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Nitu Chandra
Nitu in 2017
Born	Neetu Chandra Srivastava (1984-06-20) 20 June 1984 (age 40) Patna, Bihar, India
Occupation(s)	Actress, film producer, model, martial artist
Years active	2003–present
Relatives	Nitin Chandra (Brother)

Nitu Chandra (born Neetu Chandra Srivastava on June 20, 1984) is an Indian actress, model, film producer and theatre artist. She has worked in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She is also a classical dancer and a sportsperson, involved in the promotion of basketball in the country through her close association with the NBA and Taekwondo, being a fourth Dan black-belt. She has her own production house named Champaran Talkies, winning the National Film Award for the film Mithila Makhaan in the category of Best Maithili Film. The national award-winning film was directed by her brother Nitin Chandra.

Early life and education

Nitu Chandra was born on 20 June 1984 in Patna, Bihar. Her mother tongue is Bhojpuri. She was educated at the Notre Dame Academy, Patna and completed her undergraduate education at Delhi's Indraprastha College. She started modelling and Nitu gives credit of her success to her mother, a native of East Champaran in Bihar. She has appeared in several advertisements and videos for firms since her graduation. She holds two Dan black belts in Taekwondo and represented India in the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong.

Chandra's brother is Nitin Chandra who directed the movie Deswa.

Acting career

Chandra debuted in the Hindi film industry in 2005 with Garam Masala in which she portrayed the role of Sweety, an air-hostess. She also acted in Godavari, a Telugu film, in 2006. In 2007 she appeared in Madhur Bhandarkar's film, Traffic Signal.

In 2008, she had four releases, being directed by Dibakar Banerjee, Rahul Dholakia, Ashwini Dheer and Vikram. Her Tamil film, Yavarum Nalam with Madhavan, released in 2009, was declared a major hit. In 2010 she was seen in four Hindi films, Rann, Apartment, No Problem, in which she made a special appearance, and Sadiyaan, and one Tamil film, Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai.

In 2011 Deswa, a Bhojpuri film which she produced and which was directed by her brother, was released.

In 2013, she acted in the Tamil-language action film Ameerin Aadhi-Bhagavan alongside Jayam Ravi. In 2013 she had completed filming for a Greek film Home Sweet Home, in which she plays an Indian girl. On the recommendation of the director Anurag Kashyap, she auditioned for the film via Skype. She had to learn Greek for the film and also dubbed herself. Later it was revealed that Home Sweet Home was the working title of the film and the film's actual name was Block 12 where she played an Indian goddess. The film was released in 2013 and was bilingual (it was shot in English and Greek). She has two Hindi films, Kusar Prasad Ka Bhoot and Shooter, coming up.

In 2020, she appeared in the Hollywood show Gown and out in Beverly Hills with Bollywood actor Sammy John Heaney.In 2021, she made her Hollywood film debut through a woman-centric martial arts film Never Back Down: Revolt which is the standalone sequel to Never Back Down: No Surrender and the fourth installment overall in the Never Back Down franchise. Unlike its predecessors in the franchise, the film is much darker in tone. She plays a female martial artist named Jaya in that film. She revealed that in 2019, when she was invited to the special screening of Bad Boys For Life at Sony Pictures Studios, she met the producer of the film David Zelon at the screening who was looking for an Indian actress for the film at that time. Zelon was impressed by her diverse film portfolio and martial arts experience and she was selected for the role without having any audition or look test. Chandra went on a vegan diet and did rigorous exercise in order to prepare for her role. She did all of her stunts in that film without using any body double. The film was released digitally and on DVDs on 16 November 2021 and it received mixed reviews.

Other work

Chandra became the brand ambassador for the Hoop, a Gitanjali brand. She also took part in a commercial for Mysore Sandal Soap. Nitu Chandra also appeared in music director Ismail Darbar's music video "Rasiya Saajan" along with Zubeen Garg. She was also seen in the music video of Bombay Vikings' singer Neeraj Shridhar's hit single "Aa Raha Hoon Main". She also appeared in a successful remix of Sajna Hai Mujhe from D.J. Hot Remix Vol.1 (and the song appeared in 7 other albums after that), and the super hit song Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila (CD - Sophie & Dr.Love, DVD - D. J. Hot Remix Vol.2 & The Return Of Kaanta Mix) alongside Sophie Choudry (the song appeared in 9 other albums after that).

In 2013, Chandra made her debut in theatre, in a play, called Umrao, which featured her in the title role. She has been hosting Rangoli on DD National since May 2017. In 2018, Chandra became Community Ambassador for Patna Pirates in pro kabbadi league.

In the media

In 2008, 7Seas Technologies launched a 3D mobile game, Nitu — The Alien Killer, with Nitu Chandra as the lead character.

Nitu was featured on the cover of the January 2009 issue of Indian Maxim.

Filmography

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As actress

As producer

Television

References

1. "'Mithila Makhaan' has something for all: Neetu Chandra". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
2. "'Taekwondo' has something for all: Neetu Chandra". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
3. "'Champaran Talkies' has something for all: Neetu Chandra". Champaran Talkies. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
4. ^ "Bhojpuri film industry not growing: Neetu Chandra". Sify. 4 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
5. "Neetu shoots kick & punch". The Telegraph (Calcutta). 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
6. "Neetu Chandra receives second black belt in Taekwondo". The Times of India. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
7. "Patna boy to represent India at global business meet in Ireland". The Times of India. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
8. "Timing relief for Deswa". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
9. "Rediscovered myself with my Greek film: Neetu Chandra". The Times of India. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
10. "Neetu in awe of her Greek film look". Hindustan Times. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
11. "I'm too young for marriage: Neetu Chandra". The Times of India. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
12. Das, Chuman (29 January 2009). "Neetu Chandra signs her first ad campaign". Businessofcinema.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
13. "| Bollywood News | Celebrity News". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
14. "Bombay Vikings - Aa Raha Hoon Main". Universal Music India/Vevo. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2015 – via YouTube.
15. Jha, Subhash K. (12 November 2013). "Don't want to dilute my moment of glory: Neetu Chandra". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
16. "Theatre Review: Umrao". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
17. "7Seas Technologies ropes in Neetu Chandra for 3D mobile action game — The Economic Times". The Times of India. 20 March 2008. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
18. "Bollywood Movie News, Desi Blog: Neetu Chandra Maxim January 2009". Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
19. D'Alessandro, Anthony (11 November 2020). "'Never Back Down: Revolt': Kellie Madison Directing For Mandalay, Wonder Street & SPWA". Deadline. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
20. Unnikrishnan, Abhilasha (31 December 2020). "Neetu Chandra on making her Hollywood debut in 'Never Back Down: Revolt'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
21. "Swara Bhaskar bids adieu to DD National's 'Rangoli'". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.

External links

• Nitu Chandra at IMDb 
• Nitu Chandra at Bollywood Hungama

• 1984 births
• Actresses in Hindi cinema
• Actresses in Tamil cinema
• Actresses from Bihar
• Living people
• Female models from Bihar
• Delhi University alumni
• Actresses from Patna
• Actresses in Telugu cinema
• 21st-century Indian actresses
• Indian film actresses
• Indian women film producers
• Businesswomen from Bihar
• Indraprastha College for Women alumni
• Indian female taekwondo practitioners