Kriti Sanon

Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu-language films. She has received a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list of 2019.

After pursuing a degree in engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Sanon briefly worked as a fashion model. She began her acting career by playing the leading lady in the 2014 action films 1: Nenokkadine and Heropanti. The latter earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her career progressed with starring roles in the commercially successful romantic comedies Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) and Luka Chuppi (2019), and her highest-grossing releases came with the ensemble comedies Dilwale (2015) and Housefull 4 (2019).

Sanon won the National Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for playing the title role of a surrogate mother in the comedy-drama Mimi (2021). This success was followed by a series of commercially unsuccessful films, such as the controversial big-budget film Adipurush (2023), though the comedy horror Bhediya (2022) was well-received. Sanon has since had commercial successes in the 2024 comedies Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Crew.

In addition to acting, Sanon has launched her own line of clothing, a fitness company, and a skin-care brand. She also serves as the ambassador of several brands and products.

Early life
Sanon was born on 27 July 1990 in New Delhi to Rahul Sanon, a chartered accountant and Geeta Sanon, a physics professor at the University of Delhi. She hails from a Punjabi Hindu family. Her younger sister, Nupur Sanon, is also an actress. Sanon attended Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram and later secured a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida. She briefly worked as a model before becoming an actress.

Early work and recognition (2014–2020)
Sanon made her acting debut in 2014 with the Telugu psychological action thriller 1: Nenokkadine, playing the love interest of Mahesh Babu's character. The part required her to participate in action sequences filmed at sea; she has said that the experience made her nervous as she did not know how to swim. Reviewers for The Times of India and Sify took note of her beauty and were encouraging of her acting prowess. After completing the first schedule of 1: Nenokkadine, Sanon was signed on for Heropanti, a Hindi action film opposite newcomer Tiger Shroff; she divided her time between both films. Trade journalist Taran Adarsh opined that Sanon "has the trappings of a star", but critic Srijana Das of The Times of India criticised her emoting, calling it "more cheesy than sharp". Heropanti emerged as a commercial success. Sanon won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female for Heropanti.

The following year, Sanon had her second Telugu film release in the crime drama Dohchay, co-starring Naga Chaitanya. She was next cast in Rohit Shetty's action comedy Dilwale with Varun Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, which emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films at that time, grossing more than inr 3720000000 worldwide. Anupama Chopra disliked the film and wrote that Sanon and Dhawan "work as bait, meant to bring in the critical youth segment".

After a yearlong absence from the screen, Sanon teamed with Maddock Films producer Dinesh Vijan, in their first of many collaborations, in his directorial debut Raabta (2017), which featured her and Sushant Singh Rajput as star-crossed lovers. In a scathing review, Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com labelled the film "embarrassingly daft" but took note of Sanon's "statuesque, spirited presence". The film failed commercially. Sanon's starring role as a headstrong small-town woman aspiring to a better life in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's romantic comedy-drama Bareilly Ki Barfi was better received. Co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao as her love interests, the film was an adaptation of French writer Nicholas Barreau's novel The Ingredients of Love. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted that "the burden of making Bareilly Ki Barfi work rests upon Kriti Sanon and she doesn't put a foot wrong", but Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express thought that despite Sanon's effort, her performance lacked naturalism.

Sanon worked in two of Vijan's productions in 2019. She starred in cinematographer Laxman Utekar's Hindi directorial debut, Luka Chuppi, a satire on live-in relationships, which paired her opposite Kartik Aaryan. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare was appreciative of her comic timing. A commercial success, Luka Chuppi grossed inr 1290000000 worldwide. Following an appearance in the unremarkable comedy Arjun Patiala, Sanon played one of the leading ladies in the reincarnation comedy Housefull 4, the fourth instalment of the Housefull franchise, which paired her opposite Akshay Kumar. Despite poor reviews, Housefull 4 was one of the biggest grossers of the year, earning over inr 2800000000. In her final appearance of 2019, Sanon portrayed Parvatibai opposite Arjun Kapoor's Sadashivrao Bhau in Ashutosh Gowariker's period drama Panipat, based on the Third Battle of Panipat, which emerged as a box-office bomb.

