Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian film, television, and theatre actress as well as a danseuse. She gained recognition after her role as Laxami in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Angry Indian Goddesses.’ But it was the role of Subhadra Devalekar in the Netflix show ‘Sacred Games’ that catapulted her to fame.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Rajshri was born on 14th October 1993 into a middle class family in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Her father had a simple job in the government. She has 3 siblings and is the youngest child.
Deshpande got attracted to dancing and acting when she was only 6 years old. As a child, she used to mimic actors and dance on popular songs featuring actress Madhuri Dixit at different school events and for guests who came to their home.
When she was 17 years old, Rajshri left her hometown and went to Pune, Maharashtra to pursue a degree in law. She joined Symbiosis Law College and got an undergraduate degree in Law. She later went to Symbiosis College in Pune and graduated with a degree in Advertising.
The city of Pune had (and still has) a lively theatre culture. Rajshri was inspired by it and joined varied drama groups when in college, with whom she participated in street plays at theatre festivals, colleges, and schools. She also acted in many short films made by FTII (Film & Television Institute of India) students.
Since Deshpande came from a working class family, she found it difficult to make her ends meet. Hence, when still studying, she took up a job at a small advertising firm where she did all kinds of jobs from making tea to talking to clients. Also, as she had trained in Kathakali, she gave part time dance lessons to earn the extra income.
Career
After college, Deshpande launched her company ‘Czar Content’ with assistance from a friend. It soon became a successful firm. She however wanted to act and hence handed over the company to her business partner and made her way to Mumbai.
She joined the Whistling Woods International acting school of Subhash Ghai in Mumbai and got a diploma in filmmaking. Her time at the school was a life changing experience and she got to learn a lot of new things about the world and art of filmmaking. She also went to actors studio of Rob Reese and Method school of Naseeruddin Shah and trained for 2 years. Subsequently, she joined the Motley Group of Shah and handled production for more than 1 year. It was with this group that she learnt all the facets of backstage production. She gradually started getting work with more theater groups.
Deshpande made her acting debut in Bollywood in 2012 with the movie Talaash starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, and Kareena Kapoor. It was a minor role. She then appeared as Suhasini in the TV drama Kuch to Log Kahenge that aired on Sony Entertainment Television. She also played Agent Veena in TV series ‘24’ starring actor Anil Kapoor. In 2014, she had a minor role as Sharma in the blockbuster movie Kick starring Salman Khan.
In 2015, Rajshri had a double role in Malayalam movie ‘Haram’. She was critically praised for her performance. She then portrayed the leading role of Laxmi in Pan Nalin directed ‘Angry Indian Goddesses.’ The movie won the People’s Choice Award at the Rome Film Festival and the First Runner Up – People’s Choice Award at TIFF. In 2016, she played the role of an insurgent in multilingual movie ‘Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani?’ The movie has not released as yet.
In 2017, Rajshri played the lead in multilingual movie Sexy Durga. This Sanal Kumar Shashidharan directed film won the Hivos Toger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. In January 2018, she acted in James Watkins directed McMafia. It was aired on BBC One and thus marked her debut on digital media. In July 2018, she acted as Subhadra, the wife of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character in the Netflix series Sacred Games. Deshpande was praised for her effortless acting. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series has met with widespread critical acclaim and immense popularity with the audience.
Despande’s upcoming movies include Nandita Das’s biopic film Manto where she will be playing Ismat Chughtai.
Rajshri has devoted a lot of her time in social work and community services.
- She has adopted the Pandhri Pimpalgaon village in Maharashtra and carried out a rainwater harvesting project. Her activism helped the villagers revive the dead Bembla River. She is also helping the people in the nearby villages.
- She works with the ‘Beach O Beach’ project, where she along with professionals from all walks of life and citizens gather and clean up different Mumbai beaches every Sunday.
- Deshpande also works with varied organizations like Boodhnoor Vaidyashala and Dharavi Dairy. She worked towards relief work after the earthquakes in Nepal with the SOS papa organization.
- She started a dance drama named Bahula to protest and bring attention to increasing violence against women.
Rajshri Deshpande Husband – Nawdeep puranik
Rajshri Deshpande is married to Nawdeep puranik. She says that her husband is quite encouraging about her work and tells her not to seek his permission and do what she thinks is the best for her role. She says, “He says you give your soul, so you don’t any permission as long as you believe in it.”
Trivia
- She has acted in close to 50 short films
- She has undergone training in KalariPayuttu Martial arts and sword fighting
- She has trained under Kalamandalam John in Kerala. She was a part of his Kathakali school and Kalatarangini group.
- She loves travelling and exploring. She is a spontaneous traveler and can get up and going at the drop of a hat.
Rajshri Deshpande – Upcoming Movies
After ‘Sacred Games’, Rajshri Deshpande will be doing ‘Manto’, the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer, where she will essay the role of the controversial female Urdu-author, Ismat Chughtai.
