Mrinal Kulkarni

Mrinal Kulkarni (née Deo; born 21 June 1971) is an Indian actress and director known for her work in several films and television productions.^[1] She is best known for her role as Mirabai in Doordarshan's Mirabai and as a fairy on Star Plus's Son Pari.

Mrinal Kulkarni
Kulkarni in 2012
Born	Mrinal Deo (1971-06-21) 21 June 1971 (age 53) Pune, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actress
Known for	Meerabai Son Pari
Spouse	Ruchir Kulkarni ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	Virajas Kulkarni (b. 1992)
Parent(s)	Vijay Deo (father) Veena Deo (mother)
Relatives	Jairam Kulkarni (Father-in-law)

She has also acted in Marathi language and Hindi TV serials and films.

Early life, family and education

Mrinal was born on 21 June 1971^[2] into a Marathi Konkanastha Brahmin family in Pune to Dr. Vijay Deo and Dr. Veena Deo. She has a sister named Madhura.

She lost her father to illness on 11 April 2019.^[3] Her mother died on 29 October 2024.^[4]

She has a Master's degree in Linguistics from Pune University.

She married her childhood friend Ruchir Kulkarni in 1990 and they have a son, Virajas, who is also a part of Marathi film industry.^[5][6][7]

Direction

Mrinal debuted as a Director with the Marathi film, Prem Mhanje... Prem Mhanje.... Prem Asta. The story of the film was written by herself.^[8] After that, she directed Marathi historical drama Rama Madhav.^[9]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1989	Kamla Ki Maut	Charu S. Patel	Hindi	Debut film
1994	Maza Saubhagya	Sumati	Marathi	Marathi film debut & lead role
1995	Jamla Ho Jamla	Sangita Dhurandhar		Lead role
1996	Jai Dakshineshwar Kali Ma	Jyoti	Hindi	Lead role
2000	Jodidar	Suniti Deshmukh	Marathi	Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for Best Actress
	Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar	Savita Ambedkar	English, Hindi	Bilingual film
	Lekroo	Anu	Marathi
2001	Aashiq	Sapna Devi	Hindi	Supporting role
2003	Vishwas	Sangeeta	Marathi	Lead role[10]
2004	Uuf Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai	Pari's sister	Hindi	Supporting role
2005	Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaye	Chanchal Chugh		Special appearance
	Rajkaran	Anna's wife	Marathi
2006	Quest	Doctor	English, Marathi	Bilingual film
	Bayo	Raavi	Marathi
	Raasta Roko	Mrunal	Hindi
2007	Deha	Young Sandhya Joshi	Marathi	Special appearance[11]
2008	Tuzyat Mazyat	Asmita		Lead role
2012	Kashala Udyachi Baat	Sakshi		[12]
	Shiv Chatrapati	Rajmata Jijau
	Aarohi Gosht Tighanchi	Sneha Apte
	Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha	Unnamed		Guest appearance[13]
2013	Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Prem Asta	Anushree
2014	A Rainy Day	Mugdha Pradhan		Lead role[14]
	Yellow	Mugdha		Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Marathi
	Rama Madhav	Gopikabai		Parallel lead
2015	Rajwade and Sons	Laxmi Rajwade-Joshi		Supporting role
2016	& Jara Hatke	Meera		Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Marathi[15]
2017	Sambhaji 1689	Rajmata Jijau
2018	Farzand
	Ye Re Ye Re Paisa	Janhavi Mujumdar
2019	Ye Re Ye Re Paisa 2
	Fatteshikast	Rajmata Jijau		Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Marathi[16]
2022	Pawankhind			[17][18]
	The Kashmir Files	Laxmi Dutt	Hindi
	Dear Dia	Adi's mother		[19]
	Sher Shivraj	Rajmata Jijau	Marathi	Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Marathi
	Goshta Eka Paithanichi	Smitatai
2023	Saath Sobat	Madhura		[20]
	Sari	Dr. Laxmi (Lucky)		[21]
	Subhedar	Rajmata Jijau
2024	1234 एक दोन तीन चार			[22]
	Muktaai			[23]
	Gulaabi	Madhuri Joshi		[24]
	Dhai Aakhar	Praveen Arora	Hindi	[25]
	Mrs.	Richa's Mother

Television

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1987	Shrikant	Abhaya	Hindi	Debut series[26]
1988	Swami	Ramabai Peshwa		Lead role
1994	The Great Maratha	Ahilyabai Holkar		Supporting role
1996	Hasratein	Asmita Trivedi		Supporting role[27]
1997	Mirabai	Mirabai		Lead role[28]
	Saturday Suspense	Mrunal		Episode number. 98
1997-1998	Chattan	Purnima Vishal Raj
1998	Teacher	Uma		Parallel lead
	Rishtey	Mrunal		Episodic role
1998-2000	Sparsh	Bhoomika		Lead role[29]
2000	Zindagi... Teri Meri Kahani	Rani		Episodic role
2000-2001	Noorjahan	Habba Khatoon
2001-2002	Draupadi	Draupadi		Lead role[30]
2000-2004	Son Pari	Son Pari		Lead role[31]
2000-2005	Avantika	Avantika	Marathi	Lead role[32]
2006	Astitva... Ek Prem Kahani	Dr. Sakshi	Hindi	Cameo appearance
2008-2009	Raja Shivchhatrapati	Rajmata Jijau	Marathi	Parallel lead[33]
2009-2010	Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat	Kalyani Sisodia (Chhoti Rani)	Hindi
2010-2011	Kaali - Ek Agnipariksha	Sushma Rai/Aditi Choudhary
2011-2012	Guntata Hriday He	Nayana Banarase	Marathi	Lead role[34]
2012-2013	Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan	Pratiksha Bhosale	Hindi	Supporting role[35]
2020	Mi Honar Superstar	Judge	Marathi	Reality show[36]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Platform	Notes
2021	Jeet Ki Zid	Deep's Mother	ZEE5	[37]
2024	Indian Police Force	Rukhsana Malik	Amazon prime video
2024	Paithani		ZEE5	[38]

Films written and directed

• Rama Madhav - 2014
• Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Prem Asta - 2013
• Ti and Ti - 2019

Television commercial

• Popular TV commercial Vicco Turmeric ayurvedic skin cream ^[39]

Awards and nominations

Kulkarni has won following awards-

1. 1994 Maharashtra State Film Awards - Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actress For Film Maajha saubhagya.
2. 2001 Screen Award in the Best Actress category for her role in the Marathi film Jodidar (2000).

• Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Marathi for film Yellow
• She has received three nominations at the Filmfare Awards Marathi for Best Supporting Actress for her films, & Jara Hatke (2016), Fatteshikast (2019) and Sher Shivraj(2022).