Aside from her acting career, she is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. Sinha has ventured into singing, beginning with a song in her filmTevar (2015). Her debut single, "Aaj Mood Ishqholic Hai" was released in 2015. She has judged television dance shows includingNach Baliye (2017). Sinha is married to actorZaheer Iqbal in 2024.
Sinha made her acting debut in 2010'sDabangg, starring oppositeSalman Khan. This film went on to become thehighest-grossing film of 2010 and ultimately emerged as an all-time blockbuster.[12][13] Sinha had to lose 30 kg in preparation for her role as a village girl.[14] Her performance was well received, with criticTaran Adarsh noting that "Sonakshi Sinha looks fresh, acts confidently and pairs off very well with Salman. Most importantly, she delivers the right expressions and is not overpowered by the galaxy of stars in the cast."[15] Although Sinha had no film releases in 2011, she won awards that year for her debut. This included theFilmfare Award and theIIFA Awards, among others.[16]
Sinha had four releases in 2012, the first beingPrabhu Deva'sRowdy Rathore, oppositeAkshay Kumar. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics,[17] although it had a strong opening at the box office,[18] collecting approx.₹150.6 million (US$1.8 million) on the first day and eventually became a blockbuster.[19] Despite this,Rajeev Masand criticized her ornamental role, writing that Sinha "seems to exist in this film only to have her midriff repeatedly pinched by Akshay Kumar."[20] Her next film,Shirish Kunder'sJoker (also opposite Akshay Kumar) proved to be a commercial disaster at the box office and received overwhelmingly negative reviews.[21] Her third film,Ashwni Dhir'sSon of Sardaar (oppositeAjay Devgn) proved to be an economic success. Saibal Chatterjee fromNDTV noted that Sinha "endeavours to be pretty and dainty amid all the madness."[22]Arbaaz Khan'sDabangg 2, the sequel to her immensely successful debut, garnered little praise from critics, though it proved to be a major financial success.[23][24] Sinha also dubbed the voice role of Tooth in the Hindi version ofRise of the Guardians.[25]
Sinha's first film of 2013 wasVikramaditya Motwane's period romantic dramaLootera, placing her oppositeRanveer Singh. Despite receiving a lukewarm response at the box office,[26] the film received positive reviews, with Sinha's portrayal of Pakhi, a Bengali girl who is dying oftuberculosis, receiving widespread acclaim from critics.[27] Sarita Tanwar notes that "the star of the film is undoubtedly Sinha [who gives] a mature and refined performance. She lives the character body and soul."[28] Raja Sen agrees, saying that "Sinha plays Pakhi beautifully, creating a character who is immaculately wide-eyed and possesses casual, yet unmistakable, grace. It is a performance that starts off dreamily soft and turns harder, and she does well-etched dialogue justice like few actresses can. There's a discernible vulnerability to Pakhi throughout the film, and Sinha brings out this fragility perfectly without ever overplaying it."[29] She next appeared inMilan Luthria'scrimeromance filmOnce Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! in which she was paired withAkshay Kumar again, as well asImran Khan.[30] The movie was a commercial disappointment, and critic Mohar Basu labeled her "a chatterbox replete with idioticity which the director frames as naiveness."[31] Sinha then appeared inTigmanshu Dhulia'sBullett Raja oppositeSaif Ali Khan, which was a box office flop. Her final release of the year was Prabhu Deva'sR... Rajkumar oppositeShahid Kapoor. The film was commercial success, the film and her performance received mixed reviews.Taran Adarsh labeled her "repetitive" and noted that she needed to "reinvent herself."[32] For the song Gandi Baat in R... Rajkumar, Sinha refused to wear a bikini while emerging from the pool of water out of comfort and respect.[33] Instead, Sinha wore a saree for that sequence of the song.[34]
