Hansika Motwani

Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. Motwani began her career as a child actor in Hindi films, and later went on to appear in lead roles in Telugu films, including Desamuduru, Kantri (2008) and Maska (2009). She started her career in Tamil cinema with Mappillai (2011) and then appeared in several commercially successful Tamil films such as Engeyum Kadhal (2011), Velayudham (2011), Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012), (2013), Singam II (2013) and (2014). She has also acted in the Malayalam film Villain (2017).

Early life

Hansika Motwani, hailing from a Sindhi Hindu family, was born on 9 August 1991 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her father, Pradeep Motwani, is a businessman, while her mother, Mona Motwani, is a dermatologist. She received her education at the Podar International School and the International Curriculum School, Santacruz both located in Mumbai.

Career

2001–2010

Motwani began her television career as a child actor with a serial called Shaka Laka Boom Boom. She later acted in the Indian serial Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand and appeared as one of the children in Koi... Mil Gaya. She also did ad campaigns for Bournvita, Onida and Santro, as a child artiste.

She made her debut in 2007 at the age of 15 in a lead role in Puri Jagannadh's Telugu film Desamuduru and earned the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for her performance. She later appeared in the Hindi film Aap Kaa Surroor with Himesh Reshammiya.

Her first 2008 release was Bindaas, starring Puneeth Rajkumar, and is her first and only Kannada film to date. Later that year, she appeared in Kantri with Jr. NTR.

2011–2015

Motwani debuted in Tamil cinema with Mappillai. Her next Tamil film, Engeyum Kadhal was a successful one. The same year she went on to star alongside Vijay in Velayudham.

In 2012, she had two releases, one in Tamil and another one in Telugu. Her first release was M. Rajesh's romantic comedy film Oru Kal Oru Kannadi which became her first runaway hit and earned her positive reviews for her performance. In Telugu, she was featured in Denikaina Ready which also earned a positive response from the public. She received her first Best Actress nomination at the 60th Filmfare Awards South for her performance in the films. In 2013, she appeared in four Tamil films such as , Sundar C's , Hari's Singam II starring Suriya and Venkat Prabhu's Biriyani with Suriya's brother Karthi. She had five releases in 2014, two of them were Telugu films, the comedy flick Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda and the action-masala film Power. Her Tamil releases were the fantasy film Maan Karate with Sivakarthikeyan, Sundar C's horror comedy and the action thriller film Meaghamann.

Aambala, her third collaboration with Sundar C, was her first 2015 release. Her second release that year was Romeo Juliet, which marked her second film with Jayam Ravi. She also appeared in Vaalu with Silambarasan.

2016–present In 2016, Aranmanai 2 directed by Sundar C received mixed reviews. Motwani had a list of flops later that year, including Uyire Uyire and Pokkiri Raja. Her last release in 2016 was Manithan with Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Bogan was her first release in 2017 and it was reviewed positively. Many critics praised her for her performance in the introduction scene and the pre-climax scene. She also acted in a Telugu film Luckunnodu. She debuted in Malayalam films with Villain in 2017.

Her first release of 2018 was Gulaebaghavali in which she played a con-artist's role named Viji. Her other release of 2018 was Thuppakki Munai, starring Vikram Prabhu. In 2019, she appeared with Atharvaa in the Tamil film 100, directed by Sam Anton and in the Telugu film Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL opposite Sundeep Kishan.

For her 50th film, Motwani was the lead actress in Maha (2022). She was seen in the horror 105 Minuttess (2024) and Guardian (2024).

Personal life Motwani regularly practices meditation. She said in an interview, "The best way to effectively de-stress for me is to chant- Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo, as I strongly follow Buddhism." According to the actress, chanting has helped her personally and professionally. She married her longtime boyfriend, businessman Sohail Khaturiya on 4 December 2022 in Mundota Fort and Palace, Jaipur. The couple got divorced on 11 March 2026, with Motwani refusing to seek alimony.

