Patralekha (born 20 February 1989) is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut with '' CityLights'' alongside Rajkummar Rao for which she won Screen Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer. Paul made her web debut with the 2017 ALT Balaji's series '' Bose: Dead/Alive''.

Early life

Patralekha was born in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

, in a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

family, to a Chartered Accountant father and a homemaker mother Papri Paul. In an interview, she stated that her grandmother was a poet. She has two siblings Parnalekha Paul and Agnish Paul. She went to

The Assam Valley School The Assam Valley School (informally Assam Valley School or AVS) is a co-educational private boarding school in Assam, India,which was founded in 1995 by the Williamson Magor Education Trust. The school, spread across 270 acres, houses 890 student ...

, a boarding school, and then graduated from

Bishop Cotton Girls' School Bishop Cotton Girls' School, or BCGS, is a private all-girls' school for boarders and day scholars in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The school offers academic scholarships, which aid students from lower income backgrounds to afford tuition and ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Her father wanted her to follow in his footsteps, but she was interested in acting. While studying in

H.R. College of Commerce and Economics Hassaram Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics, commonly known as HR College, is an autonomous (since 2007 ) educational institute located in Churchgate, Mumbai. It is run by the Hyderabad (Sindh) National Collegiate Board and is affiliate ...

she did a few commercials for Blackberry, and Tata Docomo, before getting a break in films.

Personal life

Patralekha has been in a relationship with actor Rajkummar Rao since 2010. On November 15, 2021 the couple got married in a traditional Hindu wedding at The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort in Chandigarh, India.

Career

Patralekha made her film debut with a leading role in the drama '' CityLights'', opposite Rajkummar Rao. Directed by

Hansal Mehta Hansal Mehta (born 29 April 1968) is an Indian filmmaker. He started his career with television show ''Khana Khazana'' (1993–2000) and later moved on to directing films like ''Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!'' (2000), ''Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai?'' (2002) and ...

, the film tells the story of a poor couple living in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

who move to

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 search of livelihood. Made on a low budget, the film became a commercial success and earned her positive reviews from critics. Lovegamesstars

Her next film, '' Love Games'', was an urban-thriller directed by

Vikram Bhatt Vikram Bhatt (born 27 January 1969) is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the Raaz (film series), ''Raaz'' film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for d ...

and produced by

Mukesh Bhatt Mukesh Bhatt (born 5 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 19 ...

and

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is ''Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film F ...

. The cast of the film included Patralekha, Gaurav Arora and

Tara Alisha Berry Tara Alisha Berry is an Indian actress, known for her works in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She started out with a music video with Shaan, called ''Khudgarzi'', produced by Eros in 2011. Her debut Hindi film was ''Mastram''. Her next releas ...

Filmography

Films

Web series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * 1989 births Living people Indian film actresses People from Shillong Actresses from Meghalaya Screen Awards winners {{India-actor-stub