# Amrita Singh (अमृता सिंह)
**Amrita Singh** (अमृता सिंह) is an Indian film and television actress who was one of the leading heroines of [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) in the 1980s and later became known for negative and maternal character roles in films such as *Aaina* (1993), *Kalyug* (2005), *2 States* (2014), and *Badla* (2019)[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Hadali (then in British India, now in Pakistan)[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/amrita_singh) |
| Debut | *Betaab* (1983) opposite Sunny Deol, an overnight commercial success[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=) |
| Leading-lady era | A decade of commercially successful films including *Mard* (1985), *Chameli Ki Shaadi* (1986), *Naam* (1986), *Khudgarz* (1987), *Waaris* (1988), and *Toofan* (1989)[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=) |
| Marriage | Married actor Saif Ali Khan in October 1991; separated in 2004; two children, Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/) |
| Comeback | Returned to the screen in *23rd March 1931: Shaheed* (2002), then moved to television with Ekta Kapoor's *Kkavyanjali* on Star Plus in 2005[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) |
| Awards | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for *Aaina* (1994); Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role (Critics) for *Kkavyanjali* (2005)[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) |
| Years active | 1983 to 2022, with a break from 1993 to 2002[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) |
## Early life and family
Amrita Singh was born in 1958 in Hadali, now in Pakistan[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/amrita_singh). Her parentage is Sikh-Muslim: her father was Shivinder Singh Virk, an army officer, and her mother was Rukhsana Sultana[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/). Her paternal grandmother, Mohinder Kaur, makes her a great-granddaughter of Sir Sobha Singh, who helped build New Delhi, as well as a grandniece of [Khushwant Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/khushwant-singh), the novelist and newspaper columnist[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=). She attended Modern School in New Delhi[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=). IMDb's biographical trivia carries a note that, despite the widely published birth year of 1958, she was born in 1963; most film references, including Cinemaazi, Rotten Tomatoes, and the Times of India, use 1958[6](https://www.imdb.com/hi/name/nm0802080/bio/) • [7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/-Amrita-Singh/filmography).
## Debut and the leading-lady years, 1983–1993
**A new kind of heroine.** A common friend of director Rahul Rawail and [Dharmendra](https://www.edgepedia.org/dharmendra), Ramesh Behl, discovered Singh and suggested her as the lead for *Betaab*, the film made to launch Dharmendra's son [Sunny Deol](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunny-deol)[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=). Released on 5 August 1983 and produced by Dharmendra, the romance became a commercial success and the second highest grossing Indian film of the year[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/-Amrita-Singh/filmography).
What followed was a run of commercially successful films through the decade: Raj Khosla's *Sunny* (1984), [Manmohan Desai](https://www.edgepedia.org/manmohan-desai)'s *Mard* (1985) opposite [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan), which was the biggest hit of 1985, [Basu Chatterjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/basu-chatterjee)'s romantic comedy *Chameli Ki Shaadi* (1986), Mahesh Bhatt's crime drama *Naam* (1986), Rakesh Roshan's *Khudgarz* (1987), *Waaris* (1988), and *Toofan* (1989)[5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=) • [8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actress/amrita-singh). She was paired on screen with Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt as well as with senior actors including Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, and Jackie Shroff[8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actress/amrita-singh). An IMDb overview notes that she was perhaps the only actress of her era to have a lead role opposite both Dharmendra and his son Sunny Deol[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/).
Cinemaazi describes her screen persona as a departure from the conventional heroine: "a heroine who breathed fire and shushed up anyone who dared disagree with her flare-ups and fury," creating a new leading-heroine template with her "narrowed eyes and reverberating voice"[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=). Singh herself said she enjoyed playing fiery and aggressive women while insisting she was neither bad tempered nor rash in real life[1](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=).
## Marriage and break from acting
Singh married actor [Saif Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saif-ali-khan), the son of actress [Sharmila Tagore](https://www.edgepedia.org/sharmila-tagore) and cricketer [Mansoor Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/mansoor-ali-khan), in October 1991, when she was the more established star of the two[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/). She left her film career at the peak to raise a family[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/) • [8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actress/amrita-singh). In an interview with Simi Garewal she said she never felt she was missing anything, and that there was never a sense of competition[9](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amrita-singh-and-her-career-choices-heroines-villains-anti-hero-8432712/). The couple had two children, Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan, and separated in 2004, eventually divorcing[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/).
## Comeback and character roles, 2002–2022
Singh returned to the screen in the [Bhagat Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/bhagat-singh) biopic *23rd March 1931: Shaheed* (2002), playing [Bobby Deol](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-deol)'s mother[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [10](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/amrita-singh). Her television debut came with [Ekta Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ekta-kapoor)'s *Kkavyanjali* on Star Plus in 2005, where her negative roles drew critical acclaim, and the same year she played Simi Roy in *Kalyug*, described by *The Indian Express* as one of her most underrated roles: the mastermind behind a porn industry, a cruel mercenary and broken mother[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [9](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amrita-singh-and-her-career-choices-heroines-villains-anti-hero-8432712/).
Later work moved through *Shootout at Lokhandwala* (2007), *Aurangzeb* (2013), and *2 States* (2014), in which she played a Punjabi mother unwilling to accept her son's marriage to a Tamilian woman, a performance the Filmfare-published account of her career calls biting and enjoyable[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [9](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amrita-singh-and-her-career-choices-heroines-villains-anti-hero-8432712/). She appeared in *Hindi Medium* (2017) and played Rani Kaur Toor in [Sujoy Ghosh](https://www.edgepedia.org/sujoy-ghosh)'s *Badla* (2019), her highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 63 percent[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/amrita_singh). Her most recent listed film credit is *Heropanti 2* (2022), her lowest-rated at 17 percent[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/amrita_singh) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/).
## Recognition and reception
Singh won the [Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-supporting-actress) for *Aaina* in 1994, and her performance in *2 States* (2014) earned her a second Filmfare nomination in the same category[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/) • [5](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=). For *Kkavyanjali* she received the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role (Critics) in 2005 and a Star Parivaar Award for Favourite Saas[2](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/). Commentators have noted that unlike maternal roles that typecast actresses into one mold, she brought a different character to each mother she played, moving between vamp, heroine, and anti-hero across three decades of work[9](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amrita-singh-and-her-career-choices-heroines-villains-anti-hero-8432712/).
## References
1. [Amrita Singh – Artists, Cinemaazi](https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/amritasingh?ctr=829&filterBy=a&people=&search=)
2. [Amrita Singh: News, Movies, Photos & Updates, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/about/amrita-singh/)
3. [Amrita Singh Movies List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/amrita_singh)
4. [Amrita Singh (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802080/)
5. [Amrita Singh – Artists (full article), Cinemaazi](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/amritasingh?ctr=843&filterBy=a&people=&search=)
6. [Amrita Singh – Biography (Hindi), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/name/nm0802080/bio/)
7. [Amrita Singh Filmography, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/-Amrita-Singh/filmography)
8. [Amrita Singh – Filmography & Biography, Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actress/amrita-singh)
9. [Amrita Singh, and her unconventional career choices, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amrita-singh-and-her-career-choices-heroines-villains-anti-hero-8432712/)
10. [Amrita Singh – Filmography & Biography (actor page), Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/amrita-singh)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 1970s–1980s › Surnames M to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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