Nimrat Kaur

Nimrat Kaur
Kaur in 2018
Born (1982-03-13) 13 March 1982 (age 42)
Pilani, Rajasthan, India
Alma materShri Ram College of Commerce
OccupationActress
Years active2002–present

Nimrat Kaur (born 13 March 1982)[1][2] is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and in American television. She began her career as a print model and went on to act in theater. After brief appearances in a few films, Kaur starred in Anurag Kashyap's production Peddlers (2012). She followed it with her breakthrough role in the critically acclaimed drama The Lunchbox (2014).

In 2015, Kaur played the recurring role of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent Tasneem Qureishi in the fourth season of the American television series Homeland, and later reprised her role in its eighth season. She co-starred with Akshay Kumar in the war thriller Airlift. Kaur has since starred in the American mystery series Wayward Pines (2016) and the Indian drama series School of Lies (2023).

Early life and background

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Kaur was born into a Sikh family in Pilani, Rajasthan.[1][2][3] Her father, Major Bhupinder Singh, SC, was an Indian Army officer, and she has a younger sister, Rubina, who is a psychologist based in Bangalore.[4] Her family lived in Patiala, and she studied at Yadavindra Public School, Patiala. In 1994, her father was abducted and killed by Kashmiri insurgents.[2] Thereafter, her family moved to Delhi-suburb, Noida, where she grew up and attended Delhi Public School, Noida. Later, she studied at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University and obtained a B.Com. Hons. in commerce.[1][5]

After her studies, Kaur moved to Mumbai and worked as a print model. She began working as a theater actress, appearing in plays such as Baghdad Wedding (2012), All About Women, and Red Sparrow, working with directors like Sunil Shanbag and Manav Kaul.[6]

Career

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Early work and debut (2012–2015)

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Kaur was launched in a two-part music video for the songs "Tera Mera Pyar" by Kumar Sanu and "Yeh Kya Hua" by Shreya Ghoshal in 2004. The videos were directed by writer-editor Apurva Asrani.[1][7] She also did TV advertisements.[8]

Kaur made her film debut with a small role in an English film, One Night with the King (2006), which was shot in Rajasthan. Her Hindi film debut came with Peddlers in 2012, produced by Anurag Kashyap. The film was screened at Cannes Film Festival to good reviews.[9] Kaur came to public attention in India when she appeared in a mid-2013 Dairy Milk Silk commercial.[10]

Kaur in 2014

In 2013, Kaur also came to wider attention with her co-lead role in the epistolary romantic film The Lunchbox, when it aired at the Cannes Film Festival – her second consecutive appearance at Cannes.[11] The film was a commercial and critical success,[12] with Kaur receiving rave reviews for her portrayal of a lonely wife who begins a friendship with a stranger (Irrfan Khan) through letters in a tiffin carrier, (initially) mistakenly delivered to the stranger by a dabbawala.[5] Raja Sen of Rediff.com said of Kaur's performance: "It is a disarmingly natural performance that is impossible to forget and difficult to analyse, and in this limited space one may merely express admiration."[13] Jay Weissberg of Variety called her a "radiant presence",[14] while Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph wrote that "Nimrat strips off all the sentimentality to attach dignity and grace to the character. This one's a sparkling debut."[15]

In 2014, Kaur appeared as ISI agent Tasneem Qureishi in the fourth season of the American TV series Homeland.[16][17]

Career expansion (2016–present)

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In 2016, she acted in the war drama Airlift, alongside Akshay Kumar.[2] Based on the civil operation of evacuation of Indians based in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war, the film was released on 22 January to mostly positive reviews. Rajeev Masand in his review wrote: "For the most part, the film feels authentic, and Nimrat Kaur blends right in. Just a wee bit awkward in the early scenes, she comes into her own by the time she must deliver a scathing monologue during a crisis of faith over her husband's actions."[18] The film was a financial success.[19] Kaur also began portraying Rebecca Yedlin in the second season of the American television series Wayward Pines in 2016.[17][20]

In 2017, Kaur starred as Captain Shikha Sharma in the Hindi web series The Test Case and received positive response.[17][21][22] She returned for the eighth and final season of Homeland as a series regular in February 2020.[17][23][24] A Harini Prasad of The New Indian Express commented on her "commendable acting chops" and the "positive response" she has received for her work in the final season.[25]

After a four year hiatus, Kaur co-starred in the 2022 Netflix film Dasvi, playing Haryana's CM alongside Abhishek Bachchan.[26] Grace Cyril of India Today reviewed the film and stated, "Though Nimrat Kaur's character in Dasvi was confusing, she lit up the film with her performance."[27]

In 2023, she portrayed Yanna Seldon in the second season of the science fiction series Foundation.[28] In the same year, she played School counsellor in the web series School of Lies.[29] She played an inspector in Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video, her final work of the year.[30] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised her and said, "It is Nimrat Kaur who saves the day with a solid, admirably consistent performance as the investigator who has much more on her plate than just a case of a missing girl."[31]

Filmography

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Films

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  • All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted.
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2005 Yahaan News Anchor Interviewer
2006 One Night with the King Sarah English film
2010 Encounter Short film
2012 Peddlers Kuljeet
Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana Muskaan Khurana Cameo appearance
2013 The Lunchbox Ila Nominated—IIFA Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Screen Award for Best Actress 		[32]
2015 El'ayichi Padu Short film [33]
2016 Airlift Amrita Katyaal
2022 Dasvi Bimla "Bimmo" Devi Chaudhary [26]
2023 Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video Inspector Bela Barot [34]
2024 Section 84 † TBA Completed [35]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014; 2020 Homeland Tasneem Qureishi Recurring (season 4)
Main (season 8) 		[36]
2016 Wayward Pines Rebecca Yedlin Main (season 2) [37]
2016 Love Shots Arshi Film #1: The Road Trip [38]
2017-2018 The Test Case Capt. Shikha Sharma [21]
2023 School of Lies Nandita Mehra [39]
2023 Foundation Yanna Seldon Recurring (season 2) [40]

