Tanvi Azmi

Tanvi Azmi is an Indian film and television actress renowned for her nuanced performances across several decades. Born on 12 May 1960 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she is the daughter of celebrated Marathi‑Hindi actress Usha Kiran and Manohar Kher, which provided her an early immersion in the world of performing arts. She entered the industry with a notable debut in the mid‑1980s, earning her first Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the drama Pyari Behna (1985), and quickly established herself as a versatile talent capable of traversing both commercial and art‑house cinema. Throughout the 1990s she portrayed a range of characters, from a troubled doctor in the television series Jeevanrekha to a young widow in the telefilm Rao Saheb (1986), and extended her repertoire to regional cinema with the Malayalam masterpiece Vidheyan (1993) directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Her supporting role in Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) alongside Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala garnered critical acclaim and a second Filmfare nod, while her portrayal of psychologist Dr. Poornima Sehgal in the thriller Dushman (1998) secured a third nomination. The turning point of her career arrived with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical epic Bajirao Mastani (2015), where she embodied Radhabai, Bajirao’s mother, even shaving her head for authenticity; the performance won her the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and added a fourth Filmfare nomination. More recent work includes the socially resonant film Thappad (2020), which earned her a fifth Filmfare nod, and the Netflix original Tribhanga (2021), where she received a Filmfare OTT nomination. Married to cinematographer Baba Azmi, she remains connected to the illustrious Akhtar‑Azmi film family, balancing a distinguished professional life with her personal commitments.