Pallavi Sharda facts for kids

Pallavi Sharda in 2025

Pallavi Sharda (born March 5, 1992) is an Australian actress and Bharathanatyam dancer. She has Indian heritage. Pallavi is well-known for her role in the Academy Award-nominated film Lion (2016).

She has also starred in Hindi-language films like Besharam (2013), Hawaizaada (2015), and Begum Jaan (2017). Pallavi appeared in the 2012 Australian film Save Your Legs! and the 2019 TV series Les Norton. More recently, she starred in Tom & Jerry, The Twelve, and the romantic comedy Wedding Season.

Early Life and Education

Growing Up in Australia

Pallavi Sharda was born in Perth, Western Australia. Her parents, Hema and Nalin Sharda, are both professors. Her mother has a PhD in microelectronics, and her father has a PhD in information technology. They moved to Australia in the early 1980s.

When Pallavi was a toddler, her family moved to Melbourne. She grew up in the outer north-western suburbs of the city.

School and University

Pallavi attended Lowther Hall in Essendon. She earned an academic scholarship there. At 16, she started studying law and media at the University of Melbourne. She also studied French.

She graduated with honors at 21. Her university project looked at how different cultures are shown in Australian media. She studied the work of British Indian film director Gurinder Chadha.

Dance Training

Pallavi trained for many years in Bharatanatyam. This is a classical Indian dance style. She also learned some Odissi dance, another classical Indian form.

Acting Career

Starting in Film

Around 2008-2010, Pallavi moved from Melbourne to Mumbai, India. She wanted to pursue a career in films. She began with a small role in Karan Johar's film My Name Is Khan, released in 2010.

Her next big role was in the comedy-drama film Dus Tola (2010). She played Geeta, a village dance teacher. Critics praised her performance in the movie. From 2011 to 2012, Pallavi was the main actress in the musical Taj Express.

Australian and Bollywood Films

Pallavi made her first Australian film appearance in the comedy Save Your Legs. This movie came out in 2013. After that, she starred in the Bollywood film Besharam. She played a woman whose car is stolen.

Her next Bollywood film, Hawaizaada, was released in 2015. This film was inspired by the true story of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade. He is believed to have flown an unmanned aircraft in 1895. Pallavi received good reviews for her role in this film.

Hollywood and TV Roles

In 2016, Pallavi joined Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in the Hollywood film Lion. Her next Bollywood film, Begum Jaan, came out in 2017. She was praised for her role as Gulabo, a character in rural Punjab during the partition of India.

Pallavi played a main role in ABC Television's medical drama Pulse (2017). For this role, she won the "Rising Star" award from the Casting Guild of Australia. In 2019, she played Georgie in the ABC-TV series Les Norton.

In 2020, she starred in Beecham House, a historical drama series. She also appeared in ABC TV's Retrograde. This show was about young people's lives during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

In 2022, Pallavi starred in the Australian drama The Twelve with Sam Neil. She was nominated for a Logie Award for her role as Corrie D'Souza. Corrie was a head juror dealing with her own past trauma.

Audio Work

Pallavi also starred in an Audible original podcast called The Missed. This podcast was released in August 2022.

Other Activities

Sports and Social Work

In 2016, Pallavi joined the Sony ESPN team as a new face for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

She was also on the board of advisers for eKutir, a social enterprise in India. She was an ambassador for a sanitation project called Svadha. She worked with eKutir for several years.

Community Involvement

In 2023, Pallavi was appointed to the Screen Australia board. She also teamed up with World Vision Australia. She worked with other Australian women activists to help empower 1,000 girls.

In 2024, Pallavi became an ambassador for the Witchery White Shirt campaign. This campaign helps raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research. In 2025, she started working with Dharma Life, another social enterprise in India. She talks with women entrepreneurs in the mountains of northern India.

Pallavi often gives speeches about understanding Asia in Australia. She also speaks about the relationship between India and Australia, and about empowering women in India.

Recognition and Awards

Honors and Titles

Pallavi Sharda was crowned Miss India Australia in Sydney in 2010.

In 2015, she was named the "Queen of Moomba". This is Melbourne's biggest community festival. She shared the title with retired Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

In 2020, Pallavi was recognized as one of the 40 most influential Asian Australians. This was at the first Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.

Awards

Filmography

Films

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Pallavi Sharda para niños

• Zumba Dance Fitness Party
• Indian Australians