Mimi and career fluctuations (2021–2023)
Sanon collaborated once again with Vijan and Utekar in the comedy-drama Mimi (2021), which proved to be a turning point in her career. A remake of the 2011 Marathi drama Mala Aai Vhhaychy!, it starred her in the title role of an aspiring actress who becomes a surrogate mother. Sanon gained 15 kg of weight for scenes involving her character's pregnancy. The film was released digitally on Netflix and JioCinema. Critics were generally unimpressed with the film, but Sanon's performance received praise, with Mashable India deeming it a career-best. Pallabi Dey Purkayastha of WION wrote that Sanon had succeeded in her "attempt to establish herself as a standalone actor, not just a pretty heroine" and took particular note of the subtlety in her performance. Sanon received several awards for her performance, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and the National Film Award for Best Actress (shared with Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi).

Sanon's next release, the comedy Hum Do Hamare Do (2021) opposite Rajkummar Rao, premiered on Disney+ Hotstar. Saibal Chatterjee found hers to be "the most noteworthy performance in [the] unfunny caper". Her first release in 2022 came with the action comedy Bachchhan Paandey, which marked her second collaboration with Akshay Kumar. Adapted from the 2014 Tamil film Jigarthanda, Sanon played a part originally portrayed by a male actor. The film was unable to recoup its inr 1800000000 investment. Sanon starred with Varun Dhawan in Bhediya, the third instalment in Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe. It was shot over a span of two months in various locations of Arunachal Pradesh. Sonal Dedhia of News18 noted how much she stood out in the film despite her limited screen time.

In 2023, Sanon played the leading lady opposite Kartik Aaryan in Shehzada, a remake of the Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today dismissing her as "completely wasted". She played Janaki in Om Raut's mythological film Adipurush, based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, co-starring Prabhas as Raghava. She agreed to the project as she deemed such films "educational for kids". Filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, it had a production budget of inr 5000000000, making it one of the most-expensive Indian films. Critical reception to the film was negative; Devesh Sharma opined, "Sanon is divinely beautiful as Janki but doesn't have much to do here, except look the part of a damsel in distress." Amidst several controversies, it emerged as another box-office bomb for Sanon. She then reunited with Tiger Shroff in Vikas Bahl's science fiction action film Ganapath. Once again, it was a critical and commercial failure.

2024 onward
In 2024, Sanon starred with Shahid Kapoor in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, a science fiction romantic comedy between a man and a robot, in which she played SIFRA, a humanoid robot. Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times was appreciative of her look and body language as a robot, but bemoaned that "the poor storyline doesn't really let her go all out". She next starred with Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan in the female-led heist comedy Crew, in which the trio played flight attendants. In preparation, they received training from former cabin crew members. WION's Shomini Sen was appreciative of Sanon for holding her own in the presence of Tabu and Kapoor Khan. Both Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Crew emerged as commercial successes.

Sanon launched her own production company, named Blue Butterfly Films, under which she will produce and star in Do Patti, a mystery film for Netflix co-starring Kajol.

Other work and media image


Commenting on her career growth in 2017, Chandni Sehgal from Vogue India wrote that she was "more introspective, focused and less insecure" than when she started out. A journalist for Hindustan Times called Sanon a "confident performer" who "can switch from glamourous [sic] to small town personas with ease." In 2021, Sukanya Verma featured her in Rediff.com's list of "Best Bollywood Actresses". Harper's Bazaar's Meghna Sharma stated: "Counted amongst the top female actors in the country today, Kriti’s quiet determination can be credited for her steady rise." In 2019, Sanon appeared in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list, ranking 38th with an estimated annual income of inr 80900000. In 2022, the Indian edition of GQ featured her among the nation's "30 Most Influential Young Indians" list.

Sanon has often gained attention for her sense of style. Sanon has a large social media footprint, with over 54 million followers on Instagram. In 2021, she modelled for designer Manish Malhotra's bridal collection "Nooraniyat". During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanon donated a sum to government's fund. She later collected funds for Kailash Sathyarthi Children's Foundation. Sanon has performed at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Indian Premier League and the 2023 Women's Premier League.

Sanon is an endorser for several brands and products including Coca-Cola, Titan's Raga, Parachute and Tissot. In the Times of India 50 Most Desirable Women list, she ranked 14th in 2017, 13th in 2018, 15th in 2019 and 19th in 2020. Sanon has been vocal on various topics, including pay disparity in Hindi cinema and the "patriarchal mindset" prevalent in the industry. In 2016, Sanon launched her own clothing line, named Ms. Taken. In 2022, she cofounded a fitness startup, named The Tribe, and in the following year, she launched her skincare brand, named Hyphen.

Films

 * All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted.