Rajshri Deshpande

Rajshri Deshpande is an actor and activist. Her portrayal of Laxami in Pan Nalin's Angry Indian Goddesses which got her international recognition. This was followed by the titular role of Durga in Sanal Kumar Sashidharan's 'Sexy Durga' which won the "Hivos Toger Award" at the Rotterdam Film Festival. She also plays the role of Manju in BBC One's McMafia. She received critical acclaim for her performance as Subhadra in the Netflix Original 'Sacred Games-1', directed by Anurag Kashyap. She played the role of Ismat Chughtai in Nandita Das's film 'Manto'. Her upcoming projects are 'Gormint' (an Amazon Original) and 'Nirvana-Inn', a film which will be having its World Premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and SAREGAMA produced 'Kanpuriye' with Vijay Raaz. Rajshri dedicates her time extensively to humanitarian causes.

Early life

Rajshri Deshpande was born in a working-class family in Aurangabad in Maharashtra. She is the youngest of three other siblings. She has an undergraduate degree in Law from Symbiosis Law College and a post-graduate degree in Advertising from Symbiosis College. She got into the advertising industry to support herself but soon found her calling in acting. She also did a diploma in film-making from Whistling Woods International in Mumbai.

Career

Rajshri made her Bollywood debut in 2012, with a small role in the Aamir Khan starrer Talaash. She then moved to TV and appeared in Kuch Toh Log Kahenge and 24: India in 2013. She returned to the big screen with a small role in Salman Khan's Kick. She appeared in Malayalam film Haram in 2015 where she had a double role. In Hindi cinema, it was the portrayal of Laxami in Pan Nalin's Angry Indian Goddesses which provided her with a bigger platform. The film received 1st Runner Up – People's Choice Award in TIFF (Toronto) and People's Choice Award in Rome Film Festival. She played the leading role Durga in Sanal Kumar Shashidharan's film Sexy Durga in 2017. The film won Hivos Toger Award at Rotterdam Film Festival.

She made her digital debut with BBC One's McMafia directed by James Watkins in January 2018. Rajshri was also seen in Netflix Originals Sacred Games which was directed by Anurag Kashyap. Rajshri played the character of Subhadra, and was praised for her role of the wife of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character. She is also portraying role of Ismat Chughtai in Nandita Das's Manto. In a controversy, she was accused of being porn star by some viewers of the Sacred Games for her performance in a nude sex scene to which she replied that her intentions were right and she didn't do anything wrong.

Social Service

Rajshri dedicates her time extensively to humanitarian causes. In 2014, after the Nepal earthquake she worked with an international NGO at one of the villages. In 2015, she adopted a drought-prone village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra called 'Pandhari' and single-handedly executed a rainwater harvesting project, built toilets, conducted health check-up and community motivation camps and built an eco-sensitive school in the same village. Encouraged by the success and social participation, she adopted one more village in the region. In 2018, she created the Nabhangan Foundation (www.nabhanganfoundation.org ) to broaden her efforts towards sustainable village development Since the last three years, she has been a core member of Citizens For Tomorrow, actress Juhi Chawla's NGO against plastic pollution. She believes in motivating people to become self-sustainable.