Sheetal Agashe

Sheetal Agashe (IAST: Śītala Āgāśe; born 17 May 1977) is an Indian actress and businesswoman, best known for her recurring role on the sitcom Yes Boss (TV series) (1999–2003), her leading role in the independent film Minus One (2005), and for being the managing director of Brihans Natural Products, for which she has been the recipient of a The Times Group, a Femina (India) Pune's Most Powerful Award, and two Times Women of the Year Awards.
== Biography ==
=== Early life and family: 1977 – 2005 ===
Agashe was born on 17 May 1977 in Pune, Maharashtra, into an aristocratic and entrepreneurial Chitpavan brahmin family of industrialist Dnyaneshwar Agashe of the Agashe Noble house (term) of Mangdari, and wife Rekha Gogte, of the Gogte gharana of Belgaum. 
Through her father, Agashe is a granddaughter of Chandrashekhar Agashe, a niece of Panditrao Agashe, a younger sister of Mandar Agashe and Ashutosh Agashe, of distant relation to Third Anglo-Maratha War Army general Bapu Gokhale, musician Ashutosh Phatak, historian Dinkar G. Kelkar, and scientist P. K. Kelkar. Through her mother, she is a great-niece of Raosaheb Gogte, a descendant of the aristocratic Latey family, and of relation to Kokuyo Camlin head Dilip Dandekar, and academic Jyoti Gogte.
Agashe grew up in Pune, where she attended Vidya Bhavan school. In her youth, she was described as dutiful and charitable. She then attended the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce where she acquired a B.Com degree, and was educated further at the University of Pune where she acquired an MBA in marketing and advertising.
=== Career in entertainment: 1999 – 2005 ===
Agashe initially began her career as a television and film actress in Bollywood. Between 1999 and 2003, she had a recurring role on the SAB TV sitcom Yes Boss (TV series), opposite Aasif Sheikh, Rakesh Bedi, Kavita Kapoor, and Delnaaz Irani. Her Eponym character was the personal assistant to Sheikh's character. In January 2000, she self-published a collection of Hindi poetry titled तुम्हारे लिये, under the mononym Sheital. In April 2002, she contributed an essay titled Father's Daughter to her father's festschrift. 
In April 2005, she starred in a leading role opposite Archana Puran Singh and Seema Biswas in the English language independent film Minus One (2005), directed by Renny Mascarenhas. She subsequently left acting, stating that it was her father who encouraged her to transition from her acting into business, aiding her father and brothers in the family businesses.
=== Career in business: 2005 – present ===
In 2005, she joined Brihans Natural Products Limited, an Ayurvedic skincare products manufacturing company founded by her brother Mandar Agashe, as their chief executive officer, having previously been appointed Director (business) at her father's investment firm in 1999. She was appointed the company's managing director in January 2013, becoming the first woman in her family to head a business under their Corporate group.
By 2014, Agashe had limited the range of products being manufactured by the company, choosing to focus on Aloe vera as the prime ingredient in its products. Writing for Femina, Auyon Acharya praised her for employing healthcare professionals, farming experts, and Ayurvedic Doctor on the company's research and development team. In September 2015, she was an award presenter at the Shraavana Queen beauty pageant held in Mumbai and hosted by the Maharashtra Times. By 2016, she began restructuring the company's range under a single umbrella brand.
In April 2018, The Times of India awarded Agashe with a Times Visionary Award from their Pune chapter. The award, presented to her by Abhay Deol, was for her work in "extensively exploring the benefits of Aloe vera in Ayurvedic skincare". In June 2018, she was the recipient of a Pune's Most Powerful Award from Femina, being presented the award by Huma Qureshi at the televised event. In October 2018, she was an award presenter for the Mrs. Stylista beauty pageant hosted by the magazine. In the televised ceremony on Zoom (Indian TV channel), Agashe and Amyra Dastur feted one of the runners-up with a gift hamper from Agashe's company. In December 2018, she was the recipient of a leadership award by the research firm White Page India, which was accepted on her behalf by her CEO. The research firm further praised Agashe for the company's extensive research practices and credited her management for the success of its flagship brand.
In April 2019, Praveen Kulkarni writing for Sakal, praised Agashe for her efforts in rebranding Aloe vera as a modern skincare ingredient, stating how its use in traditional Ayurvedic medicine in the Indian skincare market was seen as outdated at the time of Brihans Natural's establishment in 2000. Kulkarni admitted that the increased popularity of their competitor companies such as Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved had aided Agashe and her company in boosting their profile to the mainstream, allowing them to expand to the Gulf countries and to Singapore. Kulkarni further praised Agashe's use of her marketing and Bollywood background to secure film sponsorships, citing their sponsorhip of the film Hrudayantar (2017), of particular note to the company's marketing strategy. Kulkarni also praised Agashe's attention to locally sourcing the Aloe vera, Phyllanthus emblica, and Hibiscus used in the company's products from Indian farmers, especially from drought-prone districts in Maharashtra, such as Solapur district. Later that same month, she was the recipient of a Times Women of the Year Award from The Times of India, being presented the award by Kiara Advani. In December that same year, Agashe was an award presenter at the 6th Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards. In the televised ceremony, her and Diana Penty presented the award for Woman of Style & Substance to Dia Mirza.
In January 2020, The Economic Times reported on Agashe's management and skincare research after awarding the company's brand Greenleaf with their Promising Brands Award in December 2019. In January 2021, the publication further cited her management's commitment to developing Clinical trial skincare products as the reason for the company's growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that same month, The Times of India awarded her with a second Times Women of the Year Award for her work as an Ayurvedic and natural skincare specialist, with the publication praising her for the success of the company's brands Greenleaf, Brimune and Oraheal. The award was presented to her by Anupam Kher.
In July 2021, Femina praised Agashe for the cult following the company's products have reportedly gained in India, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Malaysia, and Singapore. The magazine praised the company's efforts under Agashe to educate Indian consumers on the benefits of Ayurveda, further reporting the release of the company's Aloe vera based handwashes and sanitsers during the pandemic. In August 2021, Agashe was one of the women in business featured on the cover of Femina's Independence Day (India) issue of their Pune edition. 
In May 2022, Agashe featured on the cover of Femina's Pune issue for their cover story on women in the healthcare industry, with cover story author Rushika Dave, praising her brand for their clinically tested products and further quoting Agashe on the challenges the company faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the magazine having previously compared her management style to that of her father's. In August 2022, at the 67th Filmfare Awards, she and Dia Mirza presented the Filmfare Award for Best Story to Abhishek Kapoor, Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjape, the writers of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021).
== Selected works ==
=== Poetry collections ===
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=== Essays ===
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== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2005	Minus One	Dilshat	Independent film
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Channel 	Notes
1999–2003	Yes Boss 	Sheetal 	SAB TV 	Recurring role
2018 	Femina (India) Pune's Most Powerful 2018-19	Herself 	Zoom 	TV special
2018 	Femina (India) Mrs. Stylista West 2018 	Herself (presenter)	Zoom 	TV special
2019 	6th Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards 	Herself (presenter)	ET Now 	TV special
2022 	67th Filmfare Awards 	Herself (presenter)	Colors TV	TV special
Category:1977 births
Category:People from Pune
Category:Indian actresses
Category:Indian women in business