Mrunal Thakur is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi and Telugu films. She began her acting career with the television soap operas Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan (2012) and Kumkum Bhagya (2014–2016). For the latter, Thakur won the Indian Television Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Thakur made her Hindi film debut with Love Sonia (2018), and gained recognition with the 2019 biographical films Super 30 and Batla House. Following a series of commercial failures, she achieved success with the Telugu romantic drama Sita Ramam (2022), which won her two SIIMAs.

Early life

Mrunal Thakur was born on 1 August 1992 in Dhule, Maharashtra. She attended St. Joseph's Convent School, Jalgaon, and Vasant Vihar High School, near Mumbai. Thakur left KC College without graduating as she was pursuing a television career at the time.

Career

Early career and television (2012–2014)

While attending college, Thakur landed a lead role as Gauri Bhosle opposite Mohit Sehgal in the Star Plus series Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan. The show aired from 2012 to 2013. Later in 2013, Thakur appeared in an episodic appearance on the mystery thriller Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek – Arjun, in which she played a journalist named Sakshi Anand.

Thakur appeared as a Contestant on Box Cricket League 1 in 2014 and Nach Baliye 7 in 2015. In 2016, she performed dance in a special episode of &TV's SauBhagyalaxmi and had a Guest appearance in Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn. Her final appearance before she retired from television was on the Indonesian serial Nadin, where she played Tara.

Expansion to Hindi films (2014–2021)

• Thakur made her film debut with the Marathi film Vitti Dandu, which was released in 2014. She played Sandhya. Her next Marathi film was Surajya, where she played the role of Dr. Swapna.
• In 2012, Thakur began work on her first Hindi project, the international film Love Sonia, for which she stayed at Kolkata. The film was released in September 2018 after various delays and featured her in the titular role of a village girl who brings to light issue of global human trafficking.
• Thakur's Bollywood debut came in 2019 with Vikas Bahl's biographical drama Super 30, narrating the story of mathematician Anand Kumar (played by Hrithik Roshan in the film) and his educational program of the same name, in which she portrayed Supriya, a classical dancer and Kumar's love interest. It emerged as a commercial success and one of the top-grossing Hindi films of 2019. In the same year, she played John Abraham's wife Nandita Kumar in Nikkhil Advani's Batla House, based on the 2008 Batla House encounter case. It grossed over ₹1.11 billion (US$14 million) worldwide becoming a commercially successful venture.
• In 2021, Thakur has starred in the sports drama, Toofaan, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and co-starring Farhan Akhtar, which premiered on 16 July 2021 on Amazon Prime Video in which her performance was praised.

Expansion to Telugu films (2022–present)

• Thakur's first film of 2022, Jersey, a remake of the 2019 Telugu film of the same name, co-starring Shahid Kapoor, released on 22 April 2022. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, praising the performances, direction and soundtrack; however, the film emerged as a commercial failure at the box office.
• Thakur made her Telugu film debut co-starring Dulquer Salmaan and Rashmika Mandanna in Hanu Raghavapudi's period romantic drama Sita Ramam, which released on 5 August 2022. The film received positive reviews upon release and emerged as a success at the box-office, thus proving to be a breakthrough for her. 
• Following this, she will be seen with Ishaan Khatter in the war action film Pippa, and in Hi Nanna opposite Nani. She also completed Maddock Films Pooja Meri Jaan alongside Huma Qureshi.

Other work and media image

The Telegraph finds Thakur to be "honest and heartwarming". On her choice of films, she said, "I just want to be associated with good scripts, to play woman of substance, and see what she's contributing to." Thakur ranked 8th in Eastern Eye's Top 30 under 30 Global Asian Stars List of 2021.

In 2022, Thakur curated a food donation drive in collaboration with "All About Them", a foundation that helps stray and community animals. Thakur is a celebrity endorser for several brands and products, including Lakme and Dulux.

Awards and Nominations