Niharika Singh

Niharika was born on 31 August 1982 in New Delhi to Lalita and Ajit Kumar Singh. She spent her childhood in Ghaziabad, Haridwar, Agra, Nainital, Saharanpur and Dehradun changing homes and schools every few years. Her father worked for Uttar Pradesh Tourism and after the state was divided, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Government of India. Her mother studied fashion designing and ran a design institute in New Delhi. Her maternal family from Rajasthan (Regar caste) and paternal family from Uttar Pradesh (Jatav caste)[5] were both influenced by Arya Samaj but Niharika does not practice any religion. She has a sister, Garima, who is two years younger than her.

Singh was an avid reader growing up and showed a keen interest in creative writing and dramatics. She recalls her first performance as Bharat Mata at the age of 4 in her primary school in Haridwar. She regularly attended children theatre workshops in New Delhi conducted by Sahitya Kala Parishad before she was sent to an all girls boarding school, All Saints' College, in Nainital.[6]

Singh started modelling in 1999 at the age of 17 when she first walked the ramp for a design institute in Dehradun. A year later, she moved to New Delhi to pursue a degree in B.Com (Hons) at Shri Ram College of Commerce. While modelling in Delhi, Singh featured in several print campaigns, fashion magazines and music videos. Niharika dropped out of college and moved to Mumbai in 2003 to pursue a full time career in the entertainment business after her younger sister got admission in St Xaviers College.

Singh[7] participated in Femina Miss India in 2005[8] and won the title of Miss Earth India[9] along with subtitles for Miss Photogenic and Miss Beautiful Hair after which she went on to represent India at Miss Earth 2005 held in the Philippines. She appeared in several television commercials, print ads, music videos and hosted a reality series Banungi Main Miss India[10] with the Femina Miss India contestants of 2006. Niharika was listed in Times of India's Most Desirable Women list of 2005.[11][12][13]

Her career in films[14] started when she signed a 10-film contract with Bollywood director Raj Kanwar in 2006. The films were never made. In 2007, director John Matthew Matthan and producer Bhushan Kumar of T-Series made A New Love Ishtory[15] with Himesh Reshammiya, Raqesh Bapat and her in the lead. Niharika attended an acting course with Barry John (theatre director) before she started filming for A New Love Ishtory.[16] Due to internal differences, Bhushan Kumar pulled the finance and the film was sold directly to a television channel in 2013. Singh shot for her second film opposite Reshammiya, Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh Mudh Mudh Ke[17] which was shelved mid-way.[18] She also acted in a Kannada film Private Number[19] that never got a release.[20][21]

Singh made her feature film debut with Ashim Ahluwalia's[22] Indian drama Miss Lovely,[23][24] set in the criminal depths of Mumbai's C-grade sex-horror film industry.[25] The film competed in Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival[26][27]and won 2 awards at the 61st National Film Awards. Singh played Pinky/Sonika,[28] a mysterious ingénue with a shadowy past, for which she earned rave reviews for her performance and a nomination for the most promising newcomer at the 21st Screen Awards.[29]

Niharika rediscovered cinema after her tryst with Cannes for Miss Lovely.[30][31] She joined a course in Film Appreciation at the Film and Television Institute of India in 2013 to expand her understanding of cinema.[32]The actor admitted that she doesn’t really identify with the usual potboiler stuff. She also said she is disturbed by the workings of the Hindi film industry.[33]

Niharika made a brief appearance in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa[34] that premiered at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival and released on Eros Now[35] in 2020.[36] Next, she starred in Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's multi-lingual drama Sohra Bridge, which screened at the 46th International Film Festival of India.[37] Singh played Ria, a girl who embarks on a journey across the remote expanses of Northeast India, searching for her estranged father.[38]

In 2016, Niharika was selected for Berlinale Talents. She was introduced to Alexander Technique while attending a workshop with Jean-Louis Rodrigue and Kristof Konrad at the Berlin Talent Campus.[39]

Singh reunited with director Ashim Ahluwalia for his segment "Palace of horrors" in the feature length horror anthology The Field Guide to Evil produced by Tim League and Ant Timpson. She played a disturbing Sadhavi who watches over a menagerie of creatures abandoned by a king who has lost his mind. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest 2018.[40][41][42]

Niharika made an appearance next in Nikhil Pherwani's directorial debut Ahaan[43] a film about an endearing, free spirited boy with Down Syndrome.

In March 2019, Singh joined Future East Film as one of the directors of the company where she introduced a Diversity Film Training[44] programme for students from marginalised backgrounds.

In 2007, a model from Benaras shot to fame by walking down the ramp impersonating Miss India Earth, Niharika Singh.[45]

Niharika[46]issued a public statement[47][48] in 2017 when her name was used to garner publicity to sell actor[49]Nawazuddin Siddiqui's[50]memoir An Ordinary Life published by Penguin Random House with a fabricated[51] account of their relationship. After a severe backlash[52] and a defamation case[53] by another actress Sunita Rajwar,[54][55]Nawazuddin Siddiqui issued an apology and withdrew[56][57] the book within a fortnight after its release.[58] Aaliya Siddiqui, the actor's estranged wife[59] expressed her concerns and said she had warned the actor against writing the book.[60] Veteran actress Asha Parekh showed her displeasure and said, "What Nawazuddin did to the ladies was not in good taste."[61][62][63] In a later interview, Siddiqui stated that "It was the biggest mistake of my life."[64]

In 2018, Niharika gave a statement to the crime branch in flight attendant Anissia Batra's[65] alleged suicide case, in which she described Mayank Singh Singhvi, the prime accused as violent and abusive while they were briefly engaged in 2011.[66] Niharika also claimed that Anissia had contacted her over the phone a few weeks before her mysterious death and they had formed a kind of sisterhood.[67]

In November 2018, Singh[68] wrote a piece addressing the Me Too movement in India as a dalit[69] woman in the entertainment business which was posted by journalist Sandhya Menon on Twitter and was picked up by all leading media publications thereafter.[70][71][72][73][74][75]

Singh was treated as the state guest[76] in Uttarakhand after being crowned Miss Earth India[77] She was appointed the goodwill ambassador for Rotary Blood Bank[78] in 2005 at the behest of the Governor of Uttarakhand Sudarshan Agarwal and a garden was named after her in Mussoorie.[79]

Singh was invited to speak on a panel Can Popular cinema break the caste barrier in India with filmmakers Pa. Ranjith and Nagraj Manjule at India Conference 2019 in Harvard University. Niharika has also been a guest and speaker at panels in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New School and Columbia University. She was felicitated at the first Dalit Film and Cultural Festival[80] held in New York.[81][82]

• IBNLive Movie Awards 2015 - Best Female Debut - Won[83]
• 21st Annual Life OK Screen Awards - Most Promising Newcomer Female - Nominated

• Niharika Singh at IMDb
• Niharika Singh at Bollywood Hungama