Anushka Sharma: An essential A-Z

by ASJAD NAZIR

A CELEBRATION OF EVERYTHING GREAT ABOUT THE HIT BOLLYWOOD STAR AND PRODUCER

EARLIER this month, Anushka Sharma turned a year older and celebrated her 30th birthday.

The actress, producer and business entrepre­neur has a remarkable number of achievements at such a young age and is also one half of the hottest celebrity couple in India.

To celebrate the popular star continuing to be fabulous, Eastern Eye went through her life to pre­sent an all-you-need-to-know A-to-Z about her...

A is for Army: Anushka Sharma was born on May 1, 1988 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, to an army colonel father and a homemaker mother. Anushka takes great pride in being born into a military fam­ily and said it played an important part in shaping her as a person. She was later raised in Bangalore and educated at an army school there.

B is for Band Baaja Baarat: A big early turn­ing point in the career of the actress was the wedding-set drama which marked the Bolly­wood debut of Ranveer Singh. Anushka had top billing in the acclaimed film that clocked up big numbers at the box office and gar­nered several award nominations.

C is for Charity: The big-hearted star has done a lot of work for charitable causes, which has included helping to raise money and raising awareness of social causes like woman empowerment, and educa­tion of children. The actress has also donated money to worthy causes and auctioned off the leather jacket she wore in Jab Tak Hain Jaan, with pro­ceeds going to the redevel­opment of the flood-rav­aged states of Kash­mir and Assam.

D is for Dog: A devoted dog owner, Anushka is a passionate supporter of animal rights and endorsed a number of connected campaigns, including raising awareness on social media. She condemned the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China and urged fans to sign an online peti­tion aimed at stopping it. She also launched the campaign Pawsitivi­ty, which is aimed at sensitising people about the adverse effects of noise, air, water and soil pollu­tion on animals.

E is for endorsements: The in-demand star makes big money from endorsing various products, in­cluding leading beauty brands and ones with her partner Virat Kohli (see I). She is seen as a massive commercial asset with brands both as a solo name and as one half of a hot celebrity couple.

F is for favourites: Some of her favour­ite pastimes are reading and watching movies. Films she loves include The Shaw­shank Redemption, Life Is Beautiful, In the Mood For Love, Fish Tank, Jab We Met, Chak De! India and Dil Se. The Hollywood actor Anushka would love to get romanced by onscreen is Ryan Gosling.

G is for Ghost: The actress played an adorable ghost who is trying to reunite with a long-lost love in her second home production Phillauri. The movie may not have generated the box of­fice numbers it should have deserved, but we at Eastern Eye reckon that it was one of the finest Bollywood films of 2017 and everyone should watch it.

H is for Home Production: Anushka launched her home production banner Clean Slate Films with 2015 drama NH10. She became one of the youngest leading ladies in the history of Indian cinema to set up her own production house. She has since produced acclaimed films Phillauri and Pari. All of her three films have been in different genres and she has played a challenging role in each.

I is for Italy: Anushka married long-term love Virat Kohli at a private ceremony in Florence, It­aly on December 11, 2017. The picturesque wedding got massive attention in global media and sent social networks into meltdown. Cricket hero Virat has credited Anushka for supporting him through difficult phases of his career. They have arguably become the hottest celebrity cou­ple in India and are fondly known as a Virushka.

J is for journalist: Before becoming a model, Anushka contemplated a career in journalism. Since excelling as an actress, she has played roles connected to journalism in Jab Tak Hain Jaan and PK (see P).

K is for Khans: Anushka is one of the few actresses to star opposite arguably Bollywood's biggest three stars Aamir, Sal­man and Shah Rukh Khan. She made her debut opposite Shah Rukh (see R), starred opposite Salman in smash hit film Sultan, and then alongside Aamir in re­cord-breaking comedy drama PK.

L is Lage Raho Munnabhai: Anushka’s first ap­pearance in Bollywood was on a poster from her modelling days in Raj Kumar Hirani’s film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Sanjay Dutt walks past her poster in the film. She later starred in the ace di­rector’s record-breaking movie PK and will next be seen in his Sanjay Dutt biopic.

