Do you know her first appearance was in the music video for Alisha Chinai's song Woh Pyar Mera?
In the early 2000s, Bollywood was bombarded with glamour-driven storylines with larger-than-life characters. But that’s when, a fresh face with an expressive smile left a lasting impression on the hearts of millions, and it was none other than Amrita Rao. She made everyone fall in love with her as the quintessential "girl next door" in Ishq Vishk (2003). On the occasion of her 44th birthday, let’s take a look at her journey to becoming Bollywood’s one of the most loved actresses.
Interestingly, do you know that she made her maiden public appearance in the music video for Alisha Chinai's song Woh Pyar Mera? Well, yes! And soon after, in 2002, she made her debut in Raj Kanwar's fantasy thriller Ab Ke Baras, co-starring Aarya Babbar. She next starred alongside Ajay Devgn in the biographical film The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and both the films underperformed at the box office. It was finally in May 2003 that she starred in the romance film Ishq Vishk opposite Shahid Kapoor that proved to be a breakthrough for her.
In 2004, Rao featured in three films, including Indra Kumar's Masti, Farah Khan's masala film Main Hoon Na, and Milan Luthria's action drama Deewar. All the three films got her love and appreciation from both the audience and critics alike.
In 2005, she co-starred in the 2005 drama Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi, alongside Shahid Kapoor yet again. She went on to feature in John Matthew Matthan’s drama Shikhar, and 2006 comedy Pyare Mohan. She hit another milestone when she featured in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romance Vivah (2006) in her fourth collaboration with Shahid Kapoor. The film not only became one of the highest-grossing films of the year but also remains the actress’ biggest commercial success to date.
Moving ahead, she featured in 2007 Telugu action film Athidhi, followed by two releases in 2008 – My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves opposite Nikhil Dwivedi, and Shyam Benegal's comedy Welcome to Sajjanpur. She next featured alongside Harman Baweja in the 2009 film Victory but failed to do well, and followed it up with Neeraj Vora's comedy-drama Short Kut: The Con. Her only film of 2011 was Love U...Mr. Kalakaar!, but it was also a commercial failure.
In the years that followed, she made cameo appearances in the comedy-drama Heyy Babyy (2007), Life Partner (2007), and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (2010).
In 2013, Rao was loved by the audience yet again when she starred in national award-winning, courtroom drama Jolly LLB. Her next project was Anil Sharma's action drama Singh Saab the Great alongside Sunny Deol, followed by Prakash Jha's political drama Satyagraha.
After that, she took a hiatus of five years and returned to screen for Abhijit Panse's 2019 film Thackeray. And now again after a six year hiatus, she is all set to make a comeback in Jolly LLB 3 opposite Arshad Warsi.
Nonetheless, to say the least, whether she returns to the big screen or not, her presence remains in the collective memory of her fans. And she may not have dozens of blockbusters to her name, but her authenticity has been praised by all.
