Namrata Shirodkar was crowned Femina Miss India 1993 and represented India at Miss Universe 1993 where she was placed at the sixth position at the end of the event finale. She was also asked to represent the country at Miss Asia Pacific International 1993 where she was adjudged as the first runner-up.
The diva hails from a traditional Maharashtrian family of Goan origin and born and brought up in Mumbai. She is the granddaughter of famous Marathi actress Meenakshi Shirodkar and sister of Shilpa Shirodkar. During the final question and round at Femina Miss India 1993, she was asked, “If you woke up one morning and found Count Dracula sleeping in your bed, what would you do?” Namrata Shirodkar put out her best self and replied, “Well, I would be really frightened but then I would make friends with him”. The response won the hearts of both the judges and the audience and thus, she was crowned as the winner at the end of the event finale.
After completing her reign as Miss India 1993 the diva decided to go from the runaway to the big screen. The Indian film industry is always looking for newcomers, but the former beauty queen was not received with a warm welcome in her debut films as she was critically bashed for her acting skills, being labelled as plastic. Nevertheless, she decided to re-organize her career, and 1999 saw her as a dark-horse. She ended up with her first hit that year, but still in a minor role but after that the diva never looked back and shined like a star on-screen.
Namrata’s debut in Bollywood was with ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba’ as a child artist in the year 1977. She had a small role in Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998), starring Salman Khan and Twinkle Khanna but her performance in ‘Vaastav’ and ‘Kachche Dhaage’ helped her gain a lot of recognition and accolades. The actress, who has been a very important part of Bollywood for many years now, has ruled the box office with movies like Hero Hindustani, Aaghaaz, Albela, Tera Mera Saath Rahen, Hathyar, and many more. She has also been nominated IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award for Pukar. The actress appeared in an array of films in different languages between 1998 and 2004.
The diva went onto marry South Indian Superstar Mahesh Babu in 2005 and decided to quit the entertainment industry to focus on her marriage and family. The couple married after dating for almost five years. They met on the sets of their first film together, ‘Vamsee’; Namrata and Mahesh welcomed their first child, Gautham, in 2006 and daughter Sitara was born in 2012.
In an interview with a news portal in 2018, she was asked if she regretted leaving films, to which she replied that she did not regret it as she was never career-oriented, unlike others. She also recalled how she received a call from Jaya Bachchan who told her that her performance in Vaastav deserved a National Award. Namrata Shirodkar added that such compliments were the reward in her career.
Namrata shared a video of her on-stage on her social media and captioned the video with an inspiring message for all the aspiring young models. She wrote, “One life is all we've got. Go on and make it worthwhile. Dream big!! The one thing that you have that nobody else does is YOU'. This has always been my mantra!! For all the girls who dream make it happen... nothing is impossible!!”
We wish the former beauty queen-turned-actress Namrata Shirodkar a very happy birthday and a pleasant year ahead. Namrata’s eternal beauty, innocence and that heart-warming smile is still un-matched and she has certainly been an epitome of grace.