Niharika Singh

Niharika Singh
Niharika Singh in 2013
Born	31 August 1982 (1982-08-31) (age 34)
Occupation	Actress
Awards	Best Female Debut IBNLive Movie Awards 2015

Niharika Singh (born 31 August 1982) is an Indian film actress and the winner of Femina Miss India Earth 2005. She made her acting debut with the film Miss Lovely, which competed in Un certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Niharika spent her childhood in various hill stations and small towns in the north of India since her father worked for U.P. Tourism and after the state was divided, Uttarakhand Tourism development board, Govt. of India. She recalls her first performance as "Bharat Mata" at the age of 4; did children theatre workshops with Sahitya Kala Parishad before she went to study in a boarding school, All Saints' College, in Nainital.

Singh started modeling in Dehradun at the age of 17, doing local shows which she continued when she moved to New Delhi to pursue a degree in B.Com(H) at Shri Ram College of Commerce. Realizing commerce wasn't her subject of interest, she dropped out of college and moved to Mumbai in 2003.

Niharika participated in Femina Miss India in 2005 and won the title of Miss India Earth along with subtitles for Miss Photogenic and Miss Beautiful Hair. She went on to represent India at the Miss Earth pageant held in Philippines in the same year. She appeared in several TV commercials, print ads and music videos and hosted a reality series 'Banungi main Miss India' on television.

Her career in films started when she signed a 10 film contract with Raj Kanwar in 2006. The films were never made. Then, John Matthew Matthan and T-Series got her out of the contract and made A New Love Ishtory with her. She further worked in films like 'Mudh mudh ke na dekh mudh mudh ke' and 'Private number'. None of these films made it to the cinemas.

Niharika made her feature film debut with Ashim Ahluwalia's retro drama Miss Lovely. The film competed in Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Singh played the role of Pinky, a mysterious ingénue with a shadowy past for which she earned rave reviews for her performance and the award for Best Female Debut at IBNLive Movie Awards 2015.