Sanya Malhotra

Sanya Malhotra is an Indian actress born on 25 February 1992 in Delhi to a Punjabi family. She attended Ryan International School and graduated from Gargi College. Trained in contemporary dance and ballet, she participated in the dance reality show Dance India Dance, reaching the top 100. She then relocated to Mumbai, where she auditioned for roles and assisted camerapersons for television commercials before being contacted by casting director Mukesh Chhabra.

Malhotra made her acting debut in Nitesh Tiwari's biographical sports film Dangal (2016) alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh and Aamir Khan. To prepare for her role, she underwent physical training and wrestling workshops. Dangal received critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time. Following her debut, she choreographed the song "Sexy Baliye" for the 2017 film Secret Superstar. In 2018, she starred in Vishal Bhardwaj's drama Pataakha alongside Radhika Madan, learning the Rajasthani dialect and gaining weight for the role. That same year, she appeared in the commercially successful comedy film Badhaai Ho.

In 2019, Malhotra starred opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Ritesh Batra's Photograph, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival, earning her a nomination for the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. In 2020, her films Shakuntala Devi and Ludo were released directly on streaming platforms Amazon Prime Video and Netflix due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her performance in Ludo earned her a second Filmfare Critics Award nomination for Best Actress.

Malhotra continued taking on streaming projects, starring in the 2021 Netflix black comedy Pagglait, which secured her a Filmfare OTT Award nomination, as well as the romantic comedy Meenakshi Sundareshwar. In 2022, she starred in the ZEE5 thriller Love Hostel opposite Vikrant Massey and took on a supporting role in the thriller HIT: The First Case alongside Rajkummar Rao.

In 2023, Malhotra starred as a cop in the Netflix satirical film Kathal, winning a Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor in a Web Original Film (Female). She also played a supporting role in the action film Jawan, which became one of Indian cinema's highest grossers, and appeared in the biopic Sam Bahadur. She subsequently starred in Mrs., a drama that premiered in 2024 and released on ZEE5 in 2025, earning her another Filmfare OTT Award.

In 2025, Malhotra appeared in the romantic comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, followed by the 2026 Netflix comedy Toaster. Outside of acting, Malhotra has endorsed brands including Fastrack and Shoppers Stop, and in July 2025 she co-launched the lifestyle brand Bree Matcha.