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Actor

1986-10-28 · Hyderabad, India · Female

7 series in the catalog

Aditi Rao Hydari (Hindi: [ədɪtɪ ɾɑːʋ ɦɛːdɾiː]; born 28 October 1978) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. Born into the Tyabji–Hydari family, she made her film debut with the Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006). She received attention for her roles in Delhi 6 (2009) and Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011), for which she won her first Screen Award. She subsequently appeared in the musical Rockstar (2011), the horror film Murder 3 (2013), the thriller Wazir (2016), as well as the period drama Padmaavat (2018), which was commercially successful and earned her an IIFA Award.

Hydari starred in Mani Ratnam's romantic drama Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), for which she won a SIIMA Award. She received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Sammohanam (2018). She has since starred in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, such as Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), Sufiyum Sujatayum (2020) and Maha Samudram (2021), as well as the Hindi anthology film Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) and series Jubilee (2023) and Heeramandi (2024).

Early life and background

Aditi Rao Hydari was born in Hyderabad to engineer Ahsan Hydari and singer Vidya Rao.

Both of Hydari's parents belong to the nobility of erstwhile Hyderabad state. Aditi's father was the grandson of Akbar Hydari, former Prime Minister of Hyderabad state, and the nephew of Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, former Governor of Assam. Aditi's mother, Vidya Rao, is a classical singer accomplished in the thumri and dadra genres of Hindustani music. Her mother (Aditi's maternal grandmother), Shanta Rameshwar Rao, was the founder of Vidyaranya High School in Hyderabad and chairperson of the publishing house Orient Blackswan, established by her father Raja J Rameshwar Rao. Vidya is the step-daughter of J. Rameshwar Rao, last ruling Raja of Wanaparthy. He was one of the four highest-ranking nobleman in the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad. His ancestral Jagir, Wanaparthy, was one of the four largest feudal estates under Hyderabad state; the holders of these estates held the title of "Maharaja". Indian film producer, screenwriter, and director Kiran Rao, ex-wife of actor Aamir Khan, is Aditi's maternal first cousin.

Her parents separated when she was two years old, and she grew up between Hyderabad and Delhi with her mother. She studied at the Rishi Valley School, run by the Krishnamurti Foundation. Aditi later graduated from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.

Hydari grew up around a lot of classical arts, started learning Bharatanatyam at age five, and became a student of acclaimed dancer Leela Samson. She uses both of her parents' surnames and that's what makes her name unique.

Career

Early roles (2004–2009)

Hydari began her career as a Bharatanatyam dancer, having become interested in the art form following her association with Leela Samson from the age of 11. She worked as a part of Samson's dance group, Spanda, teaching students and travelling through India and abroad to perform in stage events. In early 2004, Hydari completed work on her first acting project titled Sringaram, where she portrayed the lead role of a devadasi, a temple dancer of the 19th century. The Tamil film was directed by Sharada Ramanathan and produced by Padmini Ravi, a noted Bharatanatyam dancer. Hydari was offered the role after Ramanathan saw her dance performance at a conference, and was also impressed with her "vulnerable and fresh face" and her resemblance to dancer Shobana. After being screened at numerous international film festivals throughout 2005 and 2006, the film received critical acclaim upon being shown in India and fetched several accolades, including three National Film Awards. Sringaram had a limited theatrical release in October 2007, but won positive reviews, with one critic noting that "the film has brilliant acting from the lead, Aditi Rao".

Her first film to have a theatrical release, however, was the Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006), in which she starred alongside Mammootty. She had been recommended to director Ranjith for the role by actress Suhasini, and was selected after the director managed to get in contact with her through Madhu Ambat, who was the cinematographer of Sringaram. Hydari portrayed an orphan girl who falls in love with the character played by Mammootty, but her role was considered minimal, with a critic from Rediff stating she "has nothing to do with the overall plot". In 2009, she was cast by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in his Hindi drama film, Delhi-6, where she portrayed a supporting role of an unmarried woman living in a community where spinsterhood was frowned upon. Featuring in an ensemble cast alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor, Hydari was selected by Mehra after he was impressed with her performance in Sringaram.

Career expansion (2009–2015)

In 2011, Hydari appeared in a role opposite Arunoday Singh in Sudhir Mishra's romantic drama Yeh Saali Zindagi. Portraying the wife of a former convict, the film garnered publicity prior to release for the sensuous scenes between Hydari and Singh. Post-release, Hydari received acclaim for her performance by winning the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress and subsequently received much larger public attention. She later portrayed a supporting role alongside Ranbir Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali's musical drama Rockstar (2011). Hydari initially had met Ali to discuss the leading female role of a Kashmiri girl, but he chose to cast newcomer Nargis Fakhri instead. Ali subsequently contacted her again after two months and signed her to play a supporting role of an impulsive television reporter, who follows the character played by Kapoor. Several of Hydari's scenes in the film were trimmed before its theatrical release, much like her appearance in Delhi-6, and a critic noted her role "suffers due to an undeveloped characterization".

Hydari made a public statement that she wanted to appear in lead roles, rather than portray secondary characters, and subsequently, she was cast in her first lead role in a Hindi film through London, Paris, New York (2012) opposite Ali Zafar. Directed by Anu Menon, the film narrated the tale of a couple who connect with each other in unlikely circumstances in three different cities – London, Paris and New York City. With the film, she made her singing debut by singing two of the songs from the soundtrack. Hydari won predominantly positive reviews for her role of Lalitha, with a reviewer from Sify.com stating Hydari "makes the transition from side actress to leading lady and is instantly impressive", adding she is a "good performer with a striking screen presence" and that "she's likely to go places". Likewise, reviewers from The Hindu and NDTV called her performance "beautiful and in control of her character" and "a delight to watch", respectively. During the period, she also sung the Hindi version of the song "We Are Family" for the Hollywood animation film Ice Age 4: Continental Drift.

In 2013, she became a part of Mahesh Bhatt's Murder franchise, when she was cast as Roshni, opposite Randeep Hooda, in Vishesh Bhatt's directorial film Murder 3. Hydari stated she was keen to do a film which would show the "mysterious and sensual side" to her, away from the several "innocent" roles she had done prior to Murder 3. She received positive reviews for her performance, Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote "Aditi and Sara are show-stoppers" and that "both deliver knockout performances". Hydari then starred alongside Akshay Kumar and Shiv Panditt in the action film Boss (2013) directed by Anthony D'Souza. Describing her role as one of a "quintessential Hindi movie heroine", she revealed that she signed the film owing to Akshay Kumar's popularity and that it was important to be a part of a film which would have a "wide reach". The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success. In 2014, Hydari appeared in two guest roles – as a royal princess in the comedy…