Swara Bhaskar

Early life and education

Bhaskar was born and raised in Delhi to Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar, a Telugu Indian Navy officer, and his Bihari wife Ira Bhaskar, a professor of cinema studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Her maternal grandmother was from Varanasi.

Bhaskar grew up in Delhi, where she did her schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and subsequently studied English literature at Delhi University's Miranda House where she was classmate with another actress Minisha Lamba. She did her masters in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

Debut and further roles (2009–2012)

Before Bhaskar started acting in films she was associated with N. K. Sharma's "Act One" theater group in Delhi. She shifted to Mumbai in 2008 and made her acting debut with the 2009 film Madholal Keep Walking, which was screened at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival but underperformed at the box office India. She then played a supporting role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's drama Guzaarish (2010), alongside Hritik Roshan and Aishwariya Rai.

Bhaskar then appeared in Srinivas Sunderrajan's black and white thriller The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project, which was touted as India's first mumblecore film, made on the budget of ₹ 40,000 (1000 USD$) and completed in one year, was also the first Indian film to be screened at the Transilvania International Film Festival. However, both Guzaarish and The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project were box-office failures and Bhaskar remained unnoticed for her performances.

Bhaskar garnered widespread recognition among the audience as well as by critics by appearing in the 2011's commercially successful film Tanu Weds Manu in which she played the role of Payal, the best friend of the lead actress Kangana Ranaut, for which she received praise and several nominations, including the Best Supporting Actress conferred by the Filmfare Awards.

Critical and commercial success (2013–present)

In 2013, played the lead role in Listen... Amaya (2013), which also saw the reunion of actors Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval after 28 years, and earned positive reviews from critics. She then appeared in Raanjhanaa, along with Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor, which was one of the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. She received wide critical praise as well as second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role of Bindiya. She appeared in a lead female role in the box-office flop Sabki Bajegi Band opposite Sumeet Vyas and in the moderate successful Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai with Bhanu Uday.

Bhaskar served as a host for Shyam Benegal's television mini-series Samvidhaan, which was based on the making of the Indian Constitution. The series aired on Rajya Sabha TV from March 2014 to May 2014. On her trip to Lahore, Pakistan, Bhaskar appeared as a guest in the Pakistani TV comedy show, Mazaaq Raat which was aired in April 2015.

Bhaskar's had three releases in 2015. In her first release, she reprised her role of Payal in the romantic comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns, a sequel to the 2011 film Tanu Weds Manu. The film and Bhaskar's performance received wide critical acclaim. The film was a financial success as well and became one of the few women-centric film which ranks among the highest-grossing Indian films. Her next release was the romantic drama Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, in which she played the role of Rajkumari Chandrika alongside Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor. Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, reviews while being mixed of the film, however, her performance was well received. With an estimated collection of ₹400 crore (US$60 million), the film became one of the highest-grossing Indian films. That same year she played a minor role in the collaborative bilingual X: Past Is Present. The film was directed by eleven filmmakers, and Bhaskar appeared in Nalan Kumarasamy's segmet "Summer Holiday", which revolves around a young boy (played by Anshuman Jha), who goes to South India for summer holidays where an Aunty seduced him so that her husband can rape him. Although the film received mixed reviews, but her role of Aunty was particularly praised. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu wrote "X: Past Is Present belongs to its womens".

In 2016, Bhaskar played the lead in Anand L. Rai's comedy drama Nil Battey Sannata which marked her fourth collaboration with Rai. Bhaskar was initially sceptic about the film because of the age difference between her and her character, however, she changed her mind after reading the script and played the role of a mother of a teenager. Upon the release, the film as well as Bhaskar's performance received critical acclaim and she was awarded with the Best Actress trophy at the Silk Road International Film Festival in September 2015. She made her web debut in upcoming web series called It’s Not That Simple which is produced by Viacom 18’s streaming service Voot. The show revolves around the idea of marriage, relationships, a woman’s stand in a marriage, love etc.The series feature Swara along with television stars Vivan Bhatena, Akshay Oberoi and Karanveer Mehra in the lead roles. The series is directed by Danish Aslam, who has previously helm' films like Break Ke Baad, Salaam Namaste, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.

Bhaskar has completed shooting for the delayed Abbas Tyrewala's comedy drama Mango, starring Chandan Roy Sanyal and Monali Thakur, being produced under the banner of Kaleidoscope Entertainment. She has also committed to play the lead role in Shashanka Ghosh's Veere Di Wedding, a romantic comedy, co-starring Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Shikha Talsania, about four girls who embark on a trip from Delhi to Europe.