Manjari Fadnis

Manjari, who comes from a Marathi family, was born at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh to Ruchi Fadnis and Col Bharat Kumar Fadnis. As her father served in the Indian Army, a transferable service, she grew up with her only sibling Gagan Fadnis in Shimla, Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune (her hometown).Manjari was first seen on television during the second season of the Indian version of the singing reality show Popstars, which was aired on Channel V India in 2003. She was one of the participants who made it to the finals for the musical band Aasma. She started her film career with Rok Sako To Rok Lo in 2004, but had her big break in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) where she portrayed the protagonist's (played by Imran Khan) girlfriend. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was successful with the audience and also enjoyed critical acclaim. Earlier she was part of the National Film Award-winning Bengali feature film Faltu (2006) and also Mumbai Salsa (2007). In 2008, she made a debut in Telugu films with Siddu From Sikakulam, followed by her first Tamil film Muthirai (2009). For Muthirai, she sung a Tamil song under the direction of Yuvan Shankar Raja. In September 2009, she was signed to appear in a series of Onida Television commercials. Manjari's 2010 releases were the Telugu films Inkosaari and Shubhapradham. She then starred in the Walt Disney-produced superhero film Zokkomon, starring Darsheel Safary of Taare Zameen Par fame in the titular role. The film received positive reviews from critics. Additionally, an in-depth interview with Fadnis, where she shares insights into her preparation for challenging roles and reflects on her career evolution across multiple film industries. She also worked in the Telugu film Shakti (2011) alongside Jr. NTR, and in 2012 in a Hindi film I M 24, and her debut Kannada film Munjane. The year 2013 saw the release of her films Warning, a 3D underwater film, and Grand Masti (opposite Aftab Shivdasani). Grand Masti was the highest grossing Bollywood film with an A (Adults Only) certificate in India. Her next film was the Mohanlal headlined Mr. Fraud (2014), which marked her Malayalam debut. In 2015 she starred alongside Kapil Sharma in romantic comedy film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon. She then acted alongside Shreyas Talpade in the content driven film Wah Taj (2016). Wah Taj had a dance song "Chori Chichori" for which she dressed in traditional Marathi Mulgi attire and did a semi-folk popular dance. She also worked in her maiden Marathi film Sarv Mangal Savdhan (2016) opposite Raqesh Vashisth. She appeared as a lead actress in the inspirational film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai (2017) ,starring Arbaaz Khan, Himansh Kohli and Ashutosh Rana. In 2018, she performed in a murder mystery film Nirdosh opposite Ashmit Patel and an action comedy film Baa Baaa Black Sheep opposite Manish Paul. In 2019, she appeared in an Amit Sadh starred thriller web-film Barot House aired on ZEE5. In 2017, her short film Khamakha (2016) won the Filmfare for Best Short Film People's Choice Award. Her other short films are The Morning After (2013), The Cot (2017), Jackie Shroff vehicle The Playboy Mr Sawhney (2018) and Interdependence: Megha's divorce (2019). She received the Movers and Shakers award at the MAAC 24FPS International Animation Awards 2015. In 2020, she received the Youth Icon Award for 'Excellency in Entertainment Industry' at Maier Medi International Short Film Festival, Pune. In 2019, she appeared in a web series Fuh Se Fantasy:The Blindfold on Voot. She made her first theatrical performance Double Deal Reloaded (English), in Mumbai in 2017 and the following year in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In 2018, she performed in a musical drama Devdas staged at Mumbai. She has undergone dance training under Shiamak Davar and vocal training under Sucheta Bhattacharjee.