Nikitha Thukral

Nikita Thukral (born July 6, 1981) is an Indian film actress and model, who has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films.

Early life

Thukral was born into a Punjabi family and was raised in Mumbai. She completed her M.A in Economics from Kishinchand Chellaram College. She was spotted by producer D. Ramanaidu while dining at a hotel in Juhu. He offered her a role in his upcoming film Hai (2002).

Career

After appearing in Hai, Thukral starred opposite Fahad Fazil (Fazil's son, who was then known as Shanu) in his film debut Kaiyethum Doorath. The Malayalam film was not a box office success, but she was able to find additional roles in Tamil and Telugu films like Kurumbu and Sambaram. In 2005, she entered Kannada cinema with S S Niwas's Maharaja. Thukral then returned to star in a Tamil film and featured in Venkat Prabhu's multistarrer Saroja as Kalyani, the muse of a gangster portrayed by Sampath Raj, and won critical acclaim for her performance. Her appearance in the song "Kodana Kodi" was appreciated as the song became popular, while her role in the film also led to her winning the ITFA Best Supporting Actress Award. The success led her to sign on to appear in a big film production, Gautham Menon's Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam in a role alongside Trisha Krishnan, but the film was shelved after two schedules. In addition to acting, Thukral has also done modelling work for designer Roopa Vohra. In 2011, she has appeared in the Tamil thriller film Muran as Indhu, alongside actors Cheran and Prasanna.

She participated in the first season of the reality show Bigg Boss Kannada, the Kannada version of Bigg Boss. She completed 99 days in the Bigg Boss Home and was the second runner-up of the show.

Controversy

Nikita Thukral was reportedly banned from Kannada films for three years starting from 10 September 2011 by the Kannada Film Producers' Association (KFPA) for an alleged illicit relationship with actor Darshan. The ban was implemented after Darshan's wife accused that he had assaulted her and in her complaint, she suggested that Thukral had been responsible for his violence. Consequently, Nikita denied the claims calling it "ridiculous" and asked for proof, announcing a voluntary break from Kannada films for trying to slur her image. Since the announcement of her ban, fellow film personalities have rallied in support of Thukral, who had been in hospital at the time due to low blood pressure and stress. Subsequently, the ban was revoked after five days of extensive against the KFPA's original decision.

Galleries of Nikitha