Nimrat Kaur

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Nimrat Kaur
Nimrat Kaur snapped attending the Lakme Fashion Week 2018 (11).jpg
Kaur in 2018
Born
Alma materShri Ram College of Commerce
OccupationActress, model
Years active2002–present

Nimrat Kaur is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and on 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, which was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She followed it with her breakthrough role in The Lunchbox, a critically acclaimed drama co-starring Irrfan Khan, which was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

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. She then co-starred with Akshay Kumar in the war thriller Airlift. In 2016, Kaur began portraying Rebecca Yedlin in the second season of the American television series Wayward Pines. She returned for the eighth and final season of Homeland as a series regular in February 2020.

Early life and background[edit]

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 Terrorists.[5] 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.[2][6]

Career[edit]

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.[7]

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.[2][8] She also did TV advertisements.[9]

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.[10]

Kaur came to public attention when she appeared in a Cadbury Silk commercial.[11]

Kaur attended the Cannes festival for the second time for the epistolary romantic film The Lunchbox (2013).[1][12][13][14] The film was a commercial and critical success.[15][16] Kaur received rave reviews for her portrayal of a lonely wife who begins a friendship with a man (played by Irrfan Khan) through letters.[17] 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."[18] Jay Weissberg of Variety called her a "radiant presence" and Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph that "Nimrat strips off all the sentimentality to attach dignity and grace to the character. This one's a sparkling debut."[19][20]

In 2014, Kaur appeared as ISI agent Tasneem Qureishi in the fourth season of the American TV series Homeland.[21][22] The same year she committed to star with Rajkummar Rao in an untitled psychological drama to be directed by Saurabh Shukla.[23][24]

In 2016, she acted in the war drama Airlift, alongside Akshay Kumar.[1] 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."[25] The film was a financial success.[26] Kaur also began portraying Rebecca Yedlin in the second season of the American television series Wayward Pines in 2016.[22][27]

In 2017, Kaur starred as Captain Shikha Sharma in the Hindi web series The Test Case.[22][28][29] She returned for the eighth and final season of Homeland as a series regular in February 2020.[22][30][31] Kaur co-starred in the 2022 Netflix film Dasvi,[32] and portrays Yanna Seldon in the 2023 second season of the science fiction series Foundation.[33]

Filmography[edit]

Films[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Yahaan News Anchor Interviewer
2006 One Night with the King Sarah
2010 Encounter Short film
2012 Peddlers Kuljeet
2012 Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana Muskaan Khurana Cameo appearance
2013 The Lunchbox Ila Nominated—IIFA Award for Best Actress[34]
Nominated—Screen Award for Best Actress
2015 El'ayichi Padu Short film[35]
2016 Airlift Amrita Katyaal Nominated — BIG Zee Most Entertaining Actor in a Thriller Film – Female
2022 Dasvi Bimla Devi Chaudhary [32]
2023 Happy Teacher's Day Not yet released
TBA
Filming[36]

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2014; 2020 Homeland Tasneem Qureishi Showtime Recurring role (season 4)
Main role (season 8)
[37]
2016 Wayward Pines Rebecca Yedlin Fox Main (season 2) [38]
2023 Foundation Yanna Seldon Apple TV+ Recurring role (season 2) [39]

Music videos[edit]

Year Title Singer Music Co-star(s) Notes
2005 Tera Mera Pyar Kumar Sanu Hardip Sandhu Bhanujeet Sudan Girl in the theater[40]
Ye Kya Hua Shreya Ghoshal
2009 Chaandan Mein Kailash Kher Kailash Kher, Naresh Kamath, Paresh Kamath

Web series[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Love Shots Arshi Film #1: The Road Trip[41]
2017 The Test Case Capt. Shikha Sharma ALT Balaji series[28]
2023 School of Lies Nandita Mehra Disney+ Hotstar

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gupta, Priya (9 December 2015). "Nimrat Kaur:She spent years of her childhood in Khajuwala,a town in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. My father was killed by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for not conceding to their demands in Kashmir". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Personal Agenda: Nimrat Kaur". Hindustan Times. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  3. "Trailer out: Irrfan and Nimrat Kaur in Cannes-winning film Lunch Box". India Today. 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. Gupta, Priya (9 December 2015). "Nimrat Kaur: My father was killed by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for not conceding to their demands in Kashmir". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. "Nimrat Kaur: I am living my dream". Hindustan Times. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  7. "Stage of reason". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  8. Tera Mera Pyar at AllMusic. Retrieved Sept 29, 2013.
  9. "'The Lunchbox' new stills: Why Nimrat Kaur is a talent to watch out for". IBN Live. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  10. Young, Deborah (21 May 2012). "Peddlers-Cannes-Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  11. "New Cadbury girl Nimrat Kaur is making waves in Bollywood". The Indian Express. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  12. "Nimrat Kaur on her second appearance at Cannes". Mid-day.com. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  13. "'The Lunchbox' at Cannes, actress Nimrat Kaur not surprised". The Times of India. 19 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  14. "You don't always get the right films, says 'Lunchbox' star Nimrat Kaur". CNN-IBN. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  15. "Box Office: Veena Malik's Super Model is a disaster". Rediff.com. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  16. "The Lunchbox (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  17. Rastogi, Tavishi Paitandy (27 September 2013). "Nimrat Kaur: I am living my dream". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  18. Sen, Raja (20 September 2013). "Review: The Lunchbox is the best Indian film in years". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  19. Weissberg, Jay (19 May 2013). "Cannes Film Review: 'The Lunchbox'". Variety. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  20. Gupta, Pratim D. (21 September 2013). "The lunchbox". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  21. "Homeland Adds Trio to Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 July 2014.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Roy, Priyanka (29 January 2019). "Nimrat Kaur's back as the baddie in Homeland". The Telegraph India. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  23. K, Bhumika (10 July 2014). "LOVE coming her way". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  24. "Nimrat Kaur, Rajkummar Rao in Nikhil Advani's next". Bollywood Hungama. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  25. 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.
  26. "Airlift box office collections: Akshay Kumar's patriotic theme powers take to Rs 122.65 crore". The Financial Express. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  27. Andreeva, Nellie (19 February 2016). "Wayward Pines Adds Kacey Rohl & Nimrat Kaur For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  28. 28.0 28.1 "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.
  29. "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.
  30. Andreeva, Nellie (14 January 2019). "'Homeland' Final Season: Nimrat Kaur & Numan Acar To Reprise Season 4 Roles". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  31. Ausiello, Michael (2 August 2019). "Homeland Season 8 Delay Caused By 'Ambitious' Production Demands Not 'Missteps,' Says Showtime Boss". TVLine. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  32. 32.0 32.1 "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.
  33. 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.
  34. "Nimrat Kaur: Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  35. "Watch: Nimrat Kaur and her dead husband in short film El'ayichi". India Today. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  36. "Nimrat Kaur and Radhika Madan to star in Dinesh Vijan's social thriller Happy Teacher's Day; film to release on September 5, 2023". Bollywood Hungama. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  37. "Meet Nimrat Kaur, the Actress You Love to Hate on This Season of Homeland". Vogue. 23 November 2014.
  38. "Nimrat Kaur is happy that her ethnicity didn't matter for Wayward Pines". Hindustan Times. 27 May 2016.
  39. "Nimrat Kaur on why she is in the business for the long haul, ahead of her Apple TV+ entry in Foundation". Telegraph India. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  40. "Kumar Sanu – Tera Mera Pyar" – via YouTube.
  41. "Love Shots - Full Film #1: THE ROAD TRIP feat. Nimrat Kaur & Tahir Raj Bhasin". 7 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2016.

External links[edit]

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