From a part in My Name Is Khan to hosting the ninth edition of IPL Extraaa Innings and bagging a Hollywood film, Pallavi Sharda has come a long way and it doesn’t look like she is going to stop anytime soon. As one of the hosts along with Gaurav Kapoor, Samir Kochhar and Rochelle Rao, the 28-year-old approaches it as an opportunity to explore Indian culture in a different way.
Born and brought up in Australia, Sharda was always surrounded by academicians; both her parents, Dr Hema Sharda and Dr Nalin Sharda, are IIT alumni. And much like her parents, Sharda also had an inclination towards academics — she holds degrees in law, media and communication and the French language. But academics weren’t her only interest. Her childhood dream was to become an actor. Trained in Bharatnatyam and having participated in Miss India Australia in 2010, Sharda moved to Mumbai in the same year and signed two films — Dus Tola and My Name Is Khan. “Academics is very important in my family. I did want to study, but I was also keen on exploring my childhood dream, of becoming an actor,” she shares.
However, her journey from Melbourne to Mumbai was no cakewalk. Even after her two movie roles in 2010, she went through endless rounds of auditions before bagging the lead role in Besharam in 2013. “When I came to Mumbai, I didn’t know any one there. I remember going to production houses and trying to call people,” recalls Sharda.
Having worked with actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana and Manoj Bajpai, Sharda is immensely excited about the IPL. “I was recommended to IPL, because a few people knew I had an interest in cricket. I grew up watching all the Indian matches,” says Sharda. “I am completely myself on the show, completely raw. I know I make mistakes, but I get very excited when I do my interviews,” she adds enthusiastically.
Details: Catch IPL Extraaa Innings on hotstar.com