Aditi Govitrikar (born 21 May 1976) is an Indian actress, physician and former model. She is the first Indian woman to win the Mrs. World title in 2001. From 1997 to 2004, Govitrikar remained the only Indian supermodel with both a medical doctor and a psychologist qualification. She has been touted by ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

'' as "Beauty with Brains". She is a vegetarian and ardent Vipassana practitioner. She was a contestant on '' Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 1'' and '' Bigg Boss 3''. Govitrikar won the Gladrags Megamodel Contest in 1996 and the Gladrags Mrs. India in 2000, subsequently winning Mrs. World Contest in 2001. She ventured into acting when she played a prominent role in '' Thammudu'' (1999), a movie that was a runaway hit. She went on to act in many movies including '' Paheli'' (2005) India's official entry to the 79th Academy Awards and ''

De Dana Dan ''De Dana Dan'' (''Hit Left and Right'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. It is a partial adaptation of the Hollywood film '' Screwed''; some scenes were taken from the 2004 film '' Vettam'', directed by Priy ...

'' (2009), that won an award at the International Indian Film Academy Award. She also played a leading role in several super hit music videos such as ''Kabhi to Nazar Milao'' by

Adnan Sami Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1969) is an Indian singer, musician, composer, actor and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music in many languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. He has been awarded ...

and

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

(1997) and ''Aaeena'' by

Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in List of languages by number of native speakers in India, numerous languages and is credite ...

(2000). In 2020, she hosted the show ''Mother's Care'' on Zee Zest. She launched

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

in India and has also endorsed top tier international brands such as Coca-Cola, Chopard, Fendi and Harry Winston.

Early life

Govitrikar was born in

Panvel Panvel () is a city and taluka in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal C ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

on 21 May 1976. After attending Barns High School in

, she subsequently went to Grant Medical College in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

where she graduated with an

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

medical degree in 1997. After completing her MBBS, Govitrikar ventured into modelling.

Career

She started her career as a model after winning the Gladrags Megamodel Contest in 1996. She also won the ''best body'' and ''best face'' prizes at the Asian Super Model Contest in 1997. She modelled for companies such as Kaya Skin Clinic,

Pond's Pond's is an English brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by Unilever. History Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. M ...

and appeared in TV commercials, including her immensely popular

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

ad with

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

. Since winning Mrs. World 2001, Govitrikar continued modelling and also appeared in minor roles in a number of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

and South Indian films. She has acted in the Hindi TV serial ''Ye Meri Life Hai'' and participated in reality television series such '' Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi'' (2008), hosted by

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

, and in the reality television series, '' Bigg Boss (Season 3)'' (2009).

Personal life

Despite early parental opposition, she married a

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community re ...

Muslim medical school senior, Muffazal Lakdawala, whom she met while still in college and dated for over 7 years. The couple married in 1998 under both civil and Muslim law and she took the name Sarah Lakdawala. They have a daughter Kiara, who was born in 1999. The couple had another baby in May 2007. She is divorced from Muffazal Lakdawala. Govitrikar has a younger sister, Arzoo Govitrikar, who is an electronics engineer-turned-actress. She was a judge on the show '' Kalakarz''.

Filmography

Films

Television series

Music Videos

* ''Baarish Ho Rahi Hai'' (By

Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film ...

) * ''Kabhi To Nazar Milao'' (By

)

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Govitrikar, Aditi 1976 births Living people Indian film actresses Mrs. World winners Indian Hindus Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Indian television actresses Participants in Indian reality television series Indian beauty pageant winners Female models from Mumbai Indian medical doctors Actresses in Hindi television 21st-century Indian actresses Contestants on Indian game shows Harvard University alumni