# Kriti Kharbanda
**Kriti Kharbanda** is an Indian actress who works in Kannada, Telugu, and [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema), known for the Kannada hit *Googly* (2013), the Hindi films *[Raaz: Reboot](https://www.edgepedia.org/raaz-reboot)* (2016) and *Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana* (2017), and the ensemble comedies *Housefull 4* (2019) and *Pagalpanti* (2019). She made her screen debut in the Telugu film *Boni* in 2009 and, by her own count in a 2021 interview, had appeared in over 28 films across four languages.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/) • [2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) In the 2020s she moved into streaming, winning critics' awards for *Taish* (2020) and for the second season of the series *Rana Naidu*.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988; IMDb lists New Delhi as her birthplace, while Rotten Tomatoes lists Bangalore, Karnataka[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kriti_kharbanda) |
| Film debut | *Boni* (2009), a Telugu action film directed by Raj Pippalla, in which she played the female lead[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/) |
| Kannada breakthrough | *Googly* (2013), co-starring Yash; she has said the film "changed everything" for her in the South and led to five new projects[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) • [2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) |
| Hindi debut | *Raaz: Reboot* (2016), directed by Vikram Bhatt for Mukesh Bhatt's banner[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) • [6](https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/first-day-first-shot-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-her-time-as-a-newbie-on-the-sets-of-telugu-film-boni-and-bollywood-film-raaz-reboot/articleshow/79709700.cms) |
| Noted Hindi role | Aarti Shukla in *Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana* (2017), described by IMDb as the best performance of her Hindi film career[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) |
| Awards | SIIMA Critics' Best Actress (Kannada) for *Super Ranga*; Lions Gold Award 2020 for Best Actress in a Comic Role for *Housefull 4*; 2025 wins for *Rana Naidu*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/) |
| Languages | Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Tamil, plus streaming series[7](https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/exclusive-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-being-ousted-from-a-big-movie-once-i-was-replaced-after-signing-the-film-article-13191679.html/amp) |
## Early life and modeling
Kharbanda studied at Baldwin's Girls' High School and later Bishop Cotton Girls' School in [Bangalore](https://www.edgepedia.org/bangalore), and graduated from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College with a diploma in jewelry design.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/) She appeared in advertisements as a child and continued modeling through college, with campaigns for Fair & Lovely, Bhima Jewellers, and Spar; she has said it was her Spar advertisement that brought her first acting break.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/)
She has described an early habit of earning her own money. Her first commercial, an ice cream ad, paid Rs 500; at 14 she earned Rs 18,000 modeling for a lifestyle store and bought a Nokia 7610 with it. While still in college she ran a jewelry-designing venture, won the Young Student Entrepreneur Award from [Canara Bank](https://www.edgepedia.org/canara-bank), and was written up in *The Times of India*; her first profit from the venture was Rs 8,000.[8](https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/take-one-kriti-kharbanda-on-her-days-as-a-jewellery-designer/articleshow/65001537.html)
## South Indian film career
Telugu director Raj Pippalla spotted Kharbanda on a billboard for a supermarket chain while he was in Chennai looking for a lead actress, and she was cast in his action film *Boni* opposite Sumanth Kumar. She has said she made her acting debut in 2009 at the age of 19.[8](https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/take-one-kriti-kharbanda-on-her-days-as-a-jewellery-designer/articleshow/65001537.html) The film did poorly at the box office, but her performance drew positive reviews.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/)
Her Kannada debut came with *Chiru* (2010), a box-office success.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) She has recalled being mobbed by a crowd at a shopping mall around the film's release, an experience she found strange at the time; she and her mother were running a boutique then.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) After supporting and leading roles in Telugu films including *Ala Modalaindi* (2011) and *Teen Maar* (2011), the 2013 Kannada romantic comedy *Googly*, co-starring Yash, made her a recognized name in the South; critics praised her acting, and she followed it with *[Super Ranga](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-ranga)* (2014), *Belli* (2014), *Thirupathi Express* (2014), and *Minchagi Nee Baralu* (2015).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) For *Super Ranga* she won the Critics' Best Actress Award at the [South Indian International Movie Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-indian-international-movie-awards) and received a Filmfare Award South nomination for Best Actress.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/) Her Telugu film *Bruce Lee: The Fighter* (2015) brought nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the [Filmfare Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards) and SIIMA.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/)
## Hindi films and streaming
Kharbanda's Hindi debut, the horror film *Raaz: Reboot* (2016), came about through [Mukesh Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/mukesh-bhatt), who had seen her southern work and cast her without an audition; director [Vikram Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/vikram-bhatt) told her he could already see her character Shaina in her.[6](https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/first-day-first-shot-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-her-time-as-a-newbie-on-the-sets-of-telugu-film-boni-and-bollywood-film-raaz-reboot/articleshow/79709700.cms) Wider recognition came a year later with *Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana* (2017), opposite [Rajkummar Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajkummar-rao); she has said audiences began calling her by her character's name, Aarti.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) She followed with *Guest iin London* (2017), *Veerey Ki Wedding* (2018), *Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se* (2018), a cameo in *Karwaan* (2018), and the comedies *Housefull 4* and *Pagalpanti* (both 2019).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) On Rotten Tomatoes, her highest-rated film is *Karwaan* at 73 percent with critics and her lowest is *Guest iin London* at 0 percent.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kriti_kharbanda)
**Streaming work** has brought her a second wave of recognition. She played Arfa Sayeed Khan in Bejoy Nambiar's *Taish* (2020), released on ZEE5 as both a feature film and a six-episode series, and won the OTT Award for Best Actress, Critics, at the 2020 Star Eminence Awards.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/) Her wedding-themed film *14 Phere* (2021), opposite [Vikrant Massey](https://www.edgepedia.org/vikrant-massey), also premiered on ZEE5; she has said the eight-month pandemic break let her study her character Aditi, whose arc spans ten years, and that she felt she had reinvented herself as an actor during the shoot.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) In the second season of the Netflix series *Rana Naidu* she joined as Alia Oberoi, a role that brought her a 2025 Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in Hindi Web Originals, a Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at the Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest, and a Best Actress win at the Star Eminence Awards.[7](https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/exclusive-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-being-ousted-from-a-big-movie-once-i-was-replaced-after-signing-the-film-article-13191679.html/amp) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/) She has called this phase "Kriti 2.0".[7](https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/exclusive-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-being-ousted-from-a-big-movie-once-i-was-replaced-after-signing-the-film-article-13191679.html/amp)
## Career choices and approach
Kharbanda has spoken about the trade-offs in a multilingual career. In a 2021 interview she said that learning to say no was her biggest professional achievement, and that she wanted to alternate commercial films like *Housefull 4* with films like *Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana* and *Taish*.[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/kriti-kharbanda-learning-to-say-no-in-my-career-is-my-biggest-achievement-101610773965670.html) She has acknowledged that some earlier films were taken for income, and that she now has the standing to decline projects that do not appeal to her.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html) She has also described being replaced in a big film after signing it, an experience she said broke her heart, while looking back on a 16-year journey from *Boni* to *Rana Naidu 2*.[7](https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/exclusive-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-being-ousted-from-a-big-movie-once-i-was-replaced-after-signing-the-film-article-13191679.html/amp)
On language, she has rejected the regional framing of her career: "For me, it is the Indian film industry, and I am proud to be associated with it," she told *The Times of India* in 2022.[10](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/kriti-kharbanda-every-moviegoer-wants-to-be-entertained-irrespective-of-the-language-barrier/articleshow/92282466.cms)
## References
1. [Kriti Kharbanda – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/bio/)
2. [Kriti Kharbanda: The pandemic helped me reinvent myself as an actor, Cinema Express (28 July 2021)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2021/Jul/28/kriti-kharbanda-interview-14-phere-25753.html)
3. [Kriti Kharbanda – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/awards/)
4. [Kriti Kharbanda Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kriti_kharbanda)
5. [Kriti Kharbanda, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3713653/)
6. [First Day, First Shot: Kriti Kharbanda recalls Boni and Raaz: Reboot, Bangalore Mirror (13 December 2020)](https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/first-day-first-shot-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-her-time-as-a-newbie-on-the-sets-of-telugu-film-boni-and-bollywood-film-raaz-reboot/articleshow/79709700.cms)
7. [Exclusive: Kriti Kharbanda recalls being ousted from a big movie once, Moneycontrol](https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/exclusive-kriti-kharbanda-recalls-being-ousted-from-a-big-movie-once-i-was-replaced-after-signing-the-film-article-13191679.html/amp)
8. [Take One: Kriti Kharbanda on her days as a jewellery designer, Mumbai Mirror](https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/take-one-kriti-kharbanda-on-her-days-as-a-jewellery-designer/articleshow/65001537.html)
9. [Kriti Kharbanda: Learning to say no in my career is my biggest achievement, Hindustan Times (16 January 2021)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/kriti-kharbanda-learning-to-say-no-in-my-career-is-my-biggest-achievement-101610773965670.html)
10. [Kriti Kharbanda: Every moviegoer wants to be entertained, irrespective of the language barrier, The Times of India (17 June 2022)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/kriti-kharbanda-every-moviegoer-wants-to-be-entertained-irrespective-of-the-language-barrier/articleshow/92282466.cms)
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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, 2010s onward › Surnames H to P*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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