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Kriti Sanon

Overview

Kriti Sanon is an Indian actress and former model who primarily works in Hindi cinema. After beginning her career with the Telugu film Nenokkadine in 2014, she made her Bollywood debut later the same year with Heropanti, for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2023 for her performance in the film Mimi.

Key facts

Full name Kriti Sanon
Born 27 July 1990, New Delhi, India
Education Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida (B.Tech, Electronics and Telecommunications)
Occupation Actress, model, producer
Years active 2014–present
Debut (Telugu) Nenokkadine (2014)
Debut (Hindi) Heropanti (2014)
Notable awards National Film Award for Best Actress (2023); Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (2015)
Production company Blue Butterfly Films
Family Rahul Sanon (father, chartered accountant); Geeta Sanon (mother, professor); Nupur Sanon (sister, singer)

Background

Kriti Sanon was born on 27 July 1990 in New Delhi to a Punjabi family. She studied at Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Technology degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida. While still a student, she took up modelling assignments and appeared in print and television commercials for several brands, which led to her transition into films.

Career

Early work and debut (2014)

Sanon made her acting debut in the Telugu science-fiction thriller 1: Nenokkadine, directed by Sukumar and starring Mahesh Babu, released in January 2014. The same year, she made her Hindi-film debut opposite Tiger Shroff in Sajid Nadiadwala's Heropanti, directed by Sabbir Khan. The film was a commercial success and earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Establishment in Hindi cinema (2015–2019)

She appeared in Rohit Shetty's Dilwale (2015) alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Varun Dhawan. Subsequent releases included Raabta (2017) opposite Sushant Singh Rajput and Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, in which she co-starred with Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao. Her performance in Bareilly Ki Barfi was widely praised by critics. She followed this with Luka Chuppi (2019), directed by Laxman Utekar, and Arjun Patiala (2019).

Critical recognition (2020–2023)

Sanon featured in Panipat (2019), directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, where she played Parvati Bai. She had a key role in Mimi (2021), directed by Laxman Utekar, in which she portrayed a young surrogate mother. The film, released on Netflix and Jio Cinema, earned her widespread acclaim and the National Film Award for Best Actress at the 69th National Film Awards. She subsequently appeared in Bachchhan Paandey (2022), Bhediya (2022) opposite Varun Dhawan, and Adipurush (2023), in which she played Janaki opposite Prabhas.

Production and recent work

In 2023, Sanon launched her own production company, Blue Butterfly Films. She produced and starred in Do Patti (2024), a Netflix release co-starring Kajol, in which she played a double role. She also appeared in Crew (2024) alongside Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024) opposite Shahid Kapoor.

Significance

Kriti Sanon is regarded among the leading female actors of her generation in Hindi cinema. Her trajectory from an engineering graduate and model to a National Award-winning actress and producer reflects the broader diversification of acting careers in contemporary Indian cinema. She is also among the relatively small number of present-day Hindi-film actresses to have launched an independent production house.

References

  • Official communications and press releases from film studios including Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Maddock Films and Netflix India.
  • Announcements of the 69th National Film Awards, Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India.
  • Filmfare Awards official records.