After starting off as a supporting actress in films like Tanu Weds Manu (2011) and Raanjhanaa (2013), Swara Bhasker caused a stir with her role in the acclaimed drama, Nil Battey Sannata (2016). Known for essaying a wide variety of roles, she has also been a part of commercially successful movies like Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), both of which ranked among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of that year.
In 2016, Swara Bhasker appeared in her first web series It's Not That Simple, with Vivan Bhatena, and Karanveer Mehra. Produced by Viacom 18's streaming service Voot, the show follows the tale of a modern homemaker, stuck in an unhappy nuptial.
EARLY LIFE
Born in New Delhi, India, to Ira Bhaskar, a lecturer of cinema studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi and Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar, a Telugu Indian Navy officer, Swara completed her schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and later graduated in English literature from Miranda House. For her masters, she read sociology at JNU.
Before venturing into the world of glamor, Swara Bhasker pursued theater passionately in Delhi, frequently collaborating with N. K. Sharma's ''Act One'' theater group. She then moved to the city of dreams-Mumbai, in 2008, to try her luck in the Hindi film industry.
PERSONAL LIFE
Swara Bhasker is in a relationship with the Nation Film Award winning screenwriter Himanshu Sharma, who is associated with films like Tanu Weds Manu (2011) and Raanjhanaa (2013).
MOVIE CAREER
Following a debut in the commercially flop film Madholal Keep Walking in 2009, Swara Bhasker appeared in a forgettable role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish, which starred Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead. She then played a role in the low-budget film, The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project (2010). In spite of premiering at the Transilvania International Film Festival, the movie was a box-office failure in India. After three unsuccessful films, Swara tasted success and was noticed only in her next project- Tanu Weds Manu (2011). For essaying Payal, a bride-to-be, Swara received her first Filmfare nomination for best-supporting actor. Directed by Anand L. Rai, the movie starred Kangana Ranaut and R. Madhavan in the lead.
In 2013, the actress featured in Listen... Amaya, which marked her maiden role as a lead. The movie alongside her starred art-house actors like Farooq Shaikh andDeepti Naval. Directed by Avinash Kumar Singh, Listen... Amaya received rave reviews by the audience and established Swara as an actress to watch out for. Her second release in the same year was the Arjun Kapoor starrer Aurangzeb. Produced by Aditya Chopra, the action thriller tanked at the box-office. She, then starred as the ridiculed lover, Bindiya in Anand L. Rai's romantic drama Raanjhanaa, receiving her second nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Subsequently, Swara appeared in commercial super hits like Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, thus proving her mettle, in a plethora of genres- ranging from parallel cinema to a hardcore masala film. But the film which catapulted Swara to stardom was Ashwini Iyer Tiwari's drama movie Nil Battey Sannata (2016). Portraying Chanda, a domestic help, who is single-handedly raising her daughter Apeksha played by Ria Shukla, Swara bagged the Silk Road International Film Festival for Best Actress.
Her 2017 release includes the drama film Anaarkali of Aarah, which along with her stars Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi in the lead.