Pallavi Sharda

Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1992 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian actress and Bharathanatyam dancer who works primarily in Indian and Australian cinema and television industry. She is best known for her role in the Netflix Rom-Com Wedding Season. She has also starred in Hindi-language films Besharam (2013), Hawaizaada (2015), and Begum Jaan (2017). She starred in the 2012 Australian film Save Your Legs! and the 2019 TV series Les Norton. Sharda starred in Tom & Jerry, The Twelve, and the Academy Award-nominated film Lion (2016).

Beyond acting, Sharda has been involved in philanthropy and cultural advocacy, serving on the board of Screen Australia, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation through the Witchery White Shirt campaign, and partnering with social enterprises like Dharma Life and E-Kutir to support women in rural India.

Early life and education Pallavi Sharda was born on 5 March 1992 in Perth, Western Australia. They migrated to Australia in the early 1980s, soon after the birth of Pallavi's elder brother.

Sharda moved to Melbourne as a toddler, where she grew up in the outer north-western suburbs. and at the age of 16 commenced her LLB and BA (Media & Communications) and Diploma in Modern Languages (French) at the University of Melbourne, graduating with honours at 21.

She trained for many years in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, and also learnt some Odissi dance.

Career Screen Sharda moved from Melbourne to Mumbai around 2008-2010 to follow a career in film. She started her career by playing a cameo in Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan, released in 2010. In 2011 and 2012 Sharda was the lead actress of the theatrical musical, Taj Express directed by Shruti Merchant and choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant.

Sharda made her Australian film debut with comedy film Save Your Legs, which released on 28 February 2013. She was selected through an audition process in India when producers travelled there to find an Indian actress who could convincingly play an Australian. She then appeared in Abhinav Kashyap's Bollywood film Besharam, a breakthrough performance opposite Ranbir Kapoor,

Sharda joined Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in the Hollywood film Lion in 2016. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she played the role of Prama. Her next Bollywood film, Begum Jaan, released in April 2017. Sharda received critical acclaim for her authenticity in the portrayal of Gulabo, a sex worker in rural Punjab, at the time of Pakistan's partition from India.

Sharda played a leading role in ABC Television's medical drama Pulse (2017), which earned her the Casting Guild of Australia's "Rising Star" award. She played in the ABC-TV series Les Norton in 2019, performing opposite David Wenham as Georgie Burman, a spunky and pragmatic casino manager.

In 2020, she starred in Beecham House, ITV's historical drama series directed by Gurinder Chadha, the British Indian director whose work she wrote about in her dissertation at university.

In 2021, Sharda appeared as Megan Chapman in the British Netflix drama The One. That same year, she featured in the live-action film Tom & Jerry, alongside Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, and Colin Jost.

In 2022, Sharda starred as Asha in the Netflix romantic comedy Wedding Season, opposite Suraj Sharma. Directed by Tom Dey and produced by Imagine Entertainment, Jax Media, and Swati Shetty, the film follows two Indian-Americans who pretend to date during wedding season before developing a genuine relationship.

In 2022 she starred in the Australian award-winning drama The Twelve opposite Sam Neill. This garnered her a Logie nomination for Most outstanding supporting actress for her portrayal of 24 year old Corrie D'Souza – a head juror marred by her own story of PTSD in 2023.

In 2024, Sharda was cast in two Australian comedy films. SPIT, which released theatrically in March 2025, features Sharda as Aria Sahni, a lawyer known for her unconventional methods. One More Shot premiered on Stan in October 2025, following screenings at SXSW Austin, its Australian premiere, and the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Audio Sharda starred in the Audible original podcast The Missed, written by Sami Shah and released in August 2022.

Other activities Sharda joined Sony ESPN's team as their new face for the IPL 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL).

As of 2016 Sharda was on the board of advisers for the social enterprise eKutir, an organisation focuses on rural development projects across sanitation, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, located in the state of Odissa in eastern India, She worked with eKutir for several years.

In 2023, she was appointed to the Screen Australia board, becoming the youngest member ever and first of Indian origin. She also partnered with World Vision Australia alongside other notable Australian women activists to raise her voices to empower 1,000 girls.

In 2024 she became an ambassador of the Witchery White Shirt campaign, to help raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research.

In 2025, Sharda began working with Dharma Life, a social enterprise based in India, talking with women social entrepreneurs in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand in northern India.

She has been a regular keynote speaker on Asia Literacy in Australia, cross-cultural relations between India and Australia, and women's empowerment in India. She has delivered talks at forums including the Australia India Leadership Dialogue (AILD) in Melbourne, where she spoke about the role of culture and technology in strengthening bilateral ties and highlighted cultural diplomacy as a form of soft power.

Recognition and honours Sharda was crowned Miss India Australia in Sydney in 2010.

In 2015 she was appointed the "Queen of Moomba", Melbourne's largest community festival, alongside retired Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2021 Equity Ensemble Awards Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (with Maria Angelico, Nicholas Boshier, Max Brown, Esther Hannaford & Ilai Swindells) Retrograde

Filmography Film

Television