Sonakshi Sinha

Sonakshi Sinha (pronounced [soːnaːkʂi sɪnɦa]; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. The daughter of actors and politicians Poonam and Shatrughan Sinha, she has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list from 2012 to 2017, and in 2019. Her accolades include a Filmfare Award.
After working as a costume designer in independent films, she made her acting debut with the action film Dabangg in 2010, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Sinha rose to prominence by playing the leading lady in several male-dominated action films, including Rowdy Rathore (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Dabangg 2 (2012), and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014), in addition to appearing in a variety of item numbers. Sinha received critical acclaim for playing a troubled woman suffering from tuberculosis in the period drama Lootera (2013), for which she earned a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. This success was followed by a series of commercially unsuccessful films, with the exception of Mission Mangal (2019). She has since gained critical praise for her starring roles in the Amazon Prime thriller series Dahaad (2023) and the Netflix period drama series Heeramandi (2024), winning a Filmfare OTT Award for the former.
Aside from acting, Sinha has ventured into singing, beginning with a song in her film Tevar (2015). Her debut single, "Aaj Mood Ishqholic Hai" was released in 2015. She is married to actor Zaheer Iqbal.
Sinha was born on 2 June 1987 in Patna, Bihar, to film actors Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha (née Chandiramani). Her father belongs to a Bihari family while her mother is from a Sindhi Hindu family. Her father served as a member of parliament of the Bharatiya Janata Party, before he switched to the Indian National Congress in 2019. Sinha is the youngest of three children – she has twin brothers, Luv Sinha and Kush Sinha. She studied at Arya Vidya Mandir and later graduated in the fashion design program at Premlila Vithaldas Polytechnic of Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University. Sinha worked briefly as a costume designer, designing the costumes for films such as Mera Dil Leke Dekho in 2005.
Sinha made her acting debut in 2010's Dabangg, starring opposite Salman Khan. This film went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2010 and ultimately emerged as an all-time blockbuster. Sinha had to lose 30 kg in preparation for her role as a village girl. Her performance was well received, with critic Taran Adarsh noting that "Sonakshi Sinha looks fresh, acts confidently and pairs off very well with Salman. Most importantly, she delivers the right expressions and is not overpowered by the galaxy of stars in the cast." Although Sinha had no film releases in 2011, she won awards that year for her debut. This included the Filmfare Award and the IIFA Awards, among others.
Sinha had four releases in 2012, the first being Prabhu Deva's Rowdy Rathore, opposite Akshay Kumar. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, although it had a strong opening at the box office, collecting approx. ₹150.6 million (US$1.8 million) on the first day and eventually became a blockbuster. Despite this, Rajeev Masand criticized her ornamental role, writing that Sinha "seems to exist in this film only to have her midriff repeatedly pinched by Akshay Kumar." Her next film, Shirish Kunder's Joker (also opposite Akshay Kumar) proved to be a commercial disaster at the box office and received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Her third film, Ashwni Dhir's Son of Sardaar (opposite Ajay Devgn) was poorly received by critics but proved to be an economic success. Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV noted that Sinha "endeavours to be pretty and dainty amid all the madness." Arbaaz Khan's Dabangg 2, the sequel to her immensely successful debut, garnered little praise from critics, though it proved to be a major financial success. Sinha also dubbed the voice role of Tooth in the Hindi version of Rise of the Guardians.
Sinha's first film of 2013 was Vikramaditya Motwane's period romantic drama Lootera, placing her opposite Ranveer Singh. Despite receiving a lukewarm response at the box office, the film received positive reviews, with Sinha's portrayal of Pakhi, a Bengali girl who is dying of tuberculosis, receiving widespread acclaim from critics. Sarita Tanwar notes that "the star of the film is undoubtedly Sinha [who gives] a mature and refined performance. She lives the character body and soul." Raja Sen agrees, saying that "Sinha plays Pakhi beautifully, creating a character who is immaculately wide-eyed and possesses casual, yet unmistakable, grace. It is a performance that starts off dreamily soft and turns harder, and she does well-etched dialogue justice like few actresses can. There's a discernible vulnerability to Pakhi throughout the film, and Sinha brings out this fragility perfectly without ever overplaying it." She next appeared in Milan Luthria's crime romance film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! in which she was paired with Akshay Kumar again, as well as Imran Khan. The movie was a commercial disappointment, and critic Mohar Basu labeled her "a chatterbox replete with idioticity which the director frames as naiveness." Sinha then appeared in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Bullett Raja opposite Saif Ali Khan, which was a box office flop. Her final release of the year was Prabhu Deva's R... Rajkumar opposite Shahid Kapoor. Despite its moderate commercial success, the film and her performance received negative reviews. Taran Adarsh labeled her "repetitive" and noted that she needed to "reinvent herself." For the song Gandi Baat in R... Rajkumar, Sinha refused to wear a bikini while emerging from the pool of water out of comfort and respect. Instead, Sinha wore a saree for that sequence of the song.
