Amrita Rao

Infobox actor
name = Amrita Rao


imagesize =
caption = Amrita Rao at the 53rd Filmfare Awards (2008).
occupation = Film actress
birthdate = birth date and age|1981|06|17
location = Chitrapur, Karnataka
yearsactive = 2002 - present
website = http://www.amrita-rao.com/

Amrita Rao ( _mr. अमृता राव. IPA2|əmrita raʊ, born June 17, 1981) [cite web|title=Happy b'day Amrita!|work=Rao celebrates birthday|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Happy_bday_Amrita/articleshow/3133498.cms|accessdate=17 June|accessyear=2008] is an Indian model and Bollywood actress.

Beginning her career as a model, Rao made her acting debut with "Ab Ke Baras" (2002), which went unnoticed. However, she grew into prominence when she starred in Ken Ghosh's love-story, "Ishq Vishk" (2003) and earned her first Filmfare nomination in the "Best Female Debut" category. Delivering acclaimed performances and commercial success with films like "Main Hoon Na" (2004) and "Vivah" (2006), her biggest commercial success so far, she has established herself as one of the most promising actresses of Bollywood.

Personal life

Of Dravidian ancestry, Amrita Rao was born on June 17, 1981 to a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family in Chitrapur, Karnataka [http://www.amritaworld.com/amrita-rao-chats-on-rediff.php] . She speaks English, Marathi, Konkani and Hindi.

Career

Model

Amrita Rao attended C.G High School in Mumbai,and later enrolled in Sophia College to pursue a degree in psychology. While studying there, she auditioned for an advertisement for Fairever Face Cream. To her surprise she was selected amongst 60 other contestants. After that, she got many offers and became one of the most sought-after models in India within an year. Her appearance in Cadbury’s Perk Karwa Chaut ad and the Bru Coffee advertisement helped her receive offers from film directors in Bollywood. As she wanted to complete her education, she refused them. After earning a degree in psychology, she began her profession as an actress, working in films.

Actress

She made her acting debut with "Ab Ke Baras" (2002), but gained recognition only after the success of her 2003 film, "Ishq Vishk", in which her portrayal as Payal earned her the girl-next door image. Success followed for her in 2004 with films like "Masti" and "Main Hoon Na".

Her career took a setback when her following releases, "Deewaar" (2004), "Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi" (2005), "Shikhar" (2005), and "Pyare Mohan" (2006) did poorly at the box office. Things turned around when she starred in Sooraj R. Barjatya's blockbuster "Vivah" (2006) opposite Shahid Kapoor. The film was a universal successcite web | title=Top 5: 'Baabul' shaky; 'D2' and 'Vivah' big hits!| work= Vivah: Box Office |url=http://indiafm.com/trade/top5/index.html
accessdate=2006-12-16] and her performance was well appreciated by critics,cite web|title=Vivah: Movie Review| work= the Review: Vivah|url=http://indiafm.com/movies/review/12731/index.html
accessdate=2006-11-10] earning her a Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award.

Rao recently made her debut in Tollywood, with the Telugu hit "Athidhi" opposite Mahesh Babu. Amrita had no releases in Bollywood in 2007. Amrita's first release of 2008 was My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves , which failed at the box office. Her performance got poor reviews. [cite web
title = Amrita Rao in ATHITHI!
url = http://www.princemahesh.com/sainikudu/spl/athithi_news1.htm
accessdate = December 26
accessyear = 2006]

Awards & nominations

Filmfare Awards

Nominated
* 2004: Filmfare Best Female Debut Award - "Ishq Vishk"
* 2005: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award - "Main Hoon Na"

Star Screen Awards

Nominated
* 2003: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female - "Ab Ke Baras"
* 2004: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female - "Ishq Vishk"
* 2007: Star Screen Award Best Actress - "Vivah"cite web | title=Rang De, Omkara sweep Screen nominations| work=Hero Honda Star Screen Awards Nomination List| url=http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/19252.html
accessdate=24 December|accessyear=2006]
* 2007: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahid Kapoor - "Vivah"cite web | title=Hero Honda Star Jodi No. 1| work=Hero Honda Star Jodi No.1 Nomination List| url=http://starplus.indya.com/specials/screenawards_07/sj.html
accessdate=24 December|accessyear=2006]

Zee Cine Awards

Nominated
* 2004: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut - "Ishq Vishk"

International Indian Film Academy Awards

Winner
* 2004: IIFA Awards, Best Female Debut - "Ishq Vishk"

Stardust Awards

Winner
* 2004: Stardust Awards, Superstar of Tomorrow - Female; "Ishq Vishk"

Other Awards

* 2004: Sansui Awards, Best Debut - Female - "Ishq Vishk"
* 2007: GR8 Women Awards, Young Achiever
* 2007: Anandalok Puroshkar Awards, Most Promising New Talent - "Vivah"
* 2007: Sports World Awards, Jodi of the Year along with Shahid Kapoor - "Vivah"
* 2007: Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award - "Vivah" [ [http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1965717.cms Dilip Kumar will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy award on April 30- News-News & Gossip-Indiatimes - Movies ] ]

Filmography

References

External links

*

Persondata
NAME=Rao, Amrita
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Film Actress
DATE OF BIRTH=June 17, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH=Chitrapur, India
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=