Mona Ambegaonkar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mona Ambegaonkar

• Mona Ambegaonkar is an Indian film and television actress who is known for her work in Marathi films, Bollywood, and Indian television industry. ^[2]India TV

• She started her career in the film industry after she got a job as an assistant to the Bollywood actor Jalal Agha, and after working with him for a few years, she became his chief-assistant. According to Mona, Jalal Agha was a father figure to her, in an interview, she was asked about her working experience with Jalal Agha to which she replied,
  

  My sense of rhythm and understanding of visual music is his gift to me and he always pushed me towards responsibility and never let me worry about failing in my work or life.”

• Mona worked as a chief assistant director for the actor/director Shekhar Kapur when he was directing the movie Mr. India (1987).

• Later, she worked as a teacher at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

• Apart from being an actress, Ms Ambegaonkar is also an accomplished writer. While talking about her writing experience in an interview, she said, ^[3]Deccan Herald
  

  I sat at home, living off my meagre savings. I wrote a few articles for newspapers, wrote for the Chicken Soup Series and dubbed several series for National Geographic and Animal Planet and Discovery etc.

• While talking about her acting career in films, she has many memorable performances under her belt such as ‘Evening Shadows’ (2018) in which she played the role of Vasudha, ‘Secret Superstar’ (2017) in which she played the role of advocate Sheena and ‘Dishoom’ (2016) in which she played the role of Gayatri Shubha Mishra.

  

• Apart from films, she has earned accolades for her performances in many television shows such as C.I.D (1998-2018) in which she played the role of Dr Anjalika Deshmukh (2004–2005), “Dhadkan” (2004-2005) in which she played the role of Dr. Chitra Sheshadri, and “Nyaay” (1999-2000) in which she played the role of Advocate Varsha.

• She has a daughter by the name ‘Diva’ who is alleged to be the love child of Mona Ambegaonkar and Dayanand Shetty, popularly known as “Daya” in the television series C.I.D. Mona Ambegaonkar and Dayanand Shetty were co-actors on the TV series C.I.D, which was telecasted on sony channel. Although she abstains discussing her personal life publicly, in an interview, when she was asked about her career and daughter, she replied,
  

  After Diva’s birth, I was homeless for a while and it took me about seven months to buy a house and get started at acting again. I was nursing her when I began to shoot for Amber-Dhara, a serial on Sony TV. Two of my plays were also on then and I left Diva at my cousin’s house in Nasik and used to commute between Nasik, Mumbai, Panchgani, Kolkata and Pune where I taught at the FTII for some time. I remember that time through a haze of incredible tiredness.”

• She is an activist and often gives her opinions on current social issues, and she actively participated in anti-CAA protests that took place in Shaheen Bagh, Kalyan. social campaigns and actively tweets on her Twitter account regarding current social issues.

• She also does theatre and has been part of Chetan Datar’s play “Ek Madhav Baug.” She considers theatre to be a powerful medium. She has also worked with few theatre groups such as Ekjut, Ansh, Fottsbarn Theatre Company in France, and the Ton Und Kirshen Theatre Company in Germany. In an interview, when she was asked about her next work in movies and television, she replied
  

  I have no idea when I will do a show or film next. I am very choosy and don’t like doing nonsensical work! I am very happy doing theatre right now, which is a powerful medium.”

• She loves animals and has two rescue pet dogs. She has given shelter to a few injured dogs by providing them with necessary medical care. Being an activist, she is against animal cruelty and frequently campaigns about animal cruelty over social media.