In 2014, after providing the voice of Jewel in the Hindi-dubbedRio 2,[35] Sinha was seen inA.R. Murugadoss's action thrillerHoliday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, a remake of the director's Tamil filmThuppakki.[36] Starring opposite Akshay Kumar, Sinha appeared as a boxer. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and emerged as a box office hit.[37][38] Jyoti Sharma Bawa said of Sinha's portrayal: "Sonakshi has nothing to do much in the film and overacts in places. For an actor who has already proved her mettle in the acting department, this definitely is a downer."[39] Sinha appeared in a music video withYo Yo Honey Singh titledSuperstar.[40] In July, Sinha jointly bought a team in theWorld Kabaddi League.[41] Her second release of 2014 was Prabhu Deva'sAction Jackson, withAjay Devgn andYami Gautam. She made herTamil cinema debut oppositeRajinikanth inKS Ravikumar'sLingaa, which was her final release of 2014.[42]
Career fluctuations (2015–2022)
Sinha during a song launching event forForce 2, in 2016
In 2015, she appeared inBoney Kapoor's remake ofOkkadu, titledTevar, oppositeArjun Kapoor.[43][44][45] In his review, Rajeev Masand wrote: "Sonakshi Sinha, playing another simpering damsel in another South remake, once again has nothing to do. She appears content showing up for a few dance numbers, and waiting around for a man to save her."[46]Tevar underperformed at the box office and was one of the biggest flops of the year.[47] Sonakshi released her debut singleAaj Mood Ishqholic Hai in collaboration withMeet Bros on 23 December 2015.[48] The following year, Sinha starred in the remake of the 2011 Tamil filmMouna Guru, entitledAkira. The film was an action-drama from directorAR Murugadoss in which she played an aggressive college student. It initially recovered 15.5 crore and went on to make over 33+ crore on box office, becoming an average grosser.[49] Then she appeared inAbhinay Deo's action-thrillerForce 2 oppositeJohn Abraham.[50][51][52] The film, made on a low budget, grossed over 58.75 crore and was declared an average grosser.[53] Though Sinha's character was labeled as an unformed agent, her performance received some acclaim.Bollywood Life reviewed that "Sonakshi Sinha is believable in action scenes she got and ably supports John."[54]
In 2017, she was seen in Sunhil Sippy's comedy filmNoor, based onSaba Imtiaz's novelKarachi, You're Killing Me!. She featured in the titular role of Noor alongsideKanan Gill,Shibani Dandekar andPurab Kohli.[55] Her performance received major acclaim, with one reviewer writing that "Sonakshi Sinha pulls off her character without appearing to try too hard."[56]Hindustan Times wrote that "Sonakshi looks quite convincing with the grimaces, pouts, eye rolls, scowls and goofy grins – displaying an amusing dorkiness. Even when her character turns serious, Sonakshi displays her prowess and aces the grim looks."[57] Commercially, the film flopped.[58] Her last film release in the year was Abhay Chopra'sIttefaq, a remake of the 1969 murder mysteryIttefaq, oppositeSidharth Malhotra, andAkshay Khanna.[59] The film was a moderate box-office success.[60][61] In March 2017, Sinha announced that she was working on a new single. Despite speculation she might perform as the opening act for Canadian singerJustin Bieber'sPurpose World Tour concert at theDY Patil Stadium inMumbai on 10 May,[62] this performance did not occur.[63]
In 2018, she was seen in the comedy spoof filmWelcome to New York, with an ensemble cast includingDiljit Dosanjh andKaran Johar. The film was shot during the 2017 IIFA Awards, and was the first film to be based on an award show.[64] It received overwhelming negative reviews and Sinha's appearance in the film was particularly criticized, with Rajeev Masand ofNews 18 saying that "Not very funny, unfortunately, is Sonakshi Sinha, who comes off exaggerated and out-of-step even in a film of such ridiculously low standards. She spends the bulk of her time on screen contorting her face likeJim Carrey, but with none of the same results."[65] The film was also a box office bomb, earning only Rs. 75 lakh on its first day.[66] The same year, Sinha appeared in the female-oriented comedy filmHappy Phirr Bhag Jayegi along withDiana Penty. The film was released on 24 August 2018.[67] As with her previous release,Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi was a commercial disappointment.[68] Afterwards, she made a special appearance in a song ofYamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se.
