Born on 7th September 1985, Radhika Apte is an Indian film and stage actress, who made her feature film debut in Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi, co-starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao. Apart from starring in Bollywood movies like Badlapur and Phobia, Apte has also appeared in a number of Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films.
EARLY LIFE
Radhika Apte was born in Pune, Maharashtra to Pune's leading neurologist Dr. Charudutt Apte. She graduated in Economics and Mathematics from Fergusson College, Pune. Apte is also a trained kathak dancer and after completing her studies, she moved to London to study contemporary dance at London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
PERSONAL LIFE
While Studying in London, Apte met the British avant-garde composer and violist, Benedict Taylor. The two fell in love and tied the knot in September 2012.
ACTING CAREER
Apte started her acting career with theater and has been a part of several Marathi plays. She has been long associated with Mohit Takalkar theater group Aasakta Kalamanch and has performed in plays like Tu, Purnaviram, Matra Ratra and Samuel Beckett's That Time with Rehan Engineer. She prefers doing experimental theater and considers performing on stage her true calling.
Radhika Apte first appeared on screen in Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi in 2005. Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, the film also starred Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao. She then entered Bengali cinema and played the role of a journalist in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary's film Antaheen, along with Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, and Rahul Bose. Later, she starred in movies like The Endless Wait, The Waiting Room, and Rakta Charitra. In 2011, Apte appeared in Ekta Kapoor's I AM and Shor In The City. Both were anthologies and were critically well received. Apart from doing feature films, Apte has also appeared in famous short movies like Darmiyan, Vakratunda Swaha, That Day After Everyday, and Ahalya, which was a Bengali short film directed by Sujoy Ghosh.
Known for her impeccable performances and unconventional roles, in 2015, Apte starred in movies like Badlapur, Hunterrr, Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Kaun Kitne Paani Mai, and X: Past is Present. All movies were critical hits, and strengthened Radhika Apte's foothold in the cinematic world of Bollywood.
Her first release in 2016 was Phobia, a psychological thriller in which she essayed the role of Mehak, an artist suffering from agoraphobia. Her performance in the movie received several accolades from the audience and critics alike, with Raja Sen of rediff.com saying that Radhika Apte is stellar as the victim suffering from agoraphobia. Her performance is so believable and convincing that you feel her pain, her anxiety and you sympathize with her situation. Her second release in 2016 was Kabali opposite superstar Rajinikanth. In one of her interviews regarding the film, she said, ''I enjoyed the experience a lot, in fact, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Rajini sir is such a wonderful man. There can never be another like him.'' Her 2018 release includes Pad Man under the direction of R. Balki co-starring Akshay Kumar.