Mannara

Early life and family Mannara Chopra was born as Barbie Handa on 29 March 1991, in Ambala Cantonment, Haryana. She later changed her name to Mannara Chopra, on her cousin Priyanka's advice.

Her mother, Kamini Chopra Handa is a jewellery designer and her father Raman Rai Handa, was an advocate at Delhi High Court. She has a younger sister, Mitali Handa, who has studied commerce and is a fashion stylist.

Chopra completed her schooling at Summer Fields School, New Delhi, and later pursued a BBA degree. Actresses Priyanka Chopra, Parineeti Chopra and Meera Chopra are her maternal cousins.

Career Early work and debut (2012-2015) After completing her education in Delhi, Chopra moved to Mumbai, where she started her career in modelling and moved into advertising. She acted in 40 commercials, Suzuki with Salman Khan, Dulux paints with Farhan Akhtar, Parle Marie with Imtiaz Ali, Myntra, three of them alongside her cousin Priyanka Chopra, including one for Dabur Amla, which she said won her "instant recognition" and landed her an offer in Telugu films. Chopra is the original face of Ganna commercial, and appeared in Amit Trivedi's song '"Bas Bajna Chahiye", the theme song for Gaana. Before making her film debut, she also worked as a fashion designer and as an assistant choreographer, being trained in dance forms like hip hop and belly dancing.

By 2014, Mannara ventured into acting, signing up for films in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada. Chopra made her acting debut with the Telugu film Prema Geema Jantha Nai (2014), then credited under her birth name, which featured her as a "very talkative college going girl" opposite Sreerama Chandra. Mohar Basu of Koimoi called her "radiant" though noted that, she needed "a good deal more of experience". The film was a commercially profitable venture.

In 2015, Chopra had special appearance in a song in two Tamil films: Sandamarutham and Kaaval.

Career fluctuations (2016-2022) Chopra made her comeback to Telugu films and had two releases in 2016. She first appeared opposite Sunil in Jakkanna, which was a hit at the box office. She also played the lead opposite Sai Dharam Tej in Thikka. The film was a commercial failure but won her the Special Jury Award at the 15th Santosham Film Awards.

Chopra made her Kannada film debut in 2017, with the bilingual Rogue, opposite Ishaan. She received another Special Jury Award at 16th Santosham Film Awards for the film. Chopra played Anjali, a woman threatened by a goon. Mukta Badipatla of Times of India stated that she "fits in her role perfectly". After a year-long hiatus, Chopra played Rupa, a personal assistant in Sita in 2019. Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost said that Chopra had a "poorly written" part.

In 2021, Chopra played Niharika, a singer in the Hindi short film Haale Dil on Broken Notes, opposite Gautam Vig. In 2022, she played Gayi, one of the five friends in Hi Five - Fun and Gun. A reviewer of Times of India found her to be "fantastic" in the film.

Bigg Boss 17 and beyond (2023-present)

From 2023 to 2024, Chopra appeared on the reality show Bigg Boss 17, marking her Hindi television debut. She became one of the highest-paid contestant of the season. Chopra emerged as the 2nd runner-up.

In 2023, Chopra also made her web debut with ALT Balaji's Bhootmate, in which she played a ghost Pari. Chopra will next appear in the Telugu film Thiragabadara Saami, opposite Raj Tarun and in the Punjabi film Ohi Chann Ohi Raatan.

Other work and media image

Chopra was placed in the "35 most influential young Indians" list by GQ, in 2024.

In addition to her acting career, Chopra has appeared in various music videos such as Na Hona Tumse Door with Gajendra Verma, Ham Reh Gaye Akele with Pranav Vatsa and Sukoon with Ashmit Patel. Chopra also appeared as a showstopper for Ashima S at the 2017 India Runway Week. In 2023, Chopra made her singing debut with Zara Zara Behekta Hai. In 2024, Chopra appeared in the music video Saanware opposite Abhishek Kumar, her first project post Bigg Boss.

Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released

Films

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2023–2024 Bigg Boss 17 Contestant 2nd runner-up 2024 Dance Deewane 4 Herself Guest appearance 2025 Laughter Chefs – Unlimited Entertainment Contestant Season 2

Web series Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2023 Bhootmate Pari 2025 Ek Farzi Love Story Manara Special appearance

Music videos Year Title Singer(s) Ref. 2021 Na Hona Tumse Door Gajendra Verma 2022 Ham Reh Gaye Akele Pranav Vatsa2023 Sukoon Kartikeya Tiwari Zara Zara Behekta Hai Mannara Chopra 2024 Saanware Akhil Sachdeva Dheere Dheere Payal Dev, Aditya Dev Tera Kasoor Vishal Mishra, Payal Dev

Awards Year Award Category Film Result Ref. 2015 Lions Gold Awards Best Female Debut Zid 2017Santosham Film AwardsBest Actress – Special Jury Award Thikka 2018 Rogue