Usha Sharma is an Indian actress and dancer. She is best known for playing the title character in the

Haryanvi Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharibo ...

film ''

Chandrawal ''Chandrawal'' is a 1984 Haryanvi film. It is the third Haryanavi-language film to be released and the first financially successful one. Written by Late. Shri Devi Shankar Prabhakar, produced by Usha Sharma and directed by Jayant Prabhaker, th ...

''. She serves as the president of Haryana Kala Parishad (The Haryana Arts Council) and is an executive member of

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (or Haryana PCC) is the unit of the Indian National Congress, working in the state of Haryana. Its head office is situated at Chandigarh. Senior leader and four times MLA Mr Udai Bhan is the present chief of t ...

Life and career

Sharma was born in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. From an early age she learned classical and folk dance, studying with

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, child molester and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of ...

, Kundan Lal Gangani and

Maya Rao Maya Rao (2 May 1928 – 1 September 2014) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in Kathak dance. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kath ...

. During primary school she danced for

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. Sharma married poet Devi Shankar Prabhakar who later decided to become a film producer. He wrote the script for the 1984 film ''Chandrawal'' and cast his wife as the leading lady. Sharma also choreographed the film, drawing on her dance training. The film was a financial success, and remains the highest grossing Haryanvi film to date. The two made several less successful Haryanavi films together. Sharma later became the director of the Haryana Kala Parishad, an organization that promotes Haryanavi culture. After her husband died in 2005, Sharma decided to produce a sequel to ''Chandrawal'', a project he had been planning for some years.

Filmography

*''Bahurani'' (1982) *''

'' (1984) ... Chandrawal *'' Lado Basanti'' (1985) ... Basanti *'' Phool Badan'' (1986) *''Jatni'' (1991) *'' Chandrawal 2'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Usha Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Indian film actresses Haryanvi cinema Actresses from Haryana Living people Indian female dancers Year of birth missing (living people) Dancers from Haryana 20th-century Indian actresses