Neetu Chandra


Neetu Chandra is an Indian actress, producer and theatre artist. She is also an established classical dancer and an active sportsperson, involved in the promotion of basketball in the country through her close association with the NBA and Taekwondo, being a fourth Dan black-belt. She has her own production house named Champaran Talkies, winning the National Award for the film Mithila Makhaan. The national award-winning film was directed by her brother Nitin Chandra. Her younger Brother Abhishek Chandra is a Fashion Designer in Hindi Films.

Early life and education

Neetu Chandra was born in Patna, Bihar in India. Her mother tongue is Bhojpuri. She was educated at the Notre Dame Academy, Patna and completed her undergraduate education at Delhi's Indraprastha College. She started modelling and Neetu gives credit of her success to her mother, a native of East Champaran in Bihar. She has appeared in several advertisements and videos for firms since her graduation. She holds two Dan black belts in Taekwondo and represented India in the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong.
Neetu Chandra's brother is Nitin Chandra who directed the movie Deswa.

Acting career

She debuted Hindi film industry in 2005 with Garam Masala in which she portrayed the role of Sweety, an air-hostess. She also acted in Godavari, a Telugu film, in 2006. In 2007 she appeared in Madhur Bhandarkar's film, Traffic Signal.
In 2008, she had four releases, being directed by Dibakar Banerjee, Rahul Dholakia, Ashwini Dheer and Vikram. Her Tamil film, Yavarum Nalam with Madhavan, released in 2009, was declared a major hit. In 2010 she was seen in four Hindi films, Rann, Apartment, No Problem, in which she made a special appearance, and Sadiyaan, and one Tamil film, Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai.
In 2011 Deswa, a Bhojpuri film which she produced and which was directed by her brother, is released.
In 2013, she acted in the Tamil-language action film Ameerin Aadhi-Bhagavan alongside Jayam Ravi. She has completed filming for a Greek film Home Sweet Home, in which she plays an Indian girl. She had to learn Greek for the film and also dubbed herself. She has two Hindi films, Kusar Prasad Ka Bhoot and Shooter, coming up.
In 2020 she will be appearing in Hollywood show gown and out in Beverly Hills with Bollywood actor Sammy John Heaney. The show stars Patrick Simpson and Pol Atto.

Other work

Chandra was signed up as the brand ambassador for the Hoop, a Gitanjali brand. She also took part in a commercial for Mysore Sandal Soap. Neetu Chandra also appeared in music director Ismail Darbar's music video "Rasiya Saajan" along with Zubeen Garg. She was also seen in the music video of Bombay Vikings' singer Neeraj Shridhar's hit single "Aa Raha Hoon Main". She also appeared in a successful remix of Sajna Hai Mujhe from D.J. Hot Remix Vol.1, and the super hit song Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila alongside Sophie Choudry.
She is a Life Member of International Film And Television Club and International Film And Television Research Centre of Asian Academy of Film & Television.
In 2013, Chandra made her debut in theatre, in a play, called Umrao, which featured her in the title role. The Times of India wrote that, "Neetu Chandra's debut on stage, though confident, doesn't create the desired impact and you wonder what's missing throughout the play". She has been hosting Rangoli on DD National since May 2017.
In 2018, Chandra Becomes Community Ambassador For Patna Pirates in pro kabbadi league.

In the media and personal life

In 2008, 7Seas Technologies launched a 3D mobile game, Neetu — The Alien Killer, with Neetu Chandra as the lead character.
Neetu was featured on the cover of the January 2009 issue of Indian Maxim.
Neetu began a relationship with actor Randeep Hooda in mid 2010 but the couple parted ways in 2013.

Filmography

As Actress

As producer

Television