Known for appearing in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Punjabi films, Bhumika Chawla is a Delhi-born actor, who is famous for films like Okkadu, Tere Naam, Missamma, Gandhi My Father, Buddy, and Anasuya.
Early Life
Born and raised as Rachna Chawla in a Punjabi family in New Delhi, India, Bhumika Chawla's father Colonel A S was an Indian Army officer, while her mother Bali Chawla, a housewife. She is the youngest child in the family with one elder brother, who is also in the Indian Army, and a sister. Bhumika kick-started her career in the glamor industry with advertisements and music videos and eventually broke into the silver screen. She was also a part of the teen drama series Hip Hip Hurray.
Personal Life
After four years of courtship, Bhumika Chawla tied the knot with Bharat Thakur, her yoga instructor, on 21st October 2007. The couple gave birth to a son in February 2014.
Movie Career
Bhumika made her big screen debut with the Telugu film Yuvakudu in 2000 and in the following year she starred in her first Tamil film Badri. Her performance was well noticed in both the industriesand she soon starred in her second Telugu release Khushi opposite Pawan Kalyan, which was a huge success at the box office. For her role in the movie, Bhumika bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Subsequently, she starred in a number of Tamil and Telugu hits like Roja Koottam, Okkadu, and Missamma. For Missamma, Bhumika received the CineMAA Jury Award for Best Actress, in 2004.
After establishing a firm foothold in the Southern film industry, Bhumika made her Bollywood debut with the superstar Salman Khan in Satish Kaushik's romantic drama Tere Naam. Remake of the Tamil film Sethu, Tere Naam was a runaway hit and was amongst the highest grosser of 2003. She then featured in a number of Hindi films like Run, opposite Abhishek Bachchan, Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa, opposite Salman Khan, Silsilay, opposite Rahul Bose, and Dil Jo Bhi Kahey, along with Amitabh Bachchan.
In 2007, Bhumika essayed the role of Gulaab Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's daughter-in-law in Feroz Abbas Khan's Indian biographical drama Gandhi My Father. The movie that also stars Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, and Shefali Shah received huge critical acclaim, winning with National Award in the category of Special Jury Award (Feature Film). In 2008, Bhumika Chawla appeared in her maiden Punjabi film Yaariyan, opposite Gurdas Maan, and in 2009, she starred in Bharamaram, which was her first film in the Malayalam industry.
She then acted in South Indian films like Amaravathi, Godfather, Buddy, Chithirayil Nilachoru and, Luv U Alia. Her 2016 release includes the biographical film M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the film stars Sushant Singh Rajput in the titular role.