Happy Birthday Namrata Shirodkar: Fascinating facts about Mahesh Babu’s celebrity wife

Namrata Shirodkar has successfully donned the hats of a Bollywood actress and popular model during her prime and is currently fulfilling her responsibility as a perfect wife to Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu and dotting mother to two beautiful kids. Introduced to the showbiz world as the younger sister of popular actress Shilpa Shirodkar, Namrata bagged the Miss India title in 1993 and represented the country in the Miss Universe pageant. Post her fruitful tenure in modelling, she decided to test her fate in acting.

After foraying into Bollywood with a cameo role in Salman Khan’s ‘Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai’, she rose to stardom with a terrific performance in Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav: The Reality. Namrata fell in love with Mahesh Babu during the muhurat of their Telugu film ‘Vamsi’ in 2000. What started as love at first sight turned into dating towards the end of shooting and after a five-year courtship, the celebrity couple tied the knot in 2005. Today happens to be the 48th birthday of Namrata Shirodkar and on the special occasion, check out some fascinating facts about her.

Born as the granddaughter to noted Marathi actress Meenakshi Shirodkar and sister to Hindi actress Shilpa Shirodkar, Namrata entered the glamour arena during the early 90s. Starting off her tenure as a model, she was crowned with the Miss India title in 1993. She also represented India in the Miss Universe pageant and Miss Asia Pacific contest, ending up sixth in the former and first runner-up in the latter. A top model during her prime, Namrata appeared as a child artist alongside Shatrughan Sinha in the 1977 film ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba’.

Namrata stepped foot into Hindi cinema with a cameo role in Salman Khan’s ‘Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai’ and turned into a leading lady from then onwards. After a few ordinary films like ‘Mere Do Anmol Ratan’, ‘Hero Hindustani’ and a couple of South projects including the one opposite Mammootty, she rose to stardom with the incredible success of ‘Vaastav’ and followed it up with a terrific performance in Anil Kapoor’s ‘Pukar’. Since then, she featured in a big line-up of Hindi films and a couple of Telugu projects until the end of 2004. She bid adieu to acting after marriage.

During the muhurat of ‘Vamsi’ in 2000, Mahesh and Namrata met each other for the first time. What started as love at first sight turned into dating towards the end of shooting and the duo was inseparable since then. Mahesh who is four years younger to Namrata took some time to convince his family and eventually, the adorable duo tied the knot in 2005 after a five-year courtship. The celebrity couple was blessed with a baby boy, Gautham, in 2006 and a baby girl Sitara in 2012.

While Mahesh is busy with his films & ad commitments, Namrata Shirodkar oversees everything at home including the upbringing of kids and also satisfies her hubby’s crazy fans by posting their family pictures on social media. She also acts as a manager to her superstar husband. While Gautham seems to be a calm and composed lad, Sitara is an energetic girl who keeps herself busy in all sorts of activities. Besides shaking the leg to her dad’s songs and running a YouTube channel ‘Aadya & Sitara’, the 7-year-old kid has recently given her voice for Baby Elsa in the Telugu version of Frozen 2.

In exclusive conservation with a fashion magazine, Mahesh revealed the secret for his successful marriage to Namrata Shirodkar. He told “Namrata and me have been married for 14 years. We understand each other well. And we let each other be. That’s the most important secret to a successful marriage. Space. And of course, children—they ground you. I have to credit my dad for teaching me that. When he came home to us, he wasn’t a star.” Speaking about her charming husband, Namrata said “I haven’t seen a more disciplined and dedicated person. He doesn’t settle for less. And he can balance work-life very well.”