They say if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans. Rising star Sharvari Wagh knew she wanted to be an actor, but had no idea what was in store for her. Especially in 2024, when Sharvari (she only goes by her first name professionally) surprised herself as well as moviegoers with three films in three months. An unprecedented and unexpected bonanza.
Sharvari was barely a known name when she starred in 2021’s forgettable Bunty Aur Babli 2, along with Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan and Siddhant Chaturvedi. She had starred in a web show earlier―Kabir Khan’s The Forgotten Army – Aazaadi Ke Liye―and then disappeared into oblivion for three years, only to be back with one acclaimed film after another.
Munjya, released in June, was a delightful horror comedy, a folk tale about a child demon looking for his childhood sweetheart. On discovering she was now a toothless old lady, he decided to fall in love with her granddaughter instead. Next up was Maharaj, a Netflix release and a Yash Raj production. The film revolved around a real-life court case against a priest who demanded sexual favours, and a budding, self-righteous lawyer. And finally, this year’s big Independence Day release, Vedaa, saw Sharvari play a young dalit village belle who had to learn boxing in order to survive. All the films have received acclaim and Sharvari has been widely and unequivocally praised.
“I have just kept my head down and worked hard, but 2024 has turned out to be a blessed year,” Sharvari tells me, sitting pretty in her home turf, Yash Raj Films in Mumbai. “The films’ release dates had no one’s hand; it just worked out like that.”
Maddock Films, Dinesh Vijan’s production house that made Munjya, is known for its horror comedies, starting with Stree (Rs180 crore) in 2018, and this year’s biggest blockbuster Stree 2 (Rs616 crore and counting). Munjya, made by debut director Aditya Sarpotdar on a budget of Rs30 crore, ended up raking in Rs130 crore at the box office. “When I heard the story, I thought it would be fun and exciting. It borrows from Maharashtrian folklore and I was greedy to represent my culture. I have grown up watching Marathi films and theatre; they have helped shape who I am today. Besides, Maddock’s horror comedy IP is number one today, so I knew it would be great,” she says.
I tell her I watched her too-sexy item song ‘Taras’ from the film before the film itself, and I am convinced it drove people in throngs to the theatre. “What drives people to theatres, I’m happy to do,” she says with a laugh. “We actually shot the song 10 to 15 days before the film’s release. Full credit to Dinesh Vijan, who thought I could pull it off.”
Her OTT debut was also the film debut of superstar Aamir Khan’s son Junaid. Maharaj received critical success, but it was Sharvari who walked away with the accolades, despite being one of two heroines opposite Junaid. “Maharaj was special because I love comedies, and my character had all the comedic lines,” she says. “My character is a funny, lively girl, but the writer Sneha Desai just wrote such incredible dialogues, I just had to execute them. She had all the wordplay and pronunciations of Gujaratis. Sneha guided me hugely, and then I had two Gujarati friends who I had grown up with. Their mums and I would share voice notes so I could understand the pitch and the tone. After that, I really had fun on the set.”
Her character in Vedaa, the title role, is an emotional tale of a young woman’s survival, courtesy a sports quota, in the backdrop of India’s caste politics and khap panchayats. “I think Nikkhil Advani is among our best directors,” she says. “I thought Vedaa was a story that needed to be told. Even if I could change one person’s mind about caste, it would have been an achievement for me. Moreover, John [Abraham, co-star] is an incredible human being who stands up for the right things, personally and professionally. Plus, the film is so different from what I had played before, and I wanted to challenge myself and surprise my audience.”
It was also a very demanding role. Sharvari had to chop off her hair to a tiny crop for a big part of the film. “I wasn’t apprehensive about cutting my hair. When I read the story, that part was the turning point for me. The character’s desperation at the moment was really disturbing for me, and that was all I was thinking of…. The story demanded that Vedaa cut her hair.”
She is not too perturbed about the film’s failure. “Every film has its own takeaways. I became more confident about pulling off emotional drama with this film, so I came out a winner,” she says.
The actor is clearly now a Yash Raj Films girl, coming from the stable of one of the biggest and most revered film banners in Bollywood. Does Aditya Chopra, producer-director and YRF chairman, offer her advice? “Aditya Chopra believes in me more than I believe in myself. That is huge motivation and encouragement for me,” she says.
Sharvari, 27, has been an actor only four years, and has had four films out already. There are girls, many with famous last names, who are still waiting for their first film or their next film. Does she feel she is lucky? “I had a dream and that’s the only thing I was focused on. I didn’t mind how long it would take to realise my dream, I knew I had to work hard to reach there. I started auditioning in 2014, and Bunty Aur Babli 2 only released in 2021. So there was a long wait for me, too. I used to go to Aram Nagar to audition and hope to get some ad, show or a film. Even after Bunty Aur Babli 2, I had to wait three years for my next.”
The late Shiv Sena leader and former chief minister Manohar Joshi is Sharvari’s maternal grandfather. “I have had a great childhood. I have stayed in Shivaji Park all my life. Everyone in my family is a builder, architect or interior designer. When my grandfather was at his peak, I was just born and didn’t know much about his profession. Our dinner conversation was always house plans and blueprints, where must a bathroom be placed and what sort of fixtures. My sister’s an architect, my mum is an interior designer and my father is a builder, so there is at least one floor plan on the dining table at home every day. I also have a little brother who is still in school. But, the thing is, we have all been big fans of films; we were always renting DVDs,” she says with a laugh.
She cut her teeth as an assistant director to Luv Ranjan (Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani), two very different schools of filmmaking. “During Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, I was clueless. I did not know the scale of a film set, the lights, or the number of people it would involve. When I went to the set of Bajirao, I was enamoured by the stars (Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra) and Sanjay sir. I was really living my dream. Then I went back to Luv Ranjan for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, and I think I learned all my comedy ropes here. I feel like I am still using those bits in my own craft. It also helped that I did not get intimidated by the camera or crowded sets,” she says.
Rumours of her dating Sunny Kaushal, the talented actor from this year’s Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba, remain unabated ever since they met on the sets of The Forgotten Army three years ago. But Sharvari shrugs them off. “There is no acceptance or denial of that. Kabir Khan, Mini Mathur and Sunny are the first friends I made in Bollywood and they are still friends,” she says.
Does she spend a lot of time with Sunny’s brother Vicky Kaushal and Vicky’s wife, Katrina Kaif? “Yes, they are my friends and we hang out a lot. Now we have a big group, so we meet quite often for game nights and dinners,” she smiles.
Her biggest smiles are saved for possibly her biggest film. Sharvari will be Alia Bhatt’s co-star in Alpha, which is part of YRF’s popular Spy Universe franchise (Ek Tha Tiger, War, Pathaan). “Alia is like a masterclass; she is just incredible. A young actor like me has a lot to learn from her,” says Sharvari.
The film is expected to release late in 2025. “It’s such a great time to be in such a film,” she says. “When the audience will see two women be this badass, I’m hoping we can convince a generation of women to believe they can kick ass, too.”
For now, Sharvari the actor is enjoying being a movie star.