Meet actress who started her career with Salman Khan's flop, Sanjay Dutt saved her career, quit acting after marriage with superstar, her husband is...

Often, actresses yearn to star opposite superstar Salman Khan, considering a guarantee of hits in films due to his massive appeal and strong brand value. This actress made her debut with the superstar as a second lead in the film. Her chemistry with Salman was appreciated by the audience, despite the film's failure at the box office. It was in 1999 that the actress made a powerful impact, appearing in Sanjay Dutt’s film, which gave her recognition among other actresses. In her short career span, she worked in several films, sharing screen space with Govinda, Aishwarya Rai, Ajay Devgn and other actors. However, at the peak of her career, she quit acting and got married to a superstar. Now, she lives with her husband and two children in Hyderabad.

Namrata Shirodkar’s debut with Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai

Namrata Shirodkar made her debut with Salman Khan’s Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai in 1998. In the same year, she appeared as the lead actress in Hero Hindustani and Mere Do Anmol Ratan. However, the film didn’t work, and she went to star in Ajay Devgn’s Kacche Dhaage, which also tanked at the box office. It was in 1999 that she played the role of ‘Sonu’, Sanjay Kapoor’s wife in Mahesh Majrekar’s crime thriller Vaastav, which earned her success at the box office. She then featured in Anil Kapoor’s Pukar, for which she bagged IIFA nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Her other notable films include Hathyar, Albela, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Tehzeeb, LOC: The Kargil, Charas and Rok Sako Toh Rok Lo. She was also part of Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice, co-starring Aishwarya Rai. Besides Hindi films, she also worked in regional films, including Malayalam film Ezhupunna Tharakan, Marathi film Astitva and Telugu film Vamsi, among others.

Namrata Shirodkar’s personal life

Born in a Maharashtrian family of Goan origin, Namrata Shirodkar is a former actress and model. She was crowned Miss India in 1993 and also represented India in the Miss Universe appeared in a brief role as a child artiste with Shatrughan Sinha’s Shirdi Ke Sai Baba. In 2000, she met South superstar Mahesh Babu on the sets of her Telugu film, Vamsi. The two began dating shortly after the shooting was completed. The couple tied the knot in 2005 in Mumbai. 

Why did Namrata quit acting?

After marriage, Namrata quit acting, citing that Mahesh wanted a ‘non-working wife’. “Mahesh was very clear that he wanted a non-working wife. Even if I was working in some office, he would have told me to leave work. There are certain things we had for each other,” she had said in an interview with a Telugu YouTube channel. Meanwhile, the couple has two children – son Gautam Gattamaneni and daughter Sitara Ghattamaneni.