In 2014, after providing the voice of Jewel in the Hindi-dubbed Rio 2, Sinha was seen in A.R. Murugadoss's action thriller Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, a remake of the director's Tamil film Thuppakki. Starring opposite Akshay Kumar, Sinha appeared as a boxer. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and emerged as a box office hit. Jyoti Sharma Bawa said of Sinha's portrayal: "Sonakshi has nothing to do much in the film and overacts in places. For an actor who has already proved her mettle in the acting department, this definitely is a downer." Sinha appeared in a music video with Yo Yo Honey Singh titled Superstar. In July, Sinha jointly bought a team in the World Kabaddi League. Her second release of 2014 was Prabhu Deva's Action Jackson, with Ajay Devgn and Yami Gautam. She made her Tamil cinema debut opposite Rajinikanth in KS Ravikumar's Lingaa, which was her final release of 2014.
In 2015, she appeared in Boney Kapoor's remake of Okkadu, titled Tevar, opposite Arjun Kapoor. In his review, Rajeev Masand wrote: "Sonakshi Sinha, playing another simpering damsel in another South remake, once again has nothing to do. She appears content showing up for a few dance numbers, and waiting around for a man to save her." Tevar underperformed at the box office and was one of the biggest flops of the year. Sonakshi released her debut single Aaj Mood Ishqholic Hai in collaboration with Meet Bros on 23 December 2015. The following year, Sinha starred in the remake of the 2011 Tamil film Mouna Guru, entitled Akira. The film was an action-drama from director AR Murugadoss in which she played an aggressive college student. It initially recovered 15.5 crore and went on to make over 33+ crore on box office, becoming an average grosser. Then she appeared in Abhinay Deo's action-thriller Force 2 opposite John Abraham. The film, made on a low budget, grossed over 58.75 crore and was declared an average grosser. Though Sinha's character was labeled as an unformed agent, her performance received some acclaim. Bollywood Life reviewed that "Sonakshi Sinha is believable in action scenes she got and ably supports John."
In 2017, she was seen in Sunhil Sippy's comedy film Noor, based on Saba Imtiaz's novel Karachi, You're Killing Me!. She featured in the titular role of Noor alongside Kanan Gill, Shibani Dandekar and Purab Kohli. Her performance received major acclaim, with one reviewer writing that "Sonakshi Sinha pulls off her character without appearing to try too hard." Hindustan Times wrote that "Sonakshi looks quite convincing with the grimaces, pouts, eye rolls, scowls and goofy grins – displaying an amusing dorkiness. Even when her character turns serious, Sonakshi displays her prowess and aces the grim looks." Commercially, the film flopped. Her last film release in the year was Abhay Chopra's Ittefaq, a remake of the 1969 murder mystery Ittefaq, opposite Sidharth Malhotra, and Akshay Khanna. The film was a moderate box-office success. It was a commercial failure. In March 2017, Sinha announced that she was working on a new single. Despite speculation she might perform as the opening act for Canadian singer Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour concert at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on 10 May, this performance did not occur.
In 2018, she was seen in the comedy spoof film Welcome to New York, with an ensemble cast including Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Johar. The film was shot during the 2017 IIFA Awards, and was the first film to be based on an award show. It received overwhelming negative reviews and Sinha's appearance in the film was particularly criticized, with Rajeev Masand of News 18 saying that "Not very funny, unfortunately, is Sonakshi Sinha, who comes off exaggerated and out-of-step even in a film of such ridiculously low standards. She spends the bulk of her time on screen contorting her face like Jim Carrey, but with none of the same results." The film was also a box office bomb, earning only Rs. 75 lakh on its first day. The same year, Sinha appeared in the female-oriented comedy film Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi along with Diana Penty. The film was released on 24 August 2018. As with her previous release, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi was a commercial disappointment. Afterwards, she made a special appearance in a song of Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se.
