Amruta Khanvilkar (; born 23 November 1984) is an Indian film, television, theatre actress and producer who works primarily in Marathi and Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Marathi cinema and has received several accolades, including a Maharashtra State Film Award, a Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar, and three Maharashtracha Favourite Kon awards.
Khanvilkar aspired to be a film actress from an early age and began her career as a contestant on India's Best Cinestars Ki Khoj in 2004. She made her Marathi film debut with Golmaal (2006), followed by her Hindi debut with Mumbai Salsa (2007). This was followed by commercial success with the romcom Saade Maade Teen (2007), the supernatural horror Phoonk (2008) and the suspense thriller Gaiir (2009). She gained popularity in 2010 with her Lavani dance performance "Wajle Ki Bara" from the Marathi film Natarang. Her performance in the highly praised Katyar Kaljat Ghusali in 2015 won her praise and nominations at the Maharashtra State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards Marathi. Her other notable films are Shala (2011), Aayna Ka Bayna (2012), Welcome Zindagi (2015) and Choricha Mamla (2020). Khanvilkar made her mark with roles in the high-profile Hindi films Raazi (2018), Malang (2020) and made her OTT debut with the web series Damaged, all of which received praise for her portrayal of a complex characters.
The titular role of a tragic Tamasha performer in romantic drama Chandramukhi earned her huge critical and commercial acclaim, and gained further success with the drama Pondicherry and epic historical Har Har Mahadev (both 2022). From 2024 onwards, Khanvilkar continued to shine with diverse roles in Hindi web series Lootere, 36 Days and Taskaree.
In addition to her work in films, Khanvilkar has also been in reality shows such as Nach Baliye 7, where she won, and Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 10, as well as anchoring Dance Maharashtra Dance – Season 1 (2012), Dance India Dance 6, and Famously Filmfare Marathi (2019).
Early life and education Khanvilkar was born in Pune on 23 November 1984 into a Marathi family to Ajit and Gauri Khanvilkar. She has a younger sister, Aditi, who is an air hostess. She was raised in a joint family with her four aunts and grandparents in Vile Parle. Initially, she attended Mahila Sangh School, but her family moved to Pune in 1994 following the 1993 Mumbai attacks. There, she continued her education at Karnataka High School and later graduated from Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce. From a young age, she developed a passion for dance, although her father was initially hesitant to support her in pursuing it.
Career
Early work and film debut (2004–2009) Khanvilkar began her career in 2004 as a contestant on one of the first reality shows on Indian television, Zee Cine Star ki Khoj, and the same year she co-starred alongside Amitabh Bhattacharjee in the Hindi short film Saanjh, presented by the Film and Television Institute of India, a film which won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare. This led to further appearances on the Hindi television shows A.D.A. and Time Bomb 9/11 in 2005.
Khanvilkar made her film debut in the Marathi comedy Golmaal (2006), in which she was paired opposite Bharat Jadhav and Jitendra Joshi, and her performance was well received. In 2007, she made her Hindi film debut in Mumbai Salsa, portraying a nymphomaniac flatmate to Manjari Phadnis' character. The critic Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama found her performance "excellent" in the film. Soon after, she made small appearance in Milan Luthria's Hattrick (2007). Khanvilkar's biggest commercial success of that year was Zee Talkies' Saade Maade Teen, the remake of the 1958 Hindi film Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. Her character was based on the role played by Madhubala in 1958 film, where she played a rich orphan staying with her uncle and falls in love with the garage proprietor played by Jadhav. The film earned to become one of the highest grossing Marathi films of that time.
In 2008, she collaborated with director Ram Gopal Verma on two films: Contract and Phoonk. Contract is an action drama film set against the backdrop of terrorism and infiltration. She played an ex-Special Protection Group commando's wife who is killed in a terrorist attack. The film got mixed reviews from critics and audiences upon release and failed commercially. The next release was the supernatural horror film Phoonk, co-starring Sudeep, based on superstition and black magic, Khanvilkar's portrayal of a mature woman with a de-glamorized look was critically acclaimed. A critic approved of her effort, noting that she "comes out well as a worrying mother", and Taran Adarsh called her performance "efficient". She received a Stardust Exciting New Face nomination, and the film was declared a box office blockbuster with an earning of . In 2009, Khanvilkar starred in Gaiir, a big budget Marathi suspense thriller film directed by Satish Rajwade which revolves around a newly married couple. She played an NRI's girl who marries a corporate giant (played by Sandeep Kulkarni), however she finds her husband's duplicate, who is trying to harm her. A review in Marathi Movie World wrote, "The Marathi film industry has got another talented actress in the form of Amruta" and Prasanna Zore of Rediff.com called her, "glamorous for a change compared to her plain-Jane looks" and wrote, "Khanvilkar looks very attractive in the two songs that seem contrived to raise the glamour-quotient of the film." The film generated huge box office returns and she earned her first Best Actress nomination at Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar and Maharashtracha Favourite Kon. Also that year, she appeared in the cult single "Aye Hip Hopper" by Ishq Bector.
