Best remembered for her performance in the song ‘Wajale Ki Bara’ from the movie Natarang in 2009, Amruta Khanvilkar is an Indian film and television actress, who appears in Hindi as well as Marathi movies. However, she works predominantly in the Marathi film industry. Apart from being a good actress, Amruta is also an amazing dancer and has won Nach Baliye 7 with her husband Himmanshoo A. Malhotra. The actress and dancer has been a part of movies like Saade Maade Teen, Shala, Baji, and Katyar Kaljat Ghusali.
Early LifeBorn on the 23rd of November, 1984 in Pune to Gauri and Raju Khanvilkar, Amruta has a younger sister called Aditi. In order to pursue her dream of becoming a leading actress, Amruta participated in a Zee TV’s talent hunt called Zee Cinestars ki Khoj in 2004. Although she did not win the contest, she received a few offers of television shows.
Personal LifeWhile on Zee Cinestars ki Khoj in 2004, Amruta met Himmanshoo Malhotra, who also was a co-participant on the show and is a television actor. Although neither of them won the show, they continued to remain in touch. They began dating and after being together for nine years, they tied the knot on the 24th of January, 2015 in Delhi.
Television CareerDespite Amruta standing third in the 2004 talent hunt, she received an offer to star in Sahara One’s television series Ada in 2005. The same year, she also bagged a role in the political thriller Time Bomb 9/11 co-starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Akashdeep Saigal, Rajat Kapoor, and Kay Kay Menon. After having established herself as a successful Marathi movie actress, Amruta returned to television to only be a part of the dance reality show, Nach Baliye 7, where she paired with her husband Himmanshoo Malhotra. The couple not only won people’s hearts with their long-lasting relationship but also went on to win that season’s title. Amruta was then seen in the Anil Kapoor-starrer and produced crime-drama television series 24 in its second season.
Movie CareerHaving started her acting career on the small screen, Amruta, after only working in two shows, made her Marathi movie debut in 2006 with the movie Golmaal, where she plays a double role. The same year, she made her Bollywood debut with the movie Mumbai Salsa co-starring Vir Das and Manjari Phadnis. She then appeared in a series of Hindi movies namely Milan Luthria’s sports drama Hattrick in 2007, and two of Ram Gopal Varma’s movies: Contract and the horror film Phoonk, for which she received the nomination for Exciting New Face — Max Stardust Awards.
After making a guest appearance in the Marathi movie Doghat Tisra Ata Sagle Visara, Amruta appeared in the 2009 mystery Gaiir co-starring Ankush Chaudhari, Sandeep Kulkarni, and Tejaswini Pandit. Despite a number of movie appearances, Amruta’s is best remembered not for her acting but for her special appearance in the song ‘Wajale Ki Bara’ from the movie Natarang in 2009. The following year, she was seen in the 2010 sequel of the Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk titled Phoonk 2. The actress then appeared in a series of Marathi movies like Phillum City, Arjun, Zhakaas, and Dhoosar. She then donned the character of an RJ in the 2012 musical-drama Santrangi Re after which she appeared in the romantic-drama Shala in the same year. The movie based on Milind Bokal’s novel of the same name went on to become a box-office success, with the movie winning the 59th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.
She then made a special appearance in the Ajay Devgn-starrer Himmatwala in a song in 2013. After the success of Shala, Amruta paired with Shreyas Talpade in the action superhero film Baji, which also became a box-office success. She then was cast alongside Swapnil Joshi in the dark comedy Welcome Zindagi, where she plays the role of a girl who has lost all hopes in life and is helped by a man who revives her faith in herself. Her most significant work as of 2015 remains to be Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, which is one of the highest-grossing Marathi films. The movie is based on a play with the same name and stars Sachin Pilgaonkar, Shankar Mahadevan, and Subodh Bhave in lead roles. In 2016, she was seen in romantic-thriller One Way Ticket co-starring Sachit Patil, Neha Mahajan, and Gashmeer Mahajani.