Music videos

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Year Title Singer Ref.
2005 "Tera Mera Pyar" Kumar Sanu [41]
"Ye Kya Hua" Shreya Ghoshal
2009 "Chaandan Mein" Kailash Kher

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Kaur Lakhi, Navleen (20 September 2013). "Personal Agenda: Nimrat Kaur". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 September 2013. Birthday: March 13
  2. ^ a b c d Gupta, Priya (9 December 2015). "Nimrat Kaur: My father was killed by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 December 2015. Nimrat Kaur, 33, is…
  3. ^ "Trailer out: Irrfan and Nimrat Kaur in Cannes-winning film Lunch Box". India Today. 16 August 2013 [14 August 2013]. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  4. ^ Kandpal, Kathika (9 December 2013). ""I wanted to sex up Ila from The Lunchbox" – Nimrat". Filmfare. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b Paitandy Rastogi, Tavishi (27 September 2013). "Nimrat Kaur: I am living my dream". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. ^ Singh Bajeli, Diwan (29 March 2012). "Stage of reason". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  7. ^ Tera Mera Pyar at AllMusic. Retrieved Sept 29, 2013.
  8. ^ "'The Lunchbox' new stills: Why Nimrat Kaur is a talent to watch out for". CNN-IBN. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  9. ^ Young, Deborah (21 May 2012). "Peddlers: Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  10. ^ Banerjee, Debesh (19 July 2013). "New Cadbury girl Nimrat Kaur is making waves in Bollywood". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  11. ^ Chakrabarti, Sujata (22 May 2013). "Nimrat Kaur on her second appearance at Cannes". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  12. ^ "The Lunchbox (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  13. ^ Sen, Raja (20 September 2013). "Review: The Lunchbox is the best Indian film in years". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  14. ^ Weissberg, Jay (19 May 2013). "Cannes Film Review: 'The Lunchbox'". Variety. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  15. ^ Gupta, Pratim D. (21 September 2013). "The Lunchbox". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  16. ^ O'Connell, Mikey (31 July 2014). "Homeland Adds Trio to Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ a b c d Roy, Priyanka (29 January 2019). "Nimrat Kaur's back as the baddie in Homeland". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  18. ^ Masand, Rajeev (22 January 2016). "'Airlift' review: The film turns the real-life story into a one-man mission". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Airlift box office collections: Akshay Kumar's patriotic theme powers take to Rs 122.65 crore". The Financial Express. 11 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (19 February 2016). "Wayward Pines Adds Kacey Rohl & Nimrat Kaur For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  21. ^ a b "The Test Case trailer: Nimrat Kaur looks tough as nails in her upcoming web series". The Indian Express. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Nimrat Kaur excited for Homeland 8, says had incredible time playing ISI agent Tasneem Qureshi". India Today. Indo Asian News Service New Delhi. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (14 January 2019). "'Homeland' Final Season: Nimrat Kaur & Numan Acar To Reprise Season 4 Roles". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  24. ^ Ausiello, Michael (2 August 2019). "Homeland Season 8 Delay Caused By 'Ambitious' Production Demands Not 'Missteps,' Says Showtime Boss". TVLine. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  25. ^ Prasad, A Harini (14 February 2020). "Interview: Nimrat Kaur talks about Homeland's finale, working in the West, and her fitness mantra". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via IndulgeExpress.com.
  26. ^ a b "Dasvi First Look Posters: Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur to Team Up for New Social Comedy". ABP Live. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Dasvi Movie Review: Abhishek Bachchan impresses as Haryanvi politician but the story falls flat". India Today. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (1 February 2022). "Foundation: Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Drama Adds 10 To Season 2 Cast, Unveils First Look". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  29. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (2 June 2023). "School Of Lies review: This immersive and engaging watch asks if kids are alright". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video Trailer: Nimrat Kaur, Radhika Madan, Bhagyashree Promise A Compelling Thriller". News18. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video Review: Sporadically Watchable Primarily Because Of Nimrat Kaur". NDTV. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  32. ^ "Nimrat Kaur: Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  33. ^ "Watch: Nimrat Kaur and her dead husband in short film El'ayichi". India Today. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Sajini Shinde Ka...' trailer out: Nimrat, Radhika promise edge-of-seat suspense". India Today. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  35. ^ "Nimrat Kaur completes Section 84's shoot with Amitabh Bachchan. Says 'no words will ever be adequate...'". India Today. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  36. ^ "Meet Nimrat Kaur, the Actress You Love to Hate on This Season of Homeland". Vogue. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  37. ^ "Nimrat Kaur is happy that her ethnicity didn't matter for Wayward Pines". Hindustan Times. 27 May 2016.
  38. ^ "Love Shots - Full Film #1: THE ROAD TRIP feat. Nimrat Kaur & Tahir Raj Bhasin". 7 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  39. ^ Kaushal, Ruchi (27 May 2023). "School of Lies will be as engaging as Paatal Lok, I like to dwell into complexities of human minds: Director Avinash". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  40. ^ "Nimrat Kaur on why she is in the business for the long haul, ahead of her Apple TV+ entry in Foundation". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  41. ^ "Kumar Sanu – Tera Mera Pyar". 19 May 2014 – via YouTube.
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