2 April 1981) is an Indian stand-up comedian, television host from Punjab, India, Primarily known for hosting ''The Kapil Sharma Show''. He won the stand-up comedy reality show, The Great Indian Laughter Challen ...
. The film was a box office success. She then acted alongside
Shreyas Talpade
Shreyas Talpade (born 27 January 1976) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who appears in Hindi and Marathi films. He has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films. He is better known for his role as Shah Ruk ...
in the content driven film '' Wah Taj'' (2016). The movie had a dance song "Chori Chichori" for which Fadnis attired as traditional Marathi Mulgi did a semi-folk popular dance. She also worked in her maiden
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
film ''Sarv Mangal Savdhan'' (2016) opposite Raqesh Vashisth. She appeared as a lead actress in the inspirational film ''
Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai
''Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai'' was an Indian talk show hosted initially by Bollywood actor Farooq Shaikh and later by Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi. It premiered on 22 March 2002, and due to the success of its first season, the show reappeared on Zee ...
'' (2017) starring
Arbaaz Khan
Arbaaz Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 4 August 1967) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, in addition to Telugu and Malayalam cinema.
Since making his debut in 1996, he has acted in many leading and suppor ...
Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi films. He has also worked ...
, set in exotic locations. In 2018, she came up with a murder mystery film '' Nirdosh'' opposite Ashmit Patel and an action comedy film '' Baa Baaa Black Sheep'' opposite
Manish Paul
Maniesh Paul (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian television presenter, anchor, model, singer, actor and comedian in Bollywood. Starting his career as an RJ and VJ, he moved to acting before taking up stand-up comedy and hosting.
Early life and ...
.
In 2019, she appeared in an
Amit Sadh
Amit Sadh (born 5 June 1983) is an Indian actor. He is known for his roles in films like ''Kai Po Che'' (2013), ''Guddu Rangeela'' (2015), and '' Sarkar 3'' (2017). He began his acting career with the teen drama ''Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr'' and lat ...
starred thriller web-film ''
Barot House
''Barot House'' is a 2019 Bollywood Psychological thriller film about an upper middle-class Indian family caught in the whirlwind of murder and crime. The film was released through Zee5 on 7 August 2019.
Plot
Amit Barot, the patriarch of the ...
'' aired on
ZEE5
ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Andro ...
''.''
In 2017, her short film ''Khamakha'' (2016) won the Filmfare for Best Short Film People's Choice Award. Her other short films are ''The Morning After'' (2013), ''The Cot'' (2017), Jackie Shroff starred ''The Playboy Mr Sawhney'' (2018) and ''Interdependence: Megha's divorce'' (2019).
In 2019, she appeared in a web series ''Fuh Se Fantasy:The Blindfold'' on
Voot
Voot is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Viacom18. Launched in March 2016, it is Viacom18's advertising-led video-on-demand platform that is available as an app for iOS, KaiOS (JioPhone) a ...
.
She made her first theatrical performance ''Double Deal Reloaded'' (English), in Mumbai in 2017 and the following year in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In 2018, she came up with a musical drama ''Devdas'' staged at Mumbai.
Fadnis sang a duet
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
song ''Azhagana Neeyum'' under the direction of
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
for the film ''Muthirai'' (2009). She also sang the duet songs ''Sonya Ve Sajna'' in the Indo-Pakistani music album ''Beat Beyond Borders'' composed by Pakistani musician Fakhar-e-Alam in 2012 and ''Ga Raha Hai Ye Aasma'' composed by
Raghav Sachar
Raghav Sachar (born 24 July 1981, in India) is an Indian singer, composer and film scorer.
Early life and career
Sachar was born to father, R. K. Sachar, and mother, Usha Sachar in Calcutta
. He is the youngest of three children. He started ...
in 2014. In 2015, she lent her vocals for a duet Marathi song composed by Nikhil Kamat for the film ''Sarv Mangal Savdhan''. She recorded her first solo song ''Alvida'' composed by the musical duo of Arif-Troy in 2017.
She was the cover girl for ''Woman's Era'' Magazine September 2015 issue. She has also appeared in various fashion events such as Bombay Times Fashion week 2018, Intimate Fashion Week 2017, and Dubai Fashion League 2017. She was cast in '
Hyundai i10
The Hyundai i10 is a city car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2007. It replaced the Hyundai Atos in the model line-up, and was initially available only as a five-door hatchback body style. The third generation i10 was unve ...
Main Hoon Na
''Main Hoon Na'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language masala film written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Sunil Shetty, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan, and follows Major Ram Sharma, ...
'' and ''
Om Shanti Om
''Om Shanti Om'' (transl. ''Peace Be With You'') is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language fantasy romance film written and directed by Farah Khan, co-written by Mayur Puri and Mushtaq Shiekh, and produced by Gauri Khan under the banner of Red Chillies ...
'' fame in May 2012. Earlier, she had appeared in a series of Onida Television commercials in 2009 and later on in iball pen drives TV ad in 2011, Mehfil Southall Hotel/Restaurant/Banquet TV ads in 2015 . She has also been featured in the music videos ''Beat Beyond Borders'' (2011) and ''Raghav Sachar feat'' (2014).
She has undergone dance training under
Shiamak Davar
Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India. In 2020, she received the Youth Icon Award for 'Excellency in Entertainment industry' at Maier Medi International Short Film Festival, Pune.
Early life
Fadnis, who comes from a Maharashtrian family, was born at
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capita ...
to Ruchi Fadnis and Bharat Kumar Fadnis. As her father served in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
, a transferable service, she grew up with her only sibling Gagan Fadnis in Shimla, Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
(her hometown).
Filmography
Feature films
Short films
Web-series
Television
Albums
Theatre
Awards and nominations
Charity and social causes
Fadnis participated in the fashion show 'Umeed-Ek Koshish-A Starwalk for Charity' in 2012 and Amy Billimoria's 'The Walk of Pride' Charity show in 2015. Earlier in 2012, she graced the Global Peace Fashion Show to commemorate the victims of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. She was also part of the Zee TV environmental awareness initiative ''My Earth My Duty'' in 2013. She volunteered for the
Punjab Kesari
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
'Selfie with Daughter' campaign to address the importance of saving a girl child in 2016. In 2017, she adopted two kittens and a puppy namely Mia, Simba and Pari to emphasize animal welfare. In 2018, she wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing her concern about safety of women in India. Same year, she volunteered to emphasize celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with Eco-friendly Ganesha idol. In 2019, she participated in an event held at Mumbai concerning Digital Detoxification. The same year, she actively volunteered for the S''ave'' A''arey Forest campaign.'' She later on appeared in United Nations sponsored short film ''Interdependence'' to raise awareness regarding climate change.