Bhumika Chawla (born Rachna Chawla; 21 August 1978) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu-language films along with a few in Hindi and Tamil. Chawla made her acting debut with the Telugu film Yuvakudu (2000). Chawla is best known for her role as Nirjara Bhardwaj in the film Tere Naam.

Early life

Chawla was on born 21 August 1978 to a Punjabi Hindu family in New Delhi, India and completed her schooling there. Her father is a retired Army officer. Bhumika has two siblings, an elder brother and an elder sister. She moved to Mumbai in 1997 and started her career with Ad films and Hindi music video albums. She appeared in the Zee TV series Hip Hip Hurray and Star Best Sellers – Fursat Mein.

Career

Chawla's film career began with the Telugu film industry, starring in the feature film Yuvakudu (2000) alongside actor Sumanth. Her second release, Kushi (2001), in which she starred opposite Pawan Kalyan was a box office success, winning her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu following which she acted in several films in Telugu, including Okkadu (2003) opposite Mahesh Babu and Simhadri (2003). Meanwhile, she made her debut in the Tamil film industry as well, starring in the film Badri (2001) opposite actor Vijay, which was followed by her second Tamil film Roja Kootam (2002). After a number of critically and commercially successful films in the South, Chawla starred in her first Bollywood film, Tere Naam (2003), alongside Salman Khan. The film was one of the year's highest grossers. and won the Best Debut trophy at the Zee Cine Awards ceremony. Subsequently, she starred in a number of Hindi films including Run (2004), Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (2004), Silsilay (2005) and Dil Jo Bhi Kahey... (2005). She returned to Telugu, acting in the films Naa Autograph (2004) and Jai Chiranjeeva (2005). In 2006, Chawla appeared in the Tamil film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, alongside real-life couple Surya and Jyothika which became a big hit worldwide. The same year she appeared in the Hindi film Family - Ties of Blood and the Telugu film Mayabazar. Following this, she acted in the Hindi film Gandhi, My Father as Gulab Gandhi and played the title roles in the Telugu films Satyabhama and Anasuya, a crime thriller. In 2008, she made her debut in the Punjabi film industry, starring in Yaariyan, opposite Gurdas Maan, following which she debuted in Malayalam as well, starring in Bhramaram alongside Mohanlal. Later she was seen in Yagam and Thangar Bachan's Kalavadiya Pozhudugal. She also appeared in the 2016 movie M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. She portrayed the character of MS Dhoni's sister in the movie. Chawla acted in the sports action movie Seetimaarr (2021).

Personal life

Chawla married her long-time boyfriend and yoga teacher, Bharat Thakur, on 21 October 2007 at Devlali, Nashik in a Gurdwara. The couple has a son.

Filmography

Web series

Music videos

Awards and nominations