Amrita Rao - Bollywood Actrees

A student of psychology from Sophiya College, Amrita was always fascinated by acting, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought that one day she would pursue it – ‘especially because I had no contacts in the film industry at all. I thought it was tough battle if one wanted to establish oneself here. I guess I was destined to be here!’Coming from a very well to do, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family, this Gemini born (on June 17th) started her modeling career with ‘Fairever’ fairness cream ad but it was the Close-up ad that fetched her recognition. Within 18 months, she was the face that promoted Major Brands such as Clean & Clear Face Wash, Pantene Hair Wash, Wringly Chewing Gum, Domino's Pizza, Anne French, HMT Watches and a lot of South Indian ads.

But it was after the success of the Cadbury's Perk and the Bru coffee ad that movie offers started pouring in. Having modeled for nearly 35 ads, her decision to act in films didn't come as a surprise. But unlike other models who dropped out of college to pursue their careers, Amrita preferred to thumb down film offers to complete her studies.

"Raj Kanwar saw that ad and got in touch with me for Ab Ke Baras opposite Arya Babbar, who was debuting in the film.” She continues, "Since Ab Ke Baras has a reincarnation theme and I get to portray two different characters in the film,I could not have asked for anything better.”

Rajkumar Santoshi approached Amrita after seeing her in a coffee ad but she turned down the film offer since she wanted to concentrate on her studies. Then came Legend of Bhagat Singh with the brief role of playing Bhagat Singh’s fiancé and Amrita agreed. “Few know about the sacrifice she makes by living as his widow even though they never marry. The character does leave its impact in the film."

Besides ‘Legend Of Bhagat Singh’ Amrita Rao was also seen in Ishq Vishq, Masti and Main Hoon Na. Fortunately for her, all the films became were a hit. Her latest release is Deewar with Akshaye Khanna.

Apart from acting, Amrita likes watching Sajid Khan’s shows and reading books that have stories in them. “Like recently I enjoyed reading Chitra Banerjee's book called Arranged Marriage. I also relish reading short stories written by Jeffery Archer”, she says.

Amrita cannot stand snobbish people and selfish behavior. On a blind date, she would love to go with Brad Pitt, but her secret ambition remains having a holiday in Venice on her own. But this one is not only beauty with brains but also a compassionate softhearted girl, who wants to become a social worker and help the mentally challenged kids. Her philosophy of life remains, “Life is short and sweet, so make others happy and never let anyone down”. She can be reached at fanmail@amrita-rao.com.