Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian actress. She gained international recognition for her performance in Pan Nalin's drama film Angry Indian Goddesses.[1] She then portrayed the title character in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's Sexy Durga and received critical acclaim for her performance in the Netflix series Sacred Games. In 2023, Deshpande won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards, for her work in Trial by Fire.
Rajshri Deshpande | |
|---|---|
 Deshpande in 2015 | |
| Born | Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2011–present |
Early life edit
Rajshri Deshpande was born in a working-class family in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. She is the youngest of three siblings. She has an undergraduate degree in law from Symbiosis Law School and a postgraduate degree in advertising from Symbiosis International University. She got into the advertising industry to support herself but soon found her calling in acting. She also has a diploma in filmmaking from Whistling Woods International in Mumbai.[2]
Career edit
Deshpande made her Bollywood debut in 2012 with a small role in the Aamir Khan starrer Talaash.[citation needed] She then moved to television and appeared in Kuch Toh Log Kahenge and 24: India, in 2013. She subsequently returned to the big screen with a small role in Salman Khan's Kick. She also appeared in the Malayalam film Haram[3] in 2015, where she had a double role. In Hindi cinema, it was the portrayal of Laxami in Pan Nalin's Angry Indian Goddesses that provided her with a bigger platform.[2][dead link] The film received the 1st Runner Up – People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival[4] and the People's Choice Award at the Rome Film Festival.[5] Deshpande played the leading role[6] in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's film Sexy Durga in 2017, which won the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival.[7]
Deshpande made her digital debut with BBC One's McMafia, directed by James Watkins, in January 2018.[8] She was also seen in the Netflix show Sacred Games, directed by Anurag Kashyap.[9][10] In it, she played the character of Subhadra and was praised for her role as the wife of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character.[11] A scandal arose when she was accused of being a porn star by some viewers, as the show included a nude sex scene. The actress replied that she hadn't done anything wrong.[11] She later portrayed Ismat Chughtai[12] in Nandita Das's Manto.
Social service edit
Deshpande has devoted time to a number of humanitarian causes. After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, she worked with an international NGO at one of the affected villages. Also in 2015, she adopted a drought-prone village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra called Pandhari and organized a rainwater harvesting project, built toilets, conducted health checkups and community motivation camps, and built an eco-sensitive school in the same village.[13]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Talaash | Priya | Hindi | |
| 2014 | Kick | Mrs. Sharma | ||
| 2015 | Haram | Ameena | Malayalam | |
| Angry Indian Goddesses | Laxmi | Hindi | ||
| 2016 | Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani | Ganga | Marathi Hindi English |
[14] |
| Mumbai Central | Gauri | Hindi | ||
| 2017 | Sexy Durga | Durga | Malayalam | |
| Mom | DK's wife | Hindi | ||
| 2018 | Manto | Ismat Chughtai | Hindi Urdu |
[15] |
| 2019 | Nirvana Inn | Mohini | Hindi | |
| The Sky Is Pink | Anita Tandon | Hindi | ||
| Kanpuriye | Kohinoor | Hindi | [16] | |
| 2020 | Choked | Neeta | Hindi | |
| 2021 | Collar Bomb | Rita | Hindi | [17] |
| 2022 | Mann Kasturi Re | Siddhant's lawyer | Marathi | |
| 2023 | Joram | Mukta | Hindi | |
| 2024 | Satyashodhak | Savitribai Phule | Marathi |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Kuch to Log Kahenge | Suhasini | |
| 2013 | 24 | Agent Veena | |
| 2018 | McMafia | Manju | British television series |
| 2018 | Sacred Games | Subhadra | Netflix series |
| 2019 | Parchhayee | Vaishali | ZEE5 series |
| 2022 | The Fame Game | Shobha Trivedi | Netflix series |
| 2023 | Trial by Fire[18] | Neelam Krishnamoorthy | Netflix series |
References edit
- ^ "नवाजुद्दीन सिद्दीकी संग एक्ट्रेस ने दिया इंटीमेट सीन, हुआ पछतावा, बोलीं- 'फिर सेक्स तो...'". Jansatta (in Hindi). 30 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Female Idol Blog Series – A Rendezvous With Rajshri Deshpande". WMF. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.[better source needed]
- ^ "Rajshri Deshpande". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "'Angry Indian Goddesses' wins runner-up award at TIFF". The Indian Express. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Rome Film Fest: 'Angry Indian Goddesses' Wins People's Choice Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Rajshri Deshpande in a Malayalam erotic satire". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Sasidharan's Sexy Durga wins a coveted award at Rotterdam Film Festival". Hindustan Times. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ Lookhar, Mayur. "Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajshri Deshpande make digital debut in McMafia". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Sacred Games actor Rajshri Deshpande defends sex scenes: I am not dancing to a derogatory song". 18 July 2018.
- ^ "S Durga Actor Rajshri Deshpande All Set to Shake off Her Small Town Days". News18. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ a b "India Netflix actor Rajshri Deshpande 'disgusted by porn star label'". BBC News. 19 July 2018.
- ^ Iyengar, Shriram. "Ismat Chughtai is in me: Rajshri Deshpande on playing the fearless feminist in Manto". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Rajshri's River of Hope". superaalifragilistic. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2018.[better source needed]
- ^ "Rajshri back to Mollywood". The Times of India. Kochi, India. 3 October 2015.
- ^ "Manto biopic: Rajshri Deshpande eager to enter the world of Nawazuddin Siddiqui". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Aparshakti relives days of struggle with Kanpuriye". Outlook India. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Jimmy Sheirgill's crime thriller film Collar Bomb to premiere on Disney + Hotstar in July". Outlook India. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Kumar, Anuj (14 January 2023). "'Trial By Fire' Netflix series review: Anatomy of a man-made disaster". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
External links edit