Other work and media image Motwani participates in philanthropic activities. She provides monetary support for the education of underprivileged children and women who are suffering with breast cancer. She is the brand Ambassador of Chennai turns Pink, an awareness program to promote breast cancer awareness among women.

In 2014, she was featured in Forbes's 250 celebrities list.

Filmography

Films + Year Title Role Language Notes 2003 Hawa Sasha Hindi Child artist Koi... Mil Gaya Priya Sharma 2004 Jaago Shruti Verma Hum Kaun Hai? Sara Williams Aabra Ka Daabra Pinky 2007 Desamuduru Vaishali Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South Aap Kaa Surroor Riya Bakshi Hindi Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut 2008 Bindaas Preethi Kannada Kantri Varalakshmi / Hamsa Telugu Money Hai Toh Honey Hai Ashima Kapoor Hindi 2009 Maska Meenakshi 'Meenu' Telugu Billa Priya Cameo appearance Jayeebhava Anjali 2010 Seeta Ramula Kalyanam Lankalo Nandhini 2011 Mappillai Gayathri Tamil Engeyum Kadhal Kayalvizhi (Lolita) Kandireega Shruthi Telugu Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) Velayudham Vaidehi Tamil Oh My Friend Ritu Sharma Telugu 2012 Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Meera Mahendrakumar Tamil Denikaina Ready Sharmila Telugu Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu 2013 Madhumitha Tamil Sanjana Singam II Sathya Biriyani Priyanka 25th Film 2014 Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda Honey Telugu Maan Karate Yazhini Sethuraman Tamil Power Nirupama Telugu Selvi Tamil Meaghamann Usha 2015 Aambala Maya Romeo Juliet Aishwarya (Subbulakshmi) Vaalu Priya Mahalakshmi Puli Princess Manthagini Size Zero Herself Telugu Bilingual film; cameo appearance Inji Iduppazhagi Tamil 2016 Aranmanai 2 Maya Tamil Pokkiri Raja Sunitha Uyire Uyire Priya Manithan Priya 2017 Luckunnodu 'Positive' Padma Telugu Bogan Mahalakshmi Tamil Singam 3 Sathya Special appearance Goutham Nanda Spoorthi Telugu Villain Dr. Shreya Venkatesh Malayalam 2018 Gulaebaghavali Viji Tamil Thuppakki Munai Mythili 2019 NTR: Kathanayakudu Jaya Prada Telugu Special appearance 100 Nisha Tamil Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL Rukmini Telugu 2022Maha Maha Tamil 50th Film 2023 Partner Female Kalyan / Unnamed woman Dual role My Name Is Shruthi Shruthi Telugu 2024105 Minuttess Jaanu GuardianAparnaTamil

Television

Music videos + Year Title Singer(s) LanguageLabel Ref. 2007 Ishq Na Karna Agam Kumar Nigam and Tulsi Kumar Hindi T-Series 2021 Booty Shake Tony Kakkar and Sonu KakkarDesi Music Factory Mazaa B PraakSaregama 2022 Shreaam Pagal Sunidhi ChauhanPunjabiYRF

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2003 Indian Telly Awards Best Child Artiste – Female Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand 2008 53rd Filmfare Awards Best Female Debut Aap Kaa Surroor 55th Filmfare Awards South Best Female Debut – South Desamuduru 20121st South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress – TeluguKandireega Actress – Special Appreciation (Telugu) Best Female Debut – Tamil Mappillai Best Actress – Tamil Engeyum Kadhal 2013 2nd South Indian International Movie Awards Oru Kal Oru Kannadi 60th Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Telugu Denikaina Ready 2014 3rd South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Actress – Tamil 20154th South Indian International Movie Awards 2018 7th South Indian International Movie Awards Style Icon of the Year 2022 10th South Indian International Movie Awards Decade of Excellence in South Indian Cinema