Meet actress who worked as dance teacher for Rs 15000, became star; gave films that earned Rs 3500 crore
This actress, who worked as a dance teacher, and yoga instructor, is now a star in Bollywood.
From Shahid Kapoor to Sushant Singh Rajput, many actors started their careers as background dancers and later became stars. Another actress, who though not a background dancer, but worked as a dance teacher, now earns crore per film.
The actress we are talking about made her grand Bollywood debut with a superstar and has only a few flops at the box office. She has given two highest-grossing films of Bollywood. She is Sanya Malhotra.
Sanya Malhotra was born in Delhi and while pursuing her graduation from Gargi College, the actress joined the choreography society and started learning new dance forms and techniques. In the third year, she got herself a job in a ballet company as an instructor and started teaching little girls.
After completing her graduation, the actress decided to explore dance more and got a job as a dance teacher in Delhi. The actress revealed in an interview with Mumbai Mirror that she would get Rs 15000 for her job.
She then decided to move to Mumbai after participating in Dance India Dance and making it to the Top 100. However, she came with only Rs 10,000 in her pocket. She looked for jobs as an assistant choreographer but no offers were coming in. She then started teaching yoga to the aunties in her building and the ladies insisted on paying her.
She was contacted by casting director Mukesh Chhabra and got her first-ever role with Aamir Khan in Dangal. The actress essayed the role of Babita Phogat, Aamir Khan’s daughter and the movie became a huge hit at the box office. It earned Rs 2000-crore worldwide at the box office. She then went on to give hits like Badhaai Ho, which earned Rs 220 crore worldwide. She also starred in Jawan opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara and the film became one of the highest grossers ever. It earned Rs 1150 crore worldwide. Her next film Sam Bahadur also proved to be a success at the box office and collected Rs 130 crore worldwide. Thus the total of her hits and blockbusters come as Rs 3500 crore.
The actress who once earned Rs 15000, now takes Rs 1 crore per film. She now lives a luxurious life and has given several OTT hits too including Kathal, Ludo, Shakuntala Devi, Love Hostel, and more. Not many know but she was also a choreographer for the song ‘Sexy Baliye’ in Secret Superstar.
Sanya Malhotra is now all set to entertain the audience in her upcoming movie Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumar. The film also stars Varun Dhawan, Rohit Saraf, Janhvi Kapoor, and Maniesh Paul and is scheduled to release in theatres on April 18, 2025.
The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us.