Priti Sapru (also spelled as Preeti Sapru), is an Indian actress known for her works in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and

Hindi cinema 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 ...

. She featured in a number of films including '' Nimmo'', ''Yaari Jat Di'' and ''

Qurbani Jatt Di ''Qurbani Jatt Di'' ( Punjabi: ਕੁਰਬਾਨੀ ਜੱਟ ਦੀ) is a 1990 Punjabi action film produced by Hemavati Sapru and directed by Priti Sapru. Plot Sucha Singh (Dharmendra) attempts to stop Joginder, who is the father of his sist ...

'' among others, with actors

Veerendra Veerendra was an Indian film actor, director, producer and writer who made 25 Punjabi-language films in his 12-year career. He made his debut with the film '' Teri Meri Ek Jindri,'' released in 1975, featuring Dharmendra. He was a regular in Pun ...

Gurdas Maan Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over ...

and

Raj Babbar Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. He was the Pr ...

Early life

D.K. Sapru Daya Kishan Sapru (16 March 1916 – 20 October 1979), was an Indian actor famed for a variety of character roles in Hindi cinema, particularly villains, judges and aristocrats in crime thrillers and dramas. His most notable performances were in ...

was her father, and actress Hemavathi Sapru was her mother. Actor

Tej Sapru Tej Sapru (born 5 January 1955) is an Indian actor. He is the son of D. K. Sapru and Hemvati, both of whom were actors in the Hindi film industry. He has appeared in a number of Bollywood films of between the 1980s and 2010s, including ''Gupt'' ...

is her brother and screenwriter

Reema Rakesh Nath Reema Rakesh Nath is a Bollywood film writer, director, and producer best known for scripting the golden jubilee film ''Saajan'', (1991) it was the highest grossing film that year and other films ''Aarzoo'' and ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam''. she als ...

is her sister. Sapru's family used to live in Bandra. Her grandfather held the position of 'Treasurer' for the Dogra Kingdom. She studied in St. Joseph's High School, Juhu, Bombay, and started acting at the age of 13.

Career

She started her career with the film ''Habari'' in 1979, then appeared in small parts in '' Laawaris'' (1981) and ''

Avtaar ''Avtaar'' is a 1983 drama film starring Rajesh Khanna and Shabana Azmi. It was directed by Mohan Kumar, and the music was by Laxmikant Pyarelal, and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. ''Avtaar'' was a commercial hit, and was critically acclaimed. T ...

(''1983). She was seen in lead roles in Punjabi movies, and as leading and supporting actress in numerous Hindi movies. Sapru was the pioneer on the album activity through ''Bhangra Gidda'' in 1990. She wrote '' Zameen Asmaan'', which starred actors

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...

, Anita Raaj. She wrote directed and produced the Punjabi movie ''

''. She launched the first Punjabi channel (Alpha), which was a part of Zee at that time. Sapru was active in initiating the relief rally for earthquake victims in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

and has also participated in various social activities in

Punjab 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 ...

. She is actively forwarding donations or any other help required for the NGOs such as Balbhavan, Catherine Home, and Premnidhi. Sapru has followed

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

since he was a

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

candidate in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and has been active in campaigning for rallies with

Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley (28 December 1952 – 24 August 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jait ...

and

Vijay Sampla Vijay Sampla (born 6 July 1961) is an Indian politician serving as the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes since February 2021. He is a former Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in India from 2014 to 2019 ...

in Punjab. Sapru accompanies Jaitley in social activities, but is also considered to be close aide to Sangeeta Arun Jaitley.

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as t ...

invited Sapru to join the BJP, and she formally joined the party during the Fateh Rally in Punjab on 23 February 2014. Sapru has plans to initiate an anti-drug campaign in Punjab. In 2018 she lobbied for minority status to be granted to Sikhs in

Awards

Sapru has received the Punjab State Award for Best Actress in 1995, the "Mahila Shiromani 1998" for contributions to Punjabi Cinema, the "First Lady Director in Punjabi Film History" from

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Vimala Sharma Vimala Devi Sharma (c. 1927 – 15 August 2020) was an Indian social worker, women's rights activist, and politician. Sharma served as the First Lady of India from 1992 to 1997 and the Second Lady of India & as First Lady of 3 of the Indian o ...

and "Punjabi Ratna" from the Press club along with Dr.

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

(ex-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Prakash Singh Badal Parkash Singh Badal ( pa, ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ; born 8 December 1927) is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab state from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017. He ...

, and sports persona

Milkha Singh Milkha Singh (20 November 1929 18 June 2021), also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the A ...

in 2002. "Punjab Shiromani" was presented by

Amarinder Singh Captain Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942), is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. A former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab and Member ...

from Patiala University for the first time to a non-Punjabi. The "Hamdard Award" from ''Ajit Daily'' was given to her by

among other awards. She has received the Punjabi Legend Award for contributions to the Punjabi film Industry from

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

in Chennai to celebrate of 100 years of Indian Cinema in November 2013.

Personal life

She is married to architect Upvan Sudarshan Ahluwalia. They have twin daughters Riya Walia and Rene Walia. She is proficient in Hindi, English, and Punjabi.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapru, Priti Living people 1957 births 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses from Mumbai Indian film actresses Actresses in Punjabi cinema