THIS Outsider Came to Mumbai with ₹10,000; Was a Camera Assistant Before ₹2000 Cr Debut

Wed Mar 12 10:44:34 IST 2025

Not everyone starts off with a smooth ride. Many actors have had to struggle in their initial days before making it big. Bollywood is full of such stories where artists had to indulge in different jobs before the big break made them an overnight sensation.

Today we shall talk of one such actress who came to Mumbai with dreams. But she did struggle initially before getting a massive break. Her debut in Bollywood came in a film that raked in over Rs. 2000 crore at the box office. Not too long ago she also starred in another blockbuster that made nearly Rs. 1200 crore. She has slowly but surely established herself despite being an outsider.

Who Is This Actress?

The actress we speak of is none other than Sanya Malhotra who made her debut with Aamir Khan in Dangal in 2016. In 2023 she acted with Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan, which was another blockbuster. Dangal was her arrival in Bollywood and what a way to start off!

How Did Sanya Get the Role in Dangal?

She had earlier gotten a call from Mukesh Chabbra’s office for a role but the movie was shelved. She got a call again and this time it was for Dangal

. She gave several screen tests and discussed the project with Aamir’s team and finally Sanya bagged the role of Babita Kumari. The rest, as they say, is history.

Early Struggles and Coming to Mumbai

In Delhi Sanya worked as a dance teacher and earned Rs. 15,000 per month. She went to Mumbai with just Rs. 10,000 after quitting her job to take part in Dance India Dance

. She made it to the top 100 but no further. To make ends meet, she then worked as a camera assistant for TV commercials and later even starred in small TV advertisements.

Career After Dangal

Since then, Sanya has not looked back. Other than Jawan, she has done several successful and critically acclaimed films such as Badhaai Ho, Sam Bahadur, Photograph, Ludo, Shakuntala, Pagglait, Love Hostel

and Kathal. She was last seen in Mrs and her performance was well appreciated. Sanya shall next be seen in the Tamil film Thug Life which is still filming.