Breakthrough and career advancement (2010–2013) Khanvilkar's career prospects improved in 2010 when she gained widespread popularity for her Lavani performance in the song "Wajle Ki Bara" in Ravi Jadhav's film Natarang, which was sung by Bela Shende. She was not the original choice for the song and entered the song a day prior to its shoot. Khanvilkar reminisced about the experience, "saying yes to 'Wajle Ki Bara' was one of the best decisions of my career." The song made her famous even in the interiors of Maharashtra, reviewer Chetana Panchal described her cameo as "impressive" The same year, she reprised her role as Aarti in Phoonk 2. It was not as well-received as the first film, but Khanvilkar's work was appreciated. Sonia Chopra of Sify noted her as "superb, especially when she's trying to convince Rajiv of the odd goings-on in the house," Komal Nahta of Koimoi.com wrote, "she does justice to her role and is very natural" and DNA's Taran Adarsh found Khanvilkar's portrayal to be "expressive enough." Moreover, the film was average at the box office.
In 2011, she portrayed Marathi teacher Paranajpe Bai in Sujay Dahake's Shala, based on Milind Bokil's novel of the same name. Keyur Seta opined, "Khanvilkar does well, she should have been given more lines" The film premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival and went on to win the Silver Lotus Award at the 59th National Film Awards. Following that, she appeared as lead in Arjun as a supportive girlfriend opposite Sachit Patil, the film received mixed reviews but did well commercially. Khanvilkar next accepted a role of a village girl opposite Ankush Chaudhari in the Zhakaas, which marked her third collaboration with Zee Talkies. Chetana Panchal wrote that, "it is Amruta Khanvilkar in that typical village type but glamorous looks, invites all the attention. Her perfect accent suited to that character of Manjula has brought liveliness in every scene that she appears." The film was a major success and won three Maharashtracha Favourite Kon Awards, including Favourite Actress for Khanvilkar.
The following year, Khanvilkar was seen in Aditya Sarpotdar's musical Satrangi Re, a story about a group of friends in their final year of graduation who share a common passion for music. She played Alisha, who falls in love with Rego (played by Adinath Kothare) during the contest. Her next release of that year was the musical drama Aayna Ka Bayna, where she portrayed dance therapist for nine talented juveniles to take part in a dance reality show. The film was highly hyped even before its release and upon release, the film garnered a positive response from critics and the audience. Khanvilkar was regarded, "perfect for the role" by The Times of India. Critic Ullhas Shirke wrote, "Khanvilkar, puts up an astounding emotion filled performance..." and further noted, "Her concern for the society is clearly noticed through her body language and spontaneous expressions." Another reviewer called it a, "strong performance" and concluded, "She manages to speak through expressions and is perfect during the dance sequences." Her performance won her Best Actress at the CineRockom International Film Festival.
Further career and acclaim (2015–2021) Following a year-long absence, Khanvilkar returned in 2015 with five releases. Her first release was Baji, the first superhero film in Marathi, in which she played a fearless young girl who is the love interest of the titular character, portrayed by Shreyas Talpade. Surabhi Redkar of Koimoi.com marked her "impressive" and stated, "Nothing challenging in her role, but she does a fine job," while The Times of Indias Mihir Bhanage found that, "she displays a certain level of maturity while essaying her role." The film was declared a hit at the box office, earning . Her next release was Vikram Bhatt's first Marathi production, Ek Doosrey Ke Liye, a production that had been delayed since 2013. Next, she appeared in Welcome Zindagi, opposite Swapnil Joshi a dark comedy about life and death that was a Marathi remake of the Bengali film Hemlock Society. She portrayed an independent girl whose life is unstable and who feels ignored and betrayed in society so she thinks to end her life, but her life changes when a guy enters her life. A review in the Maharashtra Times asserted, "She perfectly embodied the wisdom that comes from training from isolation."
In her next movie from the same year, she gained more recognition for her portrayal of Muslim girl Zareena, in Subodh Bhave's directorial feature film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, which was based on the play of the same name. Khanvilkar's part required her to master the fine nuances of the Urdu language, which she achieved in pronunciation and diction with the help of her on-screen father, Sachin Pilagaonkar. Khanvilkar's performance was widely acclaimed, with a critic, Amar Udare, calling her "a surprise package," The film was one of the most expensive movies of Marathi cinema; it was chosen as one of the 26 films to be screened in Goa at the 46th International Film Festival of India. Katyar Kaljat Ghusali earned over and emerge as one of the highest-grossing Marathi films of all time and received eight Filmfare Marathi Awards, including Best Film. Khanvilkar eventually was nominated for the 53rd Maharashtra State Film Awards, Filmfare Marathi Awards and Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar in Best Supporting Actress category. Another film in which she has appeared was Aawahan, alongside Bhave and Sachin Khedekar.