Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1990) is an Australian actress of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent, and a classical Indian

Bharathanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

dancer. Her film credits include Oscar nominated film ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

'' (2016), Bollywood films ''

Begum Jaan ''Begum Jaan'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi period drama film. It is written and directed by National Film Award-winning director Srijit Mukherji and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Vishesh Bhatt and Play Entertainment. The film is co-produced by Sakshi Bh ...

'' (2017) and ''

Hawaizaada ''Hawaizaada'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi drama film written, directed and produced by Vibhu Puri along with Reliance Entertainment. Inspired by the biography of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, the film stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Mithun Chakraborty and P ...

'' (2015), and comedy Australian film '' Save Your Legs!'' (2012) and

Les Norton Les Norton is the protagonist in a series of fiction books written by Australian author Robert G. Barrett. Character A likeable and laconic Aussie battler, Norton first appears in ''You Wouldn't Be Dead For Quids'' (1984) and is described as sto ...

, Australian teleseries. She has worked in Hindi films like ''

My Name Is Khan ''My Name Is Khan'', is a 2010 social drama film directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija and lyricist Niranjan Iyengar. It was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan under their production companies, Dharma Productions and ...

'', ''

Dus Tola ''Dus Tola'' (English:''Ten units'') is a 2010 Indian Hindi comedy drama film remake of 1988 Malayalam film '' Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu'', directed by Ajoy Varma and starring Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role. ''Dus Tola'' was released on 22 Octobe ...

'', '' Besharam'', ''

'', and ''

''. In 2021, Sharda starred in ''

Tom & Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

.'' Her latest release is the 2022 rom-com '' Wedding Season'' with Suraj Sharma.

Early life

Sharda was born in an Indian family in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia to Hema Sharda, and Nalin Kant Sharda. Both her parents are IIT alumni and have PhDs in science and engineering. They migrated to Australia in the 1980s before she was born. Sharda came to Melbourne as a toddler where she grew up in the outer north-western suburbs. She went to school at Lowther Hall in Essendon where she obtained an academic scholarship and commenced her LLB and BA (Media & Communications) & Diploma in Modern Languages (French) at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, at the age of 16 and graduated with honours. Sharda shifted base from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 2010.

Career

Sharda started her

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

career by playing a cameo in

Karan Johar Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...

's ''

'' (2010). In March 2010 Sharda was crowned Miss India Australia in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She next starred in the comedic-drama film, ''

'' (2010) opposite acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee, in which she played the role of Geeta, a village dance teacher. Sharda's performance was identified as the best element of the film by ''The Times of India''. In 2011 and 2012 Sharda was the lead actress of the theatrical musical, ''Taj Express'' directed by Shruti Merchant and choreographed by

Vaibhavi Merchant Vaibhavi Merchant (born 17 December 1975) is an Indian dance choreographer working in Bollywood films. She won National Film Award for Best Choreography for the song ''Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje'' from ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' in 1999. Career ...

. Sharda made her Australian film debut with comedy film '' Save Your Legs'', which released on 28 February 2013. She then appeared in

Abhinav Kashyap Abhinav Singh Kashyap (born 6 September 1974) is an Indian director, writer and actor who works predominantly in Hindi Cinema. He is the younger brother of noted director Anurag Kashyap. He is best known for directing and co writing ''Dabangg'' ...

's Bollywood film '' Besharam''. in which she portrayed a woman whose car is stolen by a petty thief. Sharda's next Bollywood venture, ''

'', was released worldwide on 30 January 2015. Directed by Vibhu Puri and co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana and

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

, the film is inspired by the true events of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who is believed to have flown an unmanned aircraft in 1895 Bombay. Sharda received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a courtesan dancer during the British Raj era in Mumbai. Sharda joined

Sony ESPN Sony ESPN was an Indian pay television sports channel which was a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Sony Pictures Networks India. The channel targeted the Indian subcontinent including India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was part of th ...

's team as their new face for the IPL 2016

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

(IPL). Sharda joined

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leadin ...

and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

in the Hollywood film ''

'' in 2016. Her next Bollywood film, ''Begum Jaan'', released in April 2017. Sharda received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Gulabo, a sex worker in rural Punjab, at the time of Pakistan's partition from India. Sharda played a leading role in

ABC Australia The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

's medical drama ''

Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

,'' her performance awarded her the "Rising Star" award by the Casting Guild of Australia. she played Georgie in the ABC-TV series

. Pallavi is currently starring in ''

Beecham House ''Beecham House'' is a short-lived British historical drama television series set in 1795, co-created, directed and produced by Gurinder Chadha. The six-part series was announced in August 2018 and was broadcast between Sunday 23 June ...

'',

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's historical drama series directed by

Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...

and the ABC-TV comedy '' Retrograde''. Sharda is working on her first book, currently untitled, that explores her identity struggles as an Indian girl living in Australia. The book is set to be released next year.

Advocacy

Sharda is on the board of advisers for e-Kutir, a social entrepreneurship company focused on improving the lives of Indians using the 'base of pyramid' model. Her focus areas are Sanitation and Mother and Child. Sharda is a regular keynote speaker on Asia Literacy in Australia, cross-cultural relations between India and Australia and women's empowerment in India. In 2015 she was appointed the " Queen of Moomba", Melbourne's largest community festival, alongside retired Australian cricketer

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...

. Considered a distinguished alumna of the University of Melbourne, Pallavi has emerged as a multi-faceted leader in the conversation around Australian Arts and Culture. Pallavi has curated festivals like Melbourne’s White Night, been the Queen of Moomba with Spin King Shane Warne and in 2019 Pallavi was named on the list of forty most influential Asian Australians at the inaugural Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharda, Pallavi Living people 1990 births Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Australian film actresses Australian people of Punjabi descent Australian people of Indian descent Australian actresses of Indian descent Australian expatriate actresses in India Actresses in Hindi cinema Melbourne Law School alumni 21st-century Australian actresses