Background

Ethnicity: Though Irani was born in India, she is of Persian descent.

Sanaya Irani was born on September 17, 1983, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She has a brother and a sister.

Education

Irani spent seven years in a boarding school in Ooty. Following this, she graduated from Sydenham College and was pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree before becoming a model.

Career

Irani's first modelling portfolio was done by photographer-turned actor Boman Irani. Irani made her acting debut with a cameo in the Yash Raj Film Fanaa (2006) as Mehbooba. The actress spent the year doing TV advertisements with Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and others before entering television. She made her debut with Jagjit Singh's Tumko Dekha.

Her television debut was in the SAB TV drama Left Right Left (2007) as Cadet Sameera Shroff. She was tutored by her director for her Hindi. This was followed by a negative role in Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi (2008) on Imagine TV.

Irani's first lead role as a protagonist was in STAR One's Miley Jab Hum Tum (2008-2010), as the simple, studious and reclusive Gunjan. Her co-stars included Mohit Sehgal, Rati Pandey, and Arjun Bijlani. Irani briefly hosted the second season of Zara Nachke Dikha on STAR Plus with boyfriend Mohit Sehgal (2010). She was also seen as a panel member in Meethi Chorii No. 1 opposite Ragini Khanna (2010).

She portrayed the bubbly and loving Khushi Kumari Gupta, the female protagonist of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? (2011-2012) opposite Barun Sobti. The show, which aired its final episode on November 30, 2012, had consistently maintained its position as one of the top ten daily dramas on Indian general entertainment channels.

In early 2013, Irani hosted Zee TV's Valentine's Day special Ishq Wala Love opposite Karan Grover. She later appeared as a contestant in Welcome - Baazi Mehmaan-Nawaazi ki (2013), hosted by Ram Kapoor. The actress was seen in Week One of the reality show opposite Ragini Khanna, Nigaar Khan, and others.

She played the role of a vivacious and modern girl in Chhan Chhan (2013). The show was loosely based on the Hindi movie Khubsoorat. Irani then appeared in Rangrasiya (2014) as Parvati. The show was produced by Saurabh Tiwari, head of Tequila Shots Production. The story followed a border security personnel and an orphan girl who were ideologically different. It ended in September. She was seen opposite Ashish Sharma.

In August 2013, Irani made a brief guest appearance in the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa to support her best friend Drashti Dhami. She made an appearance again in the seventh season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa to support Ashish Sharma in June 2014. She made an appearance in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?... Ek Baar Phir in the first episode to introduce Aastha (Shrenu Parikh). In December 2013, Irani made a special guest appearance in Bigg Boss 7 in the grand finale along with Ashish Sharma, Preetika Rao, and Harshad Arora. She also made a special appearance in Beintehaa in March and June 2014.

Irani went on a U.K. tour on behalf of Star Plus. She made an appearance in Birmingham, London on April 30, 2013, and in Leicester on May 1, 2013, to have a meet and greet with fans where she was welcomed by a huge crowd. Irani visited London a second time for the Star Parivaar Live event on November 25, 2013. She visited Los Angeles, CA on December 8, 2013, to attend the Artesia Shopping Festival and have a meet and greet with fans.

Irani also participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 8 in 2015 which aired on Colors. Irani reprised her role of Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada again in its sequel mini-series Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?... Ek Jashan (2015) which ended in December. In 2017, Irani participated in the dance show Nach Baliye 8 with her husband Mohit Sehgal. During Nach Baliye Sanaya and Mohit were in a controversy as fans of Divyanka Tripathi had claimed that they were the fixed winners, but she said this is untrue. In 2018 Irani appeared only in one TV show as a guest contestant, India's Next Superstars. Also in 2018, she appeared in two web series, Vodka Shots and Zindabad. In 2019 she appeared in Kitchen Champion 5, Khatra Khatra Khatra, Nach Baliye 9 and Bigg Boss 13. She will also play the role of Simran Singh in the film Ghost, which is to be released on October 18, 2019.

Achievements

• Sanaya Irani is known today as a prominent actress and a famous contestant and host of numerous popular Indian television shows. She received three Face of The Year awards and the Indian Telly Award for Best Onscreen Couple in 2012. She is the only Indian television actress to be listed in People Magazine's forty most beautiful women. K-based newspaper Eastern Eye placed her in their 50 Sexiest Asian Women list in 2012. She was again ranked at the 10th position for the Eastern Eye newspaper. In 2014, she was listed in the top 10 best television actresses by Rediff.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Fanaa

    (A romantic thriller about a visually impaired girl Zooni ...)

    2006

Religion

Irani follows Zoroastrianism.

Views

Irani, who is passionate about animals and animal welfare, says Indian cinema should make space for wildlife content.

Quotations: "It is important to have awareness regarding animals, forests and everything related to the environment."

Personality

Irani had grown up in India, but as she was of Persian descent, her Hindi was never too good. This caused a lot of problems for her career, especially in the initial stages, as delivering simple dialogues too took a lot of effort from her side.

The actress states that had she not become an actress, she would have probably gotten into the creative field and would have become a fashion designer or an interior designer.

Irani loves Aamir Khan among all other Bollywood actors. She is a die-hard fan of Bollywood music and Bollywood films, and she says she likes all of them, but rarely watches Indian television. However, her favorite television show is the popular sitcom Friends, and her favorite color is Black.

Apart from acting, she is known for her dancing skills.

Irani is a shopaholic and her favorite shopping destination is the US.

She loves all animals and has three pet dogs called Spider, Tia, and Kaliya. However, she absolutely hates rats and cockroaches.

During an interview, Irani was asked what it was that she wanted to change about herself, the actress stated that it would be her friends’ opinion on her. She added that her friends believe she is snappy and moody, which she would like to change, as her friends really mean a lot to her.

Irani stated that she doesn't follow a diet and eats whatever is put on her plate, and when it comes to drinks, coffee comes before everything else for her.

Physical Characteristics: Irani's height is 5' 5'' (165 cm), and she weighs around 110 lbs (50 kg). Her hair colour is black, and her eye colour is brown.

As a child, she was slightly chubby, which she changed as she grew up. Now her figure is fit, and she doesn't spend all of her time counting the calories she takes in.

Interests

• shopping, travelling, dancing, animals

Connections

Irani met her husband Mohit Sehgal in the initial stages of her television career, and the two soon went from friends to lovers. Since Sanaya is a very happy and friendly woman, Mohit would feel insecure about their relationship, but it changed eventually as they grew together. Soon, the two decided to tie the knot and got married on January 25, 2016, among their friends and family in Goa.

Irani, who has many friends in the industry, is the closest to small screen actors: Gautami Kapoor, Arjun Bijlani, Akshay Dogra, Drashti Dhami, Daljeet Kaur Bhanot, Barun Sobti, and Ragini Khanna.

Spouse:

Mohit Sehgal

Friend:

Gautami Kapoor

Friend:

Arjun Bijlani

Friend:

Akshay Dogra

Friend:

Drashti Dhami

Friend:

Daljeet Kaur Bhanot

Friend:

Barun Sobti

Friend:

Ragini Khanna

References

• Kahani TV Stars ki
  2018