Mrunal Thakur

Thakur was born on 1 August 1992 in Dhule, Maharashtra, into a Marathi-speaking family. She attended St. Joseph's Convent School in Jalgaon and Vasant Vihar High School near Mumbai. She later enrolled at Kishinchand Chellaram College. College ended early. She left without graduating after landing professional acting roles on television.

Her screen debut came with the Star Plus drama series Mujhse Kuchh Kehti..Yeh Khamoshiyaan, playing Gauri Bhosle from 2012 to 2013. Soon after, she portrayed journalist Sakshi Anand in the thriller series Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek. Arjun. In 2014, Thakur was cast as Bulbul Arora Khanna in Zee TV's soap opera Kumkum Bhagya. The role brought her wider recognition and won her the ITA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She remained with the show until early 2016.

Outside of scripted television, she competed on the sports reality show Box Cricket League 1 in 2014. In 2015, she participated in season seven of the celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye alongside writer Sharad Chandra Tripathi. She also filmed guest appearances in Indonesian television productions, including Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn and the fantasy drama series Nadin.

Thakur entered film through Marathi cinema in 2014, appearing in Hello Nandan, Vitti Dandu, and Surajya. Her first Hindi production was the international drama Love Sonia, directed by Tabrez Noorani. The casting process involved more than a thousand candidates. To prepare for the titular role of a village girl trapped in sex trafficking, Thakur stayed at a brothel in Kolkata to observe the environment firsthand. The film screened at international film festivals in 2018 and won her the Best Newcomer Award at the London Indian Film Festival.

More Hindi film roles followed. In 2019, she played classical dancer Supriya opposite Hrithik Roshan in the biographical drama Super 30. The film became a box-office success. Later that year, she starred opposite John Abraham in the thriller Batla House, which grossed over ₹1.11 billion worldwide.

In 2020, Thakur appeared in Karan Johar's segment of Netflix's anthology Ghost Stories. In 2021, she played Dr. Ananya Prabhu opposite Farhan Akhtar in the sports drama Toofaan and co-starred with Kartik Aaryan in the newsroom thriller Dhamaka. She also appeared alongside Shahid Kapoor in the 2022 cricket drama Jersey.

In 2022, Thakur made her Telugu cinema debut in Hanu Raghavapudi's period romantic drama Sita Ramam. She starred opposite Dulquer Salmaan as Sita Mahalakshmi. The film became a box-office hit. Critics praised her performance, and she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Telugu along with multiple South Indian International Movie Awards.

In 2023, she starred opposite Nani in the Telugu drama Hi Nanna. The film was a critical and commercial hit. It earned her the SIIMA Award for Best Actress Critics and the IIFA Utsavam Award for Best Actress. In Hindi cinema, she appeared in the 2023 streaming war drama Pippa opposite Ishaan Khatter, portraying radar communications officer Radha Mehta.

Her subsequent work includes the 2024 Telugu film The Family Star alongside Vijay Deverakonda and a cameo in the science-fiction film Kalki 2898 AD. She played Pakistani dancer Rabia Akhtar in the 2025 comedy Son of Sardaar 2 alongside Ajay Devgn, followed by roles in the romantic drama Do Deewane Seher Mein and the bilingual action romance Dacoit: A Love Story.