In 2019, she performed in a song ''Mungda'' in the comedy filmTotal Dhamaal.[69] She next starred in the period romance filmKalank with an ensemble cast includingAditya Roy Kapur,Sanjay Dutt,Madhuri Dixit,Alia Bhatt andVarun Dhawan. The film failed to perform well commercially.[70][71] In 2019, Sinha was cast in the drama filmMission Mangal, which featured an ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar,Vidya Balan andTaapsee Pannu. The project began filming in 2018,[72] and was directed by Jagan Shakti. The film was a massive commercial success at the box-office,[73] grossing over 200 crore on a budget of 30 crore,[74] and receiving positive reviews from critics.Umesh Punwani commended sinha and opined, "She perform with essential ease".[75] Her last 2019 release was the action comedyDabangg 3 the third installment in theDabangg film series where she reprised her role Rajjo Pandey. It received negative reviews from critics, who panned its screenplay.Anna M. M. Vetticad fromFirstpost Wrote, "Sinha has little to do but pout and look pretty why she is wasting herself so".[76] The film has a worldwide gross collection of est.₹ 230 crores.[77]
In 2021, she starred as Sunderben Jetha alongsideAjay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt,Nora Fatehi andSharad Kelkar in the war drama filmBhuj: The Pride of India.[78] The film panned by critics, who criticized its writing, pace and unrealistic situations.[79][80]Saibal Chatterjee fromNDTV summarised the film. "busy gathering the scattered splinters of its insipid ideas made infinitely worse by resolutely ham-fisted treatment."[81] After this, she portrayed aplus size women, in the comedy filmDouble XL which was released in November 2022[82] with negative reviews from critics.[83]Shubhra Gupta forThe Indian Express wrote "It is a massive opportunity wasted. Crashing pity."[84]
In 2024, she briefly appeared in the science-fiction action filmBade Miyan Chote Miyan alongside Akshay Kumar,Tiger Shroff andPrithviraj Sukumaran. It was theatrically released onEid to negative reviews from critics and was abox office bomb.[87][88] Monika Rawal Kukreja stated that she brings "nothing new to the table".[89] Following this, Sinha played the dual characters of courtesan mother and daughter inSanjay Leela Bhansali's period dramaHeeramandi.[90] Nandini Ramnath ofScroll.in found her to be "in-form" and added, "Sinha is utterly comfortable with Fareedan’s dastardly scheming; plus, she has the diction to carry off the aphoristic dialogue."[91] While,Sukanya Verma noted, "Bhansali gives Sonakshi's Fareedan a lot of heavy lifting to do and the lady does not disappoint."[92] Later the year, she appeared alongsideRiteish Deshmukh andSaqib Saleem inKakuda, playing dual characters.[93]
In 2025, Sinha played the titular role of an author inNikita Roy, which marked her brother Kussh's directorial debut.[94] Vinamra Mathur stated that Sinha is let down by weak script, despite the opportunity to shine in every frame.[95] The film failed commercially.[96]
Sinha is avegan.[100] In an interview, Sinha stated that she prefers to stay with her parents, Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha even after buying her own house.[citation needed] When asked if she has any plans to move out of her parents' home, she was quick to add that staying alone is a very tough thing and she does not want to do that.[citation needed] However, Sinha finally moved out in 2023.[101][102]
Sinha is a self-professed animal lover, and she posed for aPETA campaign advocating the adoption and sterilization of dogs and cats.[103] She has starred in a one-minute video PSA, urging viewers to adopt animals and have them sterilised. She has been quoted as saying: "Breeders, pet stores and people who don't sterilize their animals are responsible for all the animals who end up homeless. Every time someone buys a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, a homeless animal roaming the streets or waiting in an animal shelter loses a chance at a home and a good life."[104] In 2022, PETA India named her their 2022 Person of the Year.[105] She also promotes breaking the stereotypes of typical body size.[106][107]
In the media
Sinha in 2017
Megha Mahindru ofVogue found Sinha to be "Barefaced, beautiful and brave".[108] Nikita Sawant ofFemina termed Sinha a "gifted actor" and noted, "Wry sense of humour, tinkling laughter and chilled-out persona are just a few of the many things right with her."[109] Commenting on her performance inLootera, Devesh Sharma ofFilmfare noted, "She's done her share of arm candy roles and even in those she managed to strike her own niche. With Lootera, she gave an advance notice of her amazing capabilities as a performer."[110]
Sinha has appeared inForbes India'sCelebrity 100 list. In 2012, she placed 41st with an estimated annual income of₹107 million (US$1.3 million). In 2019, she placed 59th with an estimated annual income of₹61.4 million (US$730,000).[111][112] She was also inducted into theBollywood Walk of Fame atBandra Bandstand, where her hand print was preserved.[113] In 2013 Sinha was included inRediff.com's "Top 10 Bollywood performances" and "Change-Makers of Bollywood" list.[114][115] In 2014, she ranked 5th in its "Top 10 Bollywood actresses" list.[116] Sinha is an endorser for brands and products includingDabur, Chik Shampoo,Provogue andGitanjali Jewellers.[117][118] In 2022, she launched her own nail brand SOEZI.[119] In 2024, Sinha was placed 71st onIMDb's List of 100 Most Viewed Indian Stars.[120]
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