M is for Misses: It hasn’t been all plain-sailing for the actress, and she has had some misses dur­ing her decade-long career. The most high-pro­file failure was big budget movie Bombay Velvet (2015), which was largely rejected by critics and under-performed spectacularly at the box office. The failure was magnified further by the criticism she received for having lip-fillers for the role.

N is for No: The in-demand actress has rejected a number of high-profile projects during her ca­reer including Tamasha, 2 States, Ki & Ka and Baar Baar Dekho, which other leading ladies stepped into. She also auditioned for 3 Idiots, but got a no and the role went to Kareena Ka­poor instead.

O is for Outfits: The actress realised a long held dream of launching her own fashion line NUSH in 2017. Although the line ran into a little con­troversy, the ready-to-wear designs aimed at the everyday woman have proved to be popular. She is also a style icon in her own right and reg­ularly lights up the red carpet in eye-catching outfits, including stunning designer dresses.

P is for PK: She starred alongside Aamir Khan in hit comedy-drama PK, which became the biggest-grossing Bollywood film in history when it released. The movie was a massive success globally and remains the biggest success of Anushka’s career so far.

Q is for Quotes: The strong-minded actress plays powerful characters, so has given plenty of memorable quotes onscreen and in real life. She has spoken openly about the inequality that exists be­tween male and female stars in the industry. She once said: “Male ac­tors are better valued than us in Hindi cinema.”

R is for Rab Ne Banadi Jodi: The model-turned-actress auditioned for high-profile Rab Ne Banadi Jodi and beat off tough competition to land the lead role opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Her winning debut was the second highest grossing Bollywood film of 2008, which garnered her multiple award nominations and turned her into a global star.

S is for Shah Rukh Khan: The actress has a strong association with Shah Rukh Khan, which includes his film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge being the first she watched in the cinema. She then made her debut with him in Rab Ne Ba­nadi Jodi and has since starred opposite the ac­tor in Jab Tak Hain Jaan and When Harry Met Sejal. Shah Rukh also made a cameo in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and is starring opposite her in his next release Zero.

T is for Training: During her modelling days, Anushka took acting lessons. Old videos of her from acting school emerged on YouTube and showed that she was a natural talent even dur­ing those early years.

U is for Upcoming Films: The actress has a number of interesting movies on the way, in­cluding a key role in Raj Kumar Hirani’s hotly-anticipated Sanjay Dutt biopic starring Ranbir Kapoor. She will also be seen in Zero opposite Shah Rukh Khan, and Sui Dhaaga with Varun Dhawan. Her production house Clean Slate Films is also developing further projects.

V is for Vegetarian: Anushka became a vegetar­ian in 2015. In the same year she was named as the hottest vegetarian by PETA.

W is for Wendell Rodricks: The beautiful babe initially moved to Mumbai to pursue a modeling career. She was signed up by a leading agency and made her runway debut modeling for ace fashion designer Wendell Rodricks. She was subsequently snapped up by other designers and leading brands. She later said: “I think I was born to emote and act. I would walk down the ramp and smile, and they used to say: ‘Give us a blank look’. It was really difficult not to smile”.

X is for X Factor: Most will agree the special quality that has made Anushka a star is she is so relatable and representative of the strong mod­ern-day woman. This has connected her to both men and women in a way most leading ladies haven’t been able to.

Y is for Yash Raj Films: The actress has a strong association with the powerful film banner, which launched her into the big time by produc­ing her first three films Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Badmaash Company and Band Baaja Baaraat. Anushka also starred in the production house’s legendary founder Yash Chopra’s last directorial outing Jab Tak Hain Jaan. She also scored a big success with the Yash Raj Films-produced La­dies vs Ricky Bahl.

Z is for Zero: Anushka stars alongside Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan in the high-profile 2018 Christmas release Zero. The comedy-dra­ma sees Shah Rukh playing a dwarf for the first time and has a whole host of celebrity cameos including the late great actress Sridevi.