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Pallavi Sharda

Pallavi Sharda
Sharda in 2025
Born (1985-03-05) 5 March 1985 (age 40)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present
TitleMiss India Australia 2010
Parent(s)Hema Sharda
Nalin Sharda

Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1985) is an Australian actress and Bharathanatyam dancer of Indian descent. She is best known for her role in the Academy Award-nominated film Lion (2016). She has also starred in Hindi-language films Besharam (2013), Hawaizaada (2015), and Begum Jaan (2017). She starred in the 2012 Australian film Save Your Legs! and the 2019 TV series Les Norton. Sharda starred in Tom & Jerry, The Twelve, and the rom-com Wedding Season.

Early life and education

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Pallavi Sharda was born on 5 October 1988 in Perth, Western Australia.[1][2] Her mother, Hema Sharda, has a PhD in microelectronics, and her father, Nalin Sharda has a PhD in information technology, and both are professors.[2][3][4] They migrated to Australia in the early 1980s, soon after the birth of Pallavi's elder brother.[2][5]

Sharda moved to Melbourne as a toddler, where she grew up in the outer north-western suburbs.[2]

She went to school at Lowther Hall in Essendon, where she obtained an academic scholarship[2] and at the age of 16 commenced her LLB and BA (Media & Communications) and Diploma in Modern Languages (French) at the University of Melbourne, graduating with honours at 21.[6][2] the title of her dissertation was "Representation of cross-cultural communities in Australian media", in which she looked at the work of the British Indian film director Gurinder Chadha, "one of the pioneering women of colour in the 1990s in Britain".[7]

She trained for many years in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form,[8] and also learnt some Odissi dance.[9]

Career

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Screen

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Sharda moved from Melbourne to Mumbai around 2008-2010 to follow a career in film.[2][8][1][10] She started her career by playing a cameo in Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan, released in 2010.[11][8]

She next starred in the comedy drama film, Dus Tola (2010) opposite acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee, in which she played the role of Geeta, a village dance teacher. Sharda's performance was considered the best element of the film by The Times of India.[12] In 2011 and 2012 Sharda was the lead actress of the theatrical musical, Taj Express directed by Shruti Merchant and choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant.[13]

Sharda made her Australian film debut with comedy film Save Your Legs, which released on 28 February 2013.[14] She then appeared in Abhinav Kashyap's Bollywood film Besharam,[15] a breakthrough performance opposite Ranbir Kapoor,[10] in which she portrayed a woman whose car is stolen by a petty thief.

Sharda's next Bollywood venture, Hawaizaada, was released worldwide on 30 January 2015. Directed by Vibhu Puri and co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Mithun Chakraborty, the film is inspired by the true events of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who is believed to have flown an unmanned aircraft in 1895 Bombay. Sharda received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a courtesan dancer during the British Raj era in Mumbai.[16]

Sharda joined Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in the Hollywood film Lion in 2016.[17] Her next Bollywood film, Begum Jaan, released in April 2017.[18] Sharda received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Gulabo, a sex worker in rural Punjab, at the time of Pakistan's partition from India.[19]

Sharda played a leading role in ABC Television's medical drama Pulse (2017), which earned her the Casting Guild of Australia's "Rising Star" award.[20] She played Georgie in the ABC-TV series Les Norton in 2019. In 2020, she starred in Beecham House, ITV's historical drama series directed by Gurinder Chadha,[21][22] the British Indian director whose work she wrote about in her dissertation at university.[7] In July of the same year, she starred in ABC TV's Retrograde, a six-part dramedy about life for a group of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[23][24]

In 2022 she starred in the Australian award-winning drama The Twelve opposite Sam Neil,[25] this garnered her a Logie nomination for Most outstanding supporting actress for her portrayal of 24 year old Corrie D'Souza – a head juror marred by her own story of PTSD in 2023.[26]

Audio

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Sharda starred in the Audible original podcast The Missed, written by Sami Shah and released in August 2022.[27]

Other activities

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Sharda joined Sony ESPN's team as their new face for the IPL 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL).[28]

As of 2016 Sharda was on the board of advisers for the social enterprise eKutir, located in the state of Odissa in eastern India,[29] founded by KC Mishra.[30] She was the ambassador of a sanitation project called Svadha, and encouraged Australians to donate to the cause.[29] She worked with eKutir for several years.[30]

In 2017 she was writing a memoir called Which Way to Bombay?,[10] due to be published in 2018.[31]

In 2023, she was appointed to the Screen Australia board.[32][33] She also partnered with World Vision Australia alongside other notable Australian women activists to raise her voices to empower 1,000 girls.[34]

In 2024 Sharda became an ambassador of the Witchery White Shirt campaign, to help raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research.[35]

In 2024 she became an ambassador of the Witchery White Shirt campaign, to help raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research.[36]

In 2025, Sharda began working with Dharma Life, a social enterprise based in India, talking with women social entrepreneurs in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand in northern India.[30]

She has been a regular keynote speaker on Asia Literacy in Australia, cross-cultural relations between India and Australia, and women's empowerment in India.[37]

Recognition and honours

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Sharda was crowned Miss India Australia in Sydney in 2010.[8][38][39]

In 2015 she was appointed the "Queen of Moomba", Melbourne's largest community festival, alongside retired Australian cricketer Shane Warne.[40][10]

In 2020, Sharda was named on the list of 40 forty most influential Asian Australians at the inaugural Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.[41]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2021 Equity Ensemble Awards Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (with Maria Angelico, Nicholas Boshier, Max Brown, Esther Hannaford & Ilai Swindells) Retrograde Won[42]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 My Name Is Khan Sajida Siddiqi
Dus Tola Geeta
Walkaway Sia
2011 The Saviour Pia Short film
Love Breakups Zindagi Radhika
2012 Save Your Legs! Anjali
Heroine Gayatri
2013 Besharam Tara Sharma
2015 Hawaizaada Sitara
UnIndian Shanthi [10]
2016 Lion Prama
2017 Begum Jaan Gulabo
2018 Hotel Mumbai News Voiceover Voice role
Murder Dr. Parvati Agrawal TV film
2021 Tom & Jerry: The Movie Preeta Mehta
2022 Wedding Season Asha

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo Episode: "Uniform Special"
2017 Pulse Tanya Kalchuri Series regular, 8 episodes
2019 Strike Back Samira Shah Episode: "Revolution: Part 3"
Beecham House Chandrika Series regular, 6 episodes
Les Norton Georgie Burman Mini-series
2020 Retrograde Maddie Series regular, 6 episodes
2021 The One Megan Chapman Series regular, 7 episodes
2022 The Twelve Corrie D'Souza TV series: 10 episodes
2024 The Office Alisha Khanna Series regular

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Malivindi, Diandra (18 March 2021). "Meet Pallavi Sharda, The Indian-Australian Actress From Netflix's 'The One' To Keep On Your Radar". Elle. Retrieved 10 May 2024. Pallavi Sharda is a 31-year-old Indian-Australian actress. Standing at 5″3′, she was born in Perth on March 5, 1988
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harris, Sarah. "Profile: Pallavi Sharda living Bollywood dream". Brimbank Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. ^ "UWA Staff Profile : W/Prof Hema Sharda". University of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. ^ Nalin Kant Sharda. "Dr.Nalin Kant Sharda". Nalinsharda.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  5. ^ "I always regretted not being born in India: Pallavi Sharda". The Times of India. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2022. Pallavi Sharda, 25, is an Australia-born Indian... She is extremely close to her academic and independent family...
  6. ^ "Pallavi Sharda - Australian South Asian Centre". 25 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b Sharda, Pallavi (24 August 2020). "'I suddenly became visible' says Pallavi Sharda, the Australian-Indian actress of Hollywood and Bollywood fame". SBS Punjabi (Interview). Interviewed by Singh, Manpreet K. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Banerjee, Debesh (19 October 2010). "Building on Bollywood". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Bollywood dreams". The Telegraph (India). 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Pallavi Sharda". Screen Forever. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  11. ^ "2010-03 Sydney (2) by Indian Link - Issuu". issuu.com. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Dus Tola Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Aboard the Taj Express". The Indian Express. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Pallavi Sharda spreads her wings back home". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  15. ^ Thakkar, Mehul (16 August 2013). "Ranbir Kapoor juggling between the Kashyap brothers". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  16. ^ "'Hawaizaada': A dreamlike masterpiece about a dreamer". The Economic Times. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Pallavi Sharda on working in Oscar-nominated film Lion: I connected with my character". India Today. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Srijit shares picture of his Begum Jaan brigade". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Begum Jaan movie review LIVE: All bow down to Vidya Balan, the begum who means business". Firstpost.com. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  20. ^ "Home". If.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  21. ^ "Pallavi Sharda plays a princess in Gurinder Chadha's period drama". The Times of India. 9 October 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Pallavi Sharda happy to work with Gurinder Chadha". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  23. ^ "ABC series Retrograde launches in July". Screen Australia. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  24. ^ Donoughue, Paul (11 July 2020). "Retrograde, ABC TV's new show, pulls apart life under coronavirus lockdown". ABC News. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  25. ^ "The Twelve, starring Pallavi Sharda, to stream on Lionsgate Play". The Tribune. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  26. ^ "The highlights from all The Twelve Logies winners". Now To Love. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Audible Original podcast series 'The Missed' starring Pallavi Sharda hits Audible this week". Screenwest. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  28. ^ "IPL 2016: Rochelle Rao and Pallavi Sharda to anchor 'Extraaa Innings T20". Sportskeeda.com. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  29. ^ a b Anand, Puneet (7 December 2016). "An evening with Pallavi Sharda". Indian Link. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  30. ^ a b c "Social Enterprise". Pallavi Sharda. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  31. ^ Groves, Don (26 November 2017). "Pallavi Sharda advances the cause of on-screen diversity". IF Magazine. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  32. ^ Quinn, Karl (24 July 2023). "Bollywood star tapped to turbocharge Australian film and television". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  33. ^ "'There are no ceilings now': Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda takes key Screen Australia role". SBS Language. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  34. ^ "World Vision partners with notable Australian females ahead of International Day of the Girl - AdNews". www.adnews.com.au. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  35. ^ Gordon, Georgie (20 April 2024). "'Baggy jeans, a classic shirt and an oversized jacket': Pallavi Sharda's daily style". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  36. ^ Gordon, Georgie (20 April 2024). "'Baggy jeans, a classic shirt and an oversized jacket': Pallavi Sharda's daily style". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  37. ^ "Law graduate turned Bollywood Actress Pallavi Sharda addresses AALA Diwali Dinner". Indusage.com.au. 29 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  38. ^ "I always wanted to dance in Bollywood". Hindustan Times. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  39. ^ "Who is Pallavi Sharda?". The Indian Express. 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  40. ^ Schetzer, Alana (11 February 2015). "Cricketer Shane Warne and Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda named king and queen of Moomba". The Age. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  41. ^ "40 Under 40 Awards Winners". Asian Australian Leaders. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  42. ^ Knox, David (7 May 2021). "Equity Ensemble Awards 2021: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
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