# Vaani Kapoor

Vaani Kapoor (born 23 August 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. After completing a bachelor's degree in tourism studies, she made her acting debut with Yash Raj Films' romantic comedy film Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
After facing criticism for her performances in the company's romantic comedies Aaha Kalyanam (2014) and Befikre (2016), Kapoor took a three-year hiatus. She has since played brief roles of the love interest in action films, such as War (2019), and gained praise for starring as a transgender woman in the romantic comedy Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021).

## Early life

Kapoor was born in Delhi, India, into a Punjabi Hindu family. Kapoor's father Shiv Kapoor is a furniture exports entrepreneur and her mother Dimpy Kapoor is a teacher-turned marketing executive. She did her schooling from Mata Jai Kaur Public School in Ashok Vihar, North West Delhi. Later she enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University at Maidan Garhi, completing a bachelor's degree in tourism studies, after which she took up an internship with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts in Jaipur, Rajasthan and later worked for ITC Hotel. She was signed by the Elite Model Management for modeling projects.

## Career
### Early success and hiatus (2013–2017)

Kapoor started her career in the Hindi film industry by signing a three films deal with Yash Raj Films. She was selected through an audition to play a supporting role in the romantic comedy Shuddh Desi Romance, alongside Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra. The film dealt with the subject of live-in relationships; it received positive feedback from critics, and Kapoor's portrayal of an outspoken girl, Tara, was praised. Mohar Basu of Koimoi wrote that Kapoor was "a pleasant debutant though she isn’t an overtly powerful actress" while Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times Of India thought that she was "impressive, pretty and commands a good screen-presence". Shuddh Desi Romance collected ₹76 crore (US$9.8 million) at the box-office worldwide and emerged as a commercial success. At the 59th Filmfare Awards, Kapoor was awarded with the Best Female Debut award.
Kapoor's next release was the Tamil romantic comedy Aaha Kalyanam, an official remake of the 2010 Hindi film Band Baaja Baaraat. She was cast opposite Nani and learned the Tamil language for the film. Upon release, the film was panned by critics and her performance was poorly received. In 2016, Kapoor appeared in Aditya Chopra's romantic comedy Befikre opposite Ranveer Singh, which was set in Paris. She played Shyra Gill, a French tourist guide of Indian descent whose romantic liaisons with Singh's character leads to conflict between them. The film received negative reviews from critics and was considered to be a box-office failure. In 2017, she appeared in a music video titled "Main Yaar Manana Ni" by Yashita Sharma under the label of YRF.

### War and beyond (2019–present)

After a three-year break from films, she appeared in Yash Raj Films' action thriller War (2019) opposite Hrithik Roshan, directed by Siddharth Anand. Upon release, War broke several opening day records and finally emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of 2019 with a gross of ₹475 crore worldwide, thereby being her most successful film so far. However, she was criticised for her limited screen space, and her presence was widely considered as mainly to add a glamour quotient.
In 2021, she teamed up with Akshay Kumar in Bell Bottom, which marked her first film not to be produced by Yash Raj Films. The film was a commercial failure, and she was criticised for choosing another androcentric film after War featuring her in a brief role. Hindustan Times noted, "Kapoor is charming as Akshay's onscreen wife, and for a change, she isn't there just as a trophy wife but complements his character well." Later that year, Kapoor starred in the romantic drama Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. She was praised for her portrayal of a transgender woman in the film. Writing for Times of India, Hiren Kotwani opined that "Kapoor sinks her teeth into her character from the word go and gives a no-holds-barred performance" while also praising her chemistry with Khurrana.
In 2022, Kapoor appeared opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Yash Raj Films' period actioner Shamshera whose release was delayed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It opened to highly negative reviews and poor box-office returns. Writing for Bollywood Hungama opined, "Kapoor's character is not well fleshed out. Audiences may be bewildered to see her leave a fine dancing career and turn into a rebel". Her next release was two years later in the ensemble comedy film Khel Khel Mein, which served as a remake of the 2016 Italian film Perfect Strangers. Titas Chowdhury of News18 bemoaned that Kapoor did not get adequate scope to perform unlike some of the other actors in the ensemble.
Kapoor will next star in the thriller series Mandala Murders for YRF Entertainment, as well as in the films Raid 2, Badtameez Gill and Abir Gulaal.

## Media image

Post her film debut, The Times of India named her the "Most Promising Female Newcomer" of 2013. Kapoor became the seventh most trended actress on Google in India, in 2016. Kapoor is a celebrity endorser for several brands and products including Mango, Lotus Herbals, AJIO and Realme. Vaani Kapoor walked the ramp for designer Nikhita Tandon at the India Runway Week 2019 Winter Festive edition.

## Filmography
### Films

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Shuddh Desi Romance | Tara | |
| 2014 | Aaha Kalyanam | Shruthi Subramaniam | Tamil film |
| 2016 | Befikre | Shyra Gill | |
| 2019 | War | Naina Verma | |
| 2021 | Bell Bottom | Radhika Malhotra | |
| 2021 | Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui | Maanvi Brar | |
| 2022 | Shamshera | Sona | |
| 2024 | Khel Khel Mein | Vartika Malik | |
| 2025 | Badtameez Gill † | TBA | Post-production |
| 2025 | Raid 2 † | TBA | Post-production |
| 2025 | Abir Gulaal † | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Sarvagunn Sampanna † | TBA | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2025 | Mandala Murders † | Rea Thomas | | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Singer(s) | Label | Ref. |
| 2017 | "Main Yaar Manana Ni" | Yashita Sharma | YRF | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2013 | BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Film Debut (Female) | Shuddh Desi Romance | Won |
| 2014 | Filmfare Awards | Best Female Debut | Shuddh Desi Romance | Won |
| 2014 | International Indian Film Academy Awards | Star Debut of the Year (Female) | Shuddh Desi Romance | Won |
| 2014 | Star Guild Awards | Best Female Debut | Shuddh Desi Romance | Won |
| 2014 | Zee Cine Awards | Best Female Debut | Shuddh Desi Romance | Won |
| 2014 | Zee Cine Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Shuddh Desi Romance | Nominated |
| 2014 | Screen Awards | Best Female Debut | Shuddh Desi Romance | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Awards | Best Supporting Actress | War | Nominated |
| 2022 | Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | Disruptor in Cinema | Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui | Won |
| 2022 | Iconic Gold Awards | Powerback Performance of the Year | Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui | Won |
| 2023 | Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards | Super Stylish Charismatic Diva | — | Won |
| 2023 | Bollywood Hungama Style Icons | Most Stylish Trend Setter (Female) | — | Nominated |
| 2023 | Bollywood Hungama Style Icons | Most Stylish Mould Breaking Star (Female) | — | Won |