Chitrangada Singh

Singh was born on 30 August^[1] in Jodhpur, Rajasthan,^[4] growing up there as well as in Kota, Rajasthan, and also Bareilly and Sophia Girls' School, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, the latter city being the last where her father, Col. Niranjan Singh, an ex-Indian Army officer with a transferable job, was posted.^[5] Her brother Digvijay Singh Chahal is a golfer. After her schooling in Meerut at Sophia Girls' School, she completed her graduation in Home Science (food and nutrition) from Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.^[6]

Singh began her career as a model before making the transition to the silver screen. After completing her graduation, she began modeling.^[7] She later drew attention after performing in the music video Sunset Point by Gulzar, followed by a music video with Abhijeet Bhattacharya.^[8]

Singh made her film debut with Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2005.^[9] The film received critical acclaim and was a box office average. Singh played Geeta, a college student and social worker opposite Kay Kay Menon.^[10] Sukanya Verma stated, "Chitrangada is definitely someone to watch out for. She is a complete natural who zaps the camera with a passionate performance."^[11] John Pancake of The Washington Post noted her for giving "her character a deep sense of dignity and decency."^[12] Her next release, Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow was a critical and commercial failure.^[13]

Following a three year hiatus,^[14][15] Singh returned to films opposite Sanjay Suri in Onir's Sorry Bhai!.^[16] Its release over the weekend of the Mumbai terror attacks and was a failure at the box office.^[17] This failure led to another two years break from acting.^[18]

Singh started 2011 with Sudhir Mishra's Yeh Saali Zindagi, where she played a club singer Priti opposite Irrfan Khan.^[19] Despite positive reviews, it emerged an average grosser.^[20] Rajeev Masand noted, "Chitrangada uses her smoldering looks to create a mysterious character whose motivations and actions are unclear."^[21] Singh then played Tanya, an economics professor opposite Akshay Kumar in Rohit Dhawan's Desi Boyz.^[22] Taran Adarsh stated, "Chitrangada looks stunning and acts well, but her character isn't convincing."^[23] The film emerged a moderate success.^[24] In 2012, she performed a dance number in Shirish Kunder's Joker.^[25]

Singh had three releases in 2013. She first appeared as a prostitute in the short film Kirchiyaan.^[26] She then played an ambitious Maya opposite Arjun Rampal in Sudhir Mishra's Inkaar, which was box office average despite positive reviews.^[27] Rachit Gupta of Filmfare praised her performance and chemistry with Rampal.^[28] Singh later played Anushka a career women, in Kapil Sharma's I, Me Aur Main opposite John Abraham, which was a box office failure.^[29] This was followed by a dance number in Anjaan (2014) and Gabbar Is Back (2015) and a special appearance in Munna Michael (2018).^[30]

Singh turned a producer in 2018, with the biographical sports drama film Soorma, which was released under her banner C.S. Films and received positive response.^[31][32] She then played a mistress Suhani in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 opposite Sanjay Dutt, which flopped at the box office.^[33] In her last film of the year, Singh played Mandira, a businessman's wife opposite Saif Ali Khan in Gauravv K. Chawla's Baazaar.^[34] That year, she also ventured into television as a judge with DID Li'l Masters 4. With no release in 2019, she had a cameo appearance in Ghoomketu in 2020.^[35]

In 2021, Singh played Mary, an assassin's wife opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Diya Annapurna Ghosh's Bob Biswas.^[36] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu published, "Chitrangada gets a solid part as the ravishing wife of Bob. Though she doesn’t always succeed in shedding the uber-chic baggage, but her Mary shines among the wimpy men around her."^[37] In 2022, Singh expanded to OTT with the anthology series Modern Love Mumbai, playing Latika, an aspiring novelist opposite Arshad Warsi.^[38][39]

In 2023, Singh played Rukmani, a royal queen alongside Vikrant Massey in Gaslight.^[40] Saibal Chatterjee stated, "Chitrangada plays a woman whose allure lies in her ability to mask her desires and secrets behind a benign facade. She pulls it off for the most part."^[41] Following this, Singh appeared as Kadambari, in a cameo appearance in Khel Khel Mein.^[42]

In her first release of 2025, Singh played the leader of opposition in the series Khakee: The Bengal Chapter.^[43] Sugandha Rawal of Hindustan Times took note of her "commanding performance",^[44] while several reviews criticised her faltered character.^[45] She then played a businesswoman opposite Jackie Shroff in Housefull 5. The film was released in two versions, titled Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B, each featuring a different climax and murderer.^[46][47] Devesh Sharma stated that she adds to the "glamour quotient", but has nothing to do in the film.^[48]

After a five-year-long courtship, Singh married golfer Jyoti Randhawa in 2001. They have a son Zorawar, born in 2008.^[49][50] The couple got separated in 2013 and were formally divorced in April 2015. The custody of their son was granted to Singh.^[51]

For her performance in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Singh was placed in Rediff.com's "Best Bollywood Debut Ever" list.^[52] In Rediff.com's "Best Bollywood Actresses", she was placed 10th in 2005.^[53] In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Singh was placed 11th in 2011 and 4th in 2012.^[54][55] Singh is a celebrity endorser for several brands such as Airtel, Parachute, Puma, Garnier,^[56] Tanishq, Titan Eye Plus, Dollar Missy^[57] and Joyalukkas.^[58]