In 2019, she performed in a song ''Mungda'' in the comedy film Total Dhamaal. She next starred in the period romance film Kalank with an ensemble cast including Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. The film failed to perform well commercially. In 2019, Sinha was cast in the drama film Mission Mangal, which featured an ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and Taapsee Pannu. The project began filming in 2018, and was directed by Jagan Shakti. The film was a massive commercial success at the box-office, grossing over 200 crore on a budget of 30 crore, and receiving positive reviews from critics. Umesh Punwani commended sinha and opined, "She perform with essential ease". Her last 2019 release was the action comedy Dabangg 3 the third installment in the Dabangg film series where she reprised her role Rajjo Pandey. It received negative reviews from critics, who panned its screenplay. Anna M. M. Vetticad from Firstpost Wrote, "Sinha has little to do but pout and look pretty why she is wasting herself so". The film has a worldwide gross collection of est. ₹ 230 crores.
In 2021, she starred as Sunderben Jetha alongside Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Nora Fatehi and Sharad Kelkar in the war drama film Bhuj: The Pride of India. The film panned by critics, who criticized its writing, pace and unrealistic situations. Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV summarised the film. "busy gathering the scattered splinters of its insipid ideas made infinitely worse by resolutely ham-fisted treatment." After this, she portrayed a plus size women, in the comedy film Double XL which was released in November 2022 with negative reviews from critics. Shubhra Gupta for The Indian Express wrote "It is a massive opportunity wasted. Crashing pity."
Sinha expanded to web in 2023, with Dahaad, where she played a police officer. Her portrayal earned her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress Critics – Drama Series. WION's Shomini Sen called her "brilliant" and added that she brings "certain maturity to her character".
In 2024, she briefly appeared in the science-fiction action film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan alongside Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Prithviraj Sukumaran. It was theatrically released on Eid to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb. Monika Rawal Kukreja stated that she brings "nothing new to the table". Following this, Sinha played the dual characters of courtesan mother and daughter in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Heeramandi. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in found her to be "in-form" and added, "Sinha is utterly comfortable with Fareedan’s dastardly scheming; plus, she has the diction to carry off the aphoristic dialogue." While, Sukanya Verma noted, "Bhansali gives Sonakshi's Fareedan a lot of heavy lifting to do and the lady does not disappoint." Later the year, she appeared alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Saqib Saleem in Kakuda, playing dual characters.
She started dating Zaheer Iqbal in 2017. They starred together in the film Double XL in 2022. She married him on 23 June 2024 in a civil ceremony under the Special Marriage Act.
Sinha is a vegan. In an interview, Sinha stated that she prefers to stay with her parents, Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha even after buying her own house. When asked if she has any plans to move out of her parents' home, she was quick to add that staying alone is a very tough thing and she does not want to do that. However, Sinha finally moved out in 2023.
Sinha is a self-professed animal lover, and she posed for a PETA campaign advocating the adoption and sterilization of dogs and cats. She has starred in a one-minute video PSA, urging viewers to adopt animals and have them sterilised. She has been quoted as saying: "Breeders, pet stores and people who don't sterilize their animals are responsible for all the animals who end up homeless. Every time someone buys a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, a homeless animal roaming the streets or waiting in an animal shelter loses a chance at a home and a good life." In 2022, PETA India named her their 2022 Person of the Year. She also promotes breaking the stereotypes of typical body size.
Megha Mahindru of Vogue found Sinha to be "Barefaced, beautiful and brave". Nikita Sawant of Femina termed Sinha a "gifted actor" and noted, "Wry sense of humour, tinkling laughter and chilled-out persona are just a few of the many things right with her." Commenting on her performance in Lootera, Devesh Sharma of Filmfare noted, "She's done her share of arm candy roles and even in those she managed to strike her own niche. With Lootera, she gave an advance notice of her amazing capabilities as a performer."
Sinha has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list. In 2012, she placed 41st with an estimated annual income of ₹107 million (US$1.2 million). In 2019, she placed 59th with an estimated annual income of ₹61.4 million (US$720,000). She was also inducted into the Bollywood Walk of Fame at Bandra Bandstand, where her hand print was preserved. In 2013 Sinha was included in Rediff.com's "Top 10 Bollywood performances" and "Change-Makers of Bollywood" list. In 2014, she ranked 5th in its "Top 10 Bollywood actresses" list. Sinha is an endorser for brands and products including Dabur, Chik Shampoo, Provogue and Gitanjali Jewellers. In 2022, she launched her own nail brand SOEZI.
From the Filmfare Awards, Sinha has won Best Female Debut for Dabangg and was nominated for Best Actress for Lootera.