Kangana Ranaut

Born: 20 March, 1987 in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India

Biography: Born in Bhambla village Kangana was born in a middle class family to a businessman and school teacher, Amardeep and Asha Ranaut respectively. She did her schooling from Chandigarh before she moved to Delhi to become a model and theatre actor.

Kangana Ranaut joined a theatre group called ‘Ashmita’ and performed in plays like Madhavi and Rakht Kalyan. She also joined the Elite Modelling Agency in 2003 to become a model but this attempt proved futile. Later, she moved to Mumbai to attempt a career in films.

After 2 years of struggle, she got her first big break in the form of Mahesh Bhatt’s film Gangster. Kangana was having coffee in a Café, when she was spotted by Anurag Basu who was in search of the right face for Gangster and asked her to give an audition. Kangana’s performance in this film was greatly appreciated and she won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for the same.

After Gangster she appeared in many successful films like Woh Lamhe, Life in a Metro, Fashion and Raaz - The Mystery Continues. Raaz was a great commercial success. Her performances have earned her many critically acclaimed reviews. In Fashion, Kangana played the role of Shonali, a supermodel whose life is wrecked due to constant pressure and lack of love, and who loses herself to drugs. She was greatly appreciated for this performance.

She will be next seen with Bobby Deol in the film ‘Roshan’ and with Hrithik in the film ‘Kites’. Kangana’s performances are powerful and raw, and she has the knack of instantly connecting with the audience.