Pallavi Sharda

**Pallavi Sharda** (born 5 March 1992) is an Australian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer of Indian background. She works in Australian, British and Indian movies and television. Sharda is known for her leading role as Asha in the 2022 Netflix romantic comedy _Wedding Season_ and for playing Prama in the Academy Award-nominated movie _Lion_ (2016).

She has appeared in Hindi movies such as _My Name Is Khan_ (2010), _Dus Tola_ (2010), _Besharam_ (2013), _Hawaizaada_ (2015) and _Begum Jaan_ (2017). She also had roles in Australian projects including _Save Your Legs!_ (2012), the TV dramas _Pulse_, _Les Norton_, _Retrograde_, _The Twelve_ and the British Netflix series _The One_.

## Early life

Sharda was born in Perth, Western Australia, to Indian parents Hema and Nalin Sharda, who are both academics. She moved to Melbourne as a young child and grew up in the outer north western suburbs of the city.

She won an academic scholarship to Lowther Hall in Essendon. At the age of 16 she started a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications), as well as a Diploma in Modern Languages (French), at the University of Melbourne. She later finished her degrees with honours.

Sharda trained for many years in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, and also studied some Odissi dance.

## Career

Sharda moved from Melbourne to Mumbai around 2008 to try for a movie career in India. Her first movie role was a small part in Karan Johar's _My Name Is Khan_, which was released in 2010. In the same year, she played Geeta, a village dance teacher, in the Hindi movie _Dus Tola_.

Sharda made her Australian movie debut with the cricket comedy _Save Your Legs!_, released in 2012. She then starred opposite Ranbir Kapoor in _Besharam_ (2013). In _Hawaizaada_ (2015) she played a dancer in late nineteenth century Bombay, and in _Begum Jaan_ (2017) she played Gulabo, a sex worker in rural Punjab.

In 2016, Sharda joined Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in the movie _Lion_, where she played the role of Prama. She later acted in the live action movie _Tom & Jerry_ (2021).

Sharda has also done a lot of television work. She played Tanya Kalchuri in the Australian medical drama _Pulse_ (2017). She then appeared in _Beecham House_, _Strike Back_, and the ABC comedy _Retrograde_ (2020). In 2021, she played Megan Chapman in the British Netflix series _The One_. In 2022 she was part of the main cast of the Australian drama _The Twelve_, which led to a Logie nomination for most outstanding supporting actress for her role as juror Corrie D'Souza.

Outside of drama, she has worked as a presenter. In 2016 she joined the Sony ESPN team as one of the faces of their coverage of the Indian Premier League cricket competition.

In 2022, Sharda played the lead role of Asha in the Netflix romantic comedy _Wedding Season_, which brought her wider attention with global streaming audiences.

## Other work

Sharda won the Miss India Australia title in 2010 in Sydney. In 2015 she was named Queen of Moomba, Melbourne's largest community festival, together with former cricketer Shane Warne.

Sharda is involved in charity and public speaking. She has worked with the social enterprise eKutir on projects in rural India and has encouraged support for sanitation and health programs there. She has spoken at events about Asia literacy in Australia, India-Australia relations and women's rights.

In 2023, Sharda was appointed to the board of Screen Australia, becoming its youngest member and the first of Indian background. She has also supported campaigns for World Vision Australia and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation through the Witchery White Shirt campaign.