Namrata Shirodkar (born 22 January 1972) is an Indian actress, model, producer and beauty pageant titleholder. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. She won the Femina Miss India title in 1993.She is best known for her works in films such as the Kachche Dhaage (1999), Ezhupunna Tharakan (1999), Vaastav: The Reality (1999) and Pukar (2000), for which she was nominated for the IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award, Astitva (2000), Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), LOC Kargil (2003), and the crossover cinema Bride and Prejudice (2004), which was particularly successful in the UK. She married Telugu actor Mahesh Babu in 2005.

Early life

Namrata Shirodkar was born on 22 January 1972 in a Maharashtrian family of Goan origin. She is the elder sister of actress Shilpa Shirodkar, and the grand daughter of noted Marathi actress Meenakshi Shirodkar, who starred in ''Brahmachari'' (1938).

Career

Shirodkar worked as a model, and was crowned Miss India in 1993. She represented India in the Miss Universe pageant and finished in sixth place. The same year, she also represented India in the Miss Asia Pacific contest and was chosen as first runner-up.She appeared in a brief role as a child artiste with Shatrughan Sinha in the 1977 film ''Shirdi Ke Sai Baba''.Shirodkar's debut film was meant to be ''Purab Ki Laila Pachhim Ki Chhaila'', with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty in the lead and music by Nadeem Shravan. This film was never released. Shirodkar made her actual debut with ''Mere Do Anmol Ratan''. She then went on to star in the films ''Vaastav'' and ''Kachche Dhaage'' (both 1999). Her performance in the former was appreciated.

Modelling career

Shirodkar worked as a model, and was crowned Miss India in 1993. She represented India in the Miss Universe pageant and finished in sixth place. The same year, she also represented India in the Miss Asia Pacific contest and was chosen as first runner-up.

Acting career

She appeared in a brief role as a child artiste with Shatrughan Sinha in the 1977 film ''Shirdi Ke Sai Baba''.Shirodkar's debut film was meant to be ''Purab Ki Laila Pachhim Ki Chhaila'', with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty in the lead and music by Nadeem Shravan. This film was never released. Shirodkar made her actual debut with ''Mere Do Anmol Ratan''. She then went on to star in the films ''Vaastav'' and ''Kachche Dhaage'' (both 1999). Her performance in the former was appreciated.

Personal life

In 2000, Shirodkar met Telugu cinema actor Mahesh Babu on the sets of their film ''Vamsi''. They began dating shortly after filming finished. They married on 10 February 2005 in Mumbai. Shirodkar now lives in Hyderabad with her husband. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.