Meet actor who left BTech, debuted in TV, earned fame in Telugu cinema, auditioned for Hollywood and is now set to join Rs 800 cr project

Pink Villa

a day ago

This actor is in the spotlight for her next project, which is touted to be one of the biggest films ever produced, where she will be joining some of the top stars across the film fraternity. Her transition from television to mainstream cinema has been lauded immensely, as the diva has secured some of the most prestigious movie roles one after the other.
Can you guess who we are talking about? Yes, it's Mrunal Thakur.
Who is Mrunal Thakur?
Born in August 1992, Mrunal hails from a Marathi-speaking family in the state of Maharashtra. She completed her schooling in the city of dreams itself and then joined KC College to pursue a B.Tech degree.
However, due to attendance issues and her keen interest in acting, Mrunal left college without completing her degree. She instead focused on having a career in television.
Early career debut with television
While still in college, Mrunal bagged her first offer for a lead role in the television serial Mujhse Kuchh Kehti… Yeh Khamoshiyaan. She played the character named Gauri Bhosle opposite Mohit Sehgal in the daily soap, which aired on Star Plus from 2012.
By February 2014, she landed her next big serial, Kumkum Bhagya, which catapulted her to household fame in no time. She played the younger sister of the lead female role, which was played by Sriti Jha. Her character of Bulbul received positive reviews from fans and critics alike.
Debut in films in a lead role opposite Hrithik Roshan
In 2014, Mrunal forayed into mainstream cinema with three Marathi films: Hello Nandan, Vitti Dandu, and Surajya.
In 2019, Mrunal Thakur bagged her Bollywood debut in the lead role opposite Hrithik Roshan in Vikas Bahl's movie Super30. This was a commercial success and one of the highest-grossing grossers of the year.
The same year, she paired up opposite John Abraham in the movie Batla House, where she played the role of the actor's wife. This was again a commercially successful movie at the box office.
Mrunal Thakur's Telugu films, success with sleeper hit Sita Ramam
Mrunal's next venture was unprecedented as she went on to earn stripes in Telugu cinema as well. Her debut project was with Dulquer Salmaan in Sita Ramam. The period romantic drama was a sleeper hit, and also won critical applause for her performance.
The diva even won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress-Telugu for her role as Sita in the Hanu Raghavapudi directorial.
By 2023, Mrunal Thakur delivered yet another smashing success with Nani starrer Hi Nanna. The Telugu romance became the first solo movie to be a box office success that year.
In 2024, the actress paired up opposite Vijay Deverakonda in the movie The Family Star. Despite the hype, this film failed to raise buzz and tanked at the box office.
Mrunal Thakur auditioned for a Hollywood film
One of the lesser-known anecdotes about Mrunal Thakur is that she had once auditioned for a role in the popular Hollywood film franchise The Matrix.
Well, she had auditioned for a role in Matrix Resurrections in 2021. However, she did not secure the offer, and instead, it went to Priyanka Chopra.
Mrunal Thakur's work front ahead
Moving on, Mrunal Thakur has grabbed attention for her next film, which is Allu Arjun and Atlee's mega project AA22xA6. The Rs. 800 crore project, which already stars Deepika Padukone in a lead role, will feature her as the second female lead.
Besides this, she has another Telugu movie, Dacoit, opposite Adivi Sesh.
Some of her upcoming Hindi projects include Son of Sardaar 2, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai with Varun Dhawan, Tum Toh Ho with Siddhanth Chaturvedi, and Pooja Meri Jaan with Huma Qureshi.