Anusha Dandekar (born 9 January 1982) is an Indian-Australian MTV VJ, actress and singer, who is best known as a VJ and a host who has hosted several shows.

Early life

Dandekar was born in Sudan on 9 January 1982 into a Marathi family of Shashidhar and Sulabha Dandekar, originally from

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 ...

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 ...

. She and her sisters, actress and model

Shibani Dandekar Shibani Dandekar Akhtar (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian-born Australian singer, actress, host and model. She began her career working as a television host on American television. Following her return to India, she began hosting several show ...

and Apeksha Dandekar grew up in

Kingsgrove, New South Wales Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Bayside Council and the Georges ...

, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Career

In 2002, at the age of 19, Dandekar moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Maharashtra to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She was cast as an anchor in MTV's ''House of Style''. She later hosted ''MTV Dance Crew'', ''MTV Teen Diva'', '' MTV News'' and ''MTV Love School'' for the network. In 2008, she won ''Best VJ'' at the

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

Fun Fearless Female Awards. As of 2014, Dandekar is a judge on ''India's Next Top Model'' alongside model-actress

Lisa Haydon Elisabeth Marie Haydon is an Indian actress, TV presenter and model, who mainly appears in Hindi films. Haydon made her acting debut with the ensemble romantic comedy-drama ''Aisha'' (2010) and received critical praise for her performance in the ...

. In 2003, Dandekar made her acting debut in

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 ...

with ''

Mumbai Matinee Mumbai Matinee is a 2003 Indian romantic comedy film directed and written by Anant Balani and starring Rahul Bose as a 32-year-old virgin. The film premiered on 26 September 2003 and was also released in the UK. Director Anant Balani died before ...

'' and went on to do ''

Viruddh ''Virruddh... Family Comes First'' () is an Indian Hindi-language drama film, released in 2005, directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham. ''Viruddh'' is not a musical, instead ...

'' in 2005, alongside Bollywood veterans Amitabh Bachchan,

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 ...

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

and

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations. After modelling for advertisements and companies, ...

. Her performance in the film won her the Best Debut Award at the

Maharashtra Times ''Maharashtra Times'' ( mr, महाराष्ट्र टाइम्स), colloquially referred to as 'Ma Ta' (मटा) from its Marathi initialism, is a Marathi newspaper based in Mumbai, India. It is one of the largest selling daily ...

Awards in 2006. She then went on to star in the musical ''Miss Bollywood''. Later in 2006, she starred in ''

Anthony Kaun Hai? ''Anthony Kaun Hai?'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Raj Kaushal and produced by Nikhil Panchamiya. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Minissha Lamba and Raghuvir Yadav. Plot The film is set ...

'' alongside

Arshad Warsi Arshad Warsi (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several awards including a Filmfare Award from five nominations and is noted for acting in varied film genres. Before making his acting deb ...

and

. In 2012, she made her Marathi film debut with her role in ''Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha''. In 2012, Dandekar made her music debut with single ''Better Than Your Ex''. The song, in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, was released in June. A fashion icon, Dandekar has also graced the covers of ''

'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' and '' Seventeen''. She has also endorsed the brands

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

Toni & Guy Toni & Guy (stylised as TONI&GUY) is a British international chain of hairdressing salons founded in the UK in 1963 by brothers Toni and Guy Mascolo. History In 1963, Toni Mascolo and his brother Guy opened their first salon in Clapham, Londo ...

Crocs Crocs, Inc. (stylized in all lowercase) is an American footwear company based in Broomfield, Colorado, that manufactures and markets the Crocs brand of foam clogs. History Crocs was founded by Lyndon "Duke" Hanson, and George Boedecker Jr. to ...

and

Lee Jeans Lee is an American brand of denim jeans, first produced in 1889 in Salina, Kansas. The company is owned by Kontoor Brands, a spin-off of VF Corporation's Jeanswear Division. Since 2019 its headquarters has been in Greensboro, North Carolina, re ...

. In 2017 she became a mentor on a show ''

India's Next Top Model ''India's Next Top Model'' is an Indian reality television series, which premiered on 19 July 2015 and broadcast on MTV India. The series is an Indian version of Tyra Banks-created 2003 American reality television series ''America's Next Top Mode ...

'', which is aired on

MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...

Discography

Filmography

Television

Special appearances

Awards and nominations

! , - !scope="row", 2004 , ''

'' , Stardust Award for Most Exciting New Face , , style="text-align:center;", , - , 2006 , ''

'' , Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance – Female , , style="text-align:center;", , - , 2006 , ''

'' ,

Sanmaan Best Debut Award , , style="text-align:center;", , - , 2007 , Herself ,

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

for Best Face , , style="text-align:center;", , - , 2009 , Herself ,

Fun Fearless Female Award for Best VJ , , style="text-align:center;", , - , 2010 , Herself , Femina's List of 50 Most Beautiful Women in India Award , , style="text-align:center;",

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dandekar, Anusha Living people 1982 births Actresses from Pune People from Khartoum Marathi people Indian film actresses Indian women singers Indian emigrants to Australia Actresses from Sydney Australian film actresses Australian women singers Australian VJs (media personalities) Australian game show hosts Australian women television presenters Australian people of Marathi descent Australian people of Indian descent Australian actresses of Indian descent Australian expatriate actresses in India Actresses in Hindi cinema 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers