Charu Shankar Age, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Charu Shankar

• Charu Shankar is an Indian actor, wellness and fitness expert, theatre director, and dancer who rose to popularity after she acted in the Hindi television show Siyaasat (2014) and played the role of Mehrunissa on Epic TV. In 2023, Charu portrayed the former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in the web series Rocket Boys on SonyLIV.

• Charu, who developed an interest in dancing and acting at a young age, enthusiastically took part in various school plays. She portrayed Mirabai, the devotee of Lord Krishna, in her first school play.
  

  A childhood picture of Charu Shankar with her younger brother Varun Shankar

• While Charu was studying at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi, she became a member of the dramatics club and ardently performed in various theatrical productions like Shiva Calling, Draupadi, Once Upon a Time, etc.
  

  Charu Shankar in a still from the theatrical production Once Upon a Time

• In 2001, Charu joined as a dance instructor at a dance training academy, Danceworx, which is owned by an Indian-Australian choreographer Ashley Lobo.

• After hosting her debut show in collaboration with the media house NDTV in 2001, Charu hosted a few fitness and healthcare shows with NDTV like Workout Victim (2006) on NDTV MetroNation and The Perfect Body Built By Tech (2014) on NDTV Prime.
  

  Charu Shankar in a still from the fitness show The Perfect Body Built By Tech on NDTV Prime

• In July 2008, Reebok International appointed Charu as a global instructor from India. Since her collaboration with Reebok, Charu has been training Jukari at Fitness First, a health club and gym in Gurgaon. A modern fitness workout, Jukari, was developed through a collaboration between Reebok and the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.

• Charu has been holding the post of director at Aquamarine Productions Private Limited since September 2009; Aquamarine Productions is a platform created for aspiring and young artists, who want to grab opportunities in different genres like dance, music, literature, etc.

• In 2010, Charu acted in the Hindi short film Sleeping Awake in which she played the role of Rosiana, starring Ali Fazal. In 2011, the film was awarded at the California International Shorts Film Festival with the Best Foreign Film Award. In addition to this, the film premiered at the Davis Film Festival and Burbank International Film Festival.

• In 2012, Charu made a brief appearance in the film The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
  

  Charu Shankar in a still from the film The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)

• From 2016 to 2017, Charu worked with the Indian multinational English-language news channel Wion.

• In 2017, Charu played the role of Maya in the Hindi film Hindi Medium, starring Irrfan Pathan.

• In 2017, Charu joined a maternity hospital in New Delhi, Rosewalk Healthcare, as the head of the well-being department. While serving at Rosewalk Healthcare, Charu worked for boosting the health of new and young mothers by launching various classes and workshops like prenatal exercise classes, diet consultations, lactation and breastfeeding support, well-being sessions, birth preparation classes, fit new mum programs, and baby sleep routine workshops.

• Charu hosted an event at the DLF Cybercity in Chennai in 2017.

• Charu attended an event as a chief guest at the preschool Little Millennium in Jawahar Colony, Faridabad, Haryana on 3 August 2019.
  

  Charu Shankar posing with the staff teachers during her visit to the preschool Little Millennium in Haryana as a chief guest

• In 2020, Charu acted in the Hindi film Love Aaj Kal, starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan.

• In 2021, Charu played the role of Rafia in the web series His Storyy on ZEE5 and Qutlugh Nigar Khanum in the web series The Empire on Disney+ Hotstar.
  

  Charu Shankar (right) as Qutlugh Nigar Khanum in a still from the web series The Empire (2021) on Disney+ Hotstar

• Later, Charu appeared in a few web series like Aarya Season 2 (2021) as Nandini Shekhawat on Disney+ Hotstar, Delhi Crime Season 2 (2022) on Netflix, and Kaun Banegi Shikharwati (2022) as Rani Mrinalini on ZEE5, Mithya (2022) as Deepali on ZEE5.

• In 2022, Charu played the role of Pimmi in the musical adaption of the 2001 film “Monsoon Wedding.”

• Charu’s performance in portraying the former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in the SonyLIV’s web series Rocket Boys and its 2023 sequel Rocket Boys Season 2 was well received by the viewers.
  

  Charu Shankar portrayed the former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in the web series Rocket Boys (2022)

• Charu choreographed the songs of the film Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid (2012) and Listen… Amaya (2013).

• Charu appeared in various advertisements for popular brands like Fortune Oil, Cadbury Chocolate, Metro Shoes, Mirinda, Urban Clap, Tanishq, Amazon Prime Video, Britannia, Ikea, and many more.

 

• Being an avid animal lover, Charu owns seven pet dogs and a few of them are named Langru, Frodo, Cheekoo, Golu, and Meenu. In an interview, Charu stated that while rescuing a street dog, she met her husband and said,
  

  My hus­band and I met while res­cu­ing a dog. We have seven dogs and love pam­per­ing them.”

  

  Charu Shankar with her pet dog, Cheekoo

  

  Charu Shankar with her pet dog Frodo

  

  Charu Shankar’s pet dog, Meenu

• Being inclined toward fitness, Charu took initiative to support pregnant women and new mothers by launching Janani Wellness Studio, a wellness centre that provides childcare services and solutions to young mothers.

• Charu is an AFPA-certified pre and post-natal fitness specialist and a certified ACE trainer.

• Charu occasionally enjoys consuming alcoholic beverages with friends at various parties and events.
  

  Charu Shankar (right) holding a glass of wine