From Monisha to Anupama, here's a look at Rupali Ganguly's interesting journey as an actor over the past 20 years

Rupali Ganguly, who was born in Kolkata, made her acting debut when she was seven with her father's film Saaheb in 1985. The actress had come a long way and is currently seen playing the title role in the popular TV show Anupamaa. Here's a look at her showbiz journey over the years...

While Rupali did a film at the age of seven, she even did few other Hindi and Bengali films as a teenager. Finally she made her TV debut with a full-fledged role in the show Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi in the year 2000. Remembering old days, she penned a note a while ago on social media saying, "My journey in television began 22 years back. Dil hai ki Maanta Nahi aired on September 5th 2000. Walked from worli to andheri for the audition which I goofed up… after hearing the role, I then pleaded with this first time director with a maha attitude @rajan.shahi.543 to please give me a second chance… after much pleading he gave in … I doubt he had any hopes from me so after a disinterested look on his face for my first scene, to probably thinking I could have potential and giving me another scene to variate and then another and another…auditioned for about 9 scenes till he was convinced to cast me." (sic)

After her debut show, the actress went on to do shows like Sanjivani, Zindagi...Teri Meri Kahani and Bhabhi. One could see that she was a good actress but it took an Anupamaa to help her take a leap and get into the top league.

She played Monisha Sarabhai and was quite loved for her role. Some people even today remember her as Monisha. In an earlier interview with us, she had said, "I am like Monisha Sarabhai in real life. I like laughing and having fun all the time, and I make sure people around me have fun, too."

Rupali is more known for her fiction shows, but she has done reality show too, including Bigg Boss. She was a contestant in season 1 and had reached the top six. She also participated in the dance reality show Zara Nachke Dikha in 2008 and Katron Ke Khiladi 2 in 2009.

The actress, who was focussed on her career, found love and she got married to businessman Ashwin K. Verma in February, 2013. They welcomed their son Rudransh in August 2015 after two years of marriage. Rupali in the past has spoken about difficulties while conceiving. She said, “I had major thyroid issues, so your fertility count does go down. There were issues and I did consult a lot of doctors. My son is no less than a miracle for me.”

After doing Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi in 2013, she took a few years off and focussed on her home and baby. In an interview she said, “Mera ambition tha shaadi karna aur bachcha paida karna.” Rupali said that when she gave birth to her son, after all the difficulties, she did not want anything else in life. She added that it was not like she was missing acting and if Anupamaa had not come her way, she would have taken an even longer break.

While the actress was looking to do some meaningful role on TV, she wasn't in a hurry. But life has changed for her post Anupamaa. She was offered the show by Rajan Shahi in 2020 and after that, there was no looking back.

Rupali is active on social media. She loves putting reels with her co-actors. She clearly believes in moving with the times, just like her onscreen character Anupama.