Manjari Fadnis (also spelled Phadnis and Fadnnis) born on 10 July 1984, is an Indian actress known for her work primarily in Bollywood and Tollywood films, but has also acted in Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam films. She gained widespread recognition for her role in the 2008 Hindi film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. Her other notable works include Faltu (2006), Zokkomon (2011), Warning (2013), Grand Masti (2013), Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015), the short film Khamakha (2016), and 'Barot House' (2019).

Career

Manjari first appeared on television during the second season of the Indian version of the singing reality show Popstars, which was aired on Channel V India in 2003. She was one of the participants who made it to the finals for the musical band Aasma. She started her film career with Rok Sako To Rok Lo in 2004. She later appeared in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) where she portrayed the protagonist's (played by Imran Khan) girlfriend. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was successful and enjoyed critical acclaim. Earlier she was part of the National Film Award-winning Bengali feature film Faltu (2006) and also Mumbai Salsa (2007). In 2008, she made a debut in Telugu films with Siddu From Sikakulam, followed by her first Tamil film Muthirai (2009). For Muthirai, she sung a Tamil song under the direction of Yuvan Shankar Raja. In September 2009, she was signed to appear in a series of Onida Television commercials. In 2010 Manjari was featured in the Telugu films Inkosaari and Shubhapradham. She then starred in the Walt Disney-produced superhero film Zokkomon, starring Darsheel Safary. The film received positive reviews from critics. She also worked in the Telugu film Shakti (2011) alongside Jr. NTR, and in 2012 in a Hindi film I M 24, and her debut Kannada film Munjane. The year 2013 saw the release of her films Warningand Grand Masti (opposite Aftab Shivdasani). Grand Masti was the highest grossing Bollywood film with an A (Adults Only) certificate in India. Her next film was the Mohanlal headlined Mr. Fraud (2014), which marked her Malayalam debut. In 2015 she starred alongside Kapil Sharma in the romantic comedy film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon. She then acted alongside Shreyas Talpade in the content driven film Wah Taj (2016). Wah Taj featured a dance song "Chori Chichori" for which she dressed in traditional Marathi Mulgi attire and did a semi-folk popular dance. She also was featured in her maiden Marathi film Sarv Mangal Savdhan (2016) opposite Raqesh Vashisth. She appeared as a lead actress in the, film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai (2017), starring Arbaaz Khan, Himansh Kohli and Ashutosh Rana. In 2018, she performed in the mystery film Nirdosh opposite Ashmit Patel and an action comedy film Baa Baaa Black Sheep opposite Manish Paul. In 2019, she appeared in an thriller web-film Barot House aired on ZEE5. In 2017, her short film Khamakha (2016) won the Filmfare for Best Short Film People's Choice Award. Her other short films are The Morning After (2013), The Cot (2017), Jackie Shroff vehicle The Playboy Mr Sawhney (2018) and Interdependence: Megha's divorce (2019). She received the Movers and Shakers award at the MAAC 24FPS International Animation Awards 2015. In 2020, she received the Youth Icon Award for 'Excellency in Entertainment Industry' at Maier Medi International Short Film Festival. In 2019, she appeared in the web series Fuh Se Fantasy:The Blindfold on Voot. She made her first theatrical performance in Double Deal Reloaded (English), in Mumbai in 2017 and the following year in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In 2018, she performed in the musical drama Devdas in Mumbai. She has undergone dance training under Shiamak Davar and vocal training under Sucheta Bhattacharjee.

Music

Manjari sang the song Azhagana Neeyum under the direction of Yuvan Shankar Raja for the Tamil film Muthirai (2009). She also sang the songs Sonya Ve Sajna in the Indo-Pakistani music album Beat Beyond Borders composed by Pakistani musician Fakhar-e-Alam in 2012 and Ga Raha Hai Ye Aasma composed by Raghav Sachar in 2014. In 2015, she sang in a duet Marathi song composed by Nikhil Kamat for the film Sarv Mangal Savdhan. She recorded her first solo song Alvida composed by Arif-Troy in 2017.

Modelling

Manjari was featured on the cover of the Woman's Era Magazine September 2015 issue. She has also appeared as a model in various fashion events such as Bombay Times Fashion Week 2018, Intimate Fashion Week 2017, and Dubai Fashion League 2017. She appeared in a Hyundai i10 TV advertisement with Shah Rukh Khan in May 2012. She has also appeared in a series of Onida Television commercials in 2009, an iball TV ad in 2011, and a Mehfil Southall Hotel/Restaurant/Banquet TV ad in 2015. She has also been featured in the music videos Beat Beyond Borders (2011) and Raghav Sachar feat (2014).

Early life

Manjari is from a Marathi family and was born at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh to Ruchi Fadnis and Col Bharat Kumar Fadnis. As her father served in the Indian Army, she grew up with her sibling Gagan Fadnis in Shimla, Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Web-series

Television

Albums

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Charity and social causes

Manjari participated in the fashion show 'Umeed-Ek Koshish-A Starwalk for Charity' in 2012 and Amy Billimoria's 'The Walk of Pride' Charity show in 2015. Earlier in 2012, she attended the Global Peace Fashion Show to commemorate the victims of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. She volunteered for the Punjab Kesari 'Selfie with Daughter' campaign to address the importance of saving a girl child in 2016. In 2018, she wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing her concern about the safety of women in India. In the same year, she campaigned to emphasize celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with Eco-friendly Ganesha idols. In 2019, she participated in an event held at Mumbai concerning Digital Detoxification.