Neetu Pandey

Some Lesser Known Facts About Neetu Pandey

• Neetu Pandey is an Indian film and TV actress. She gained recognition with her multiple appearances in the crime series Savdhaan India: Crime Alert (2012) on Life OK and Crime Patrol Dial 100 (2016) on Sony. She gained popularity for playing the role of Narmada Rathore in the famous drama series Imlie (2022) on STAR Plus.

• She was passionate about acting from a young age and aspired to be an actress.

• She got married at 17, while still in her Class 11, but continued living with her parents due to the Gohna tradition, which involves the bride staying at her parental home for a period agreed upon after marriage.

• She completed her Class 12 before moving to her husband’s family home in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, where she became part of a large household of 7-8 members and took on the responsibilities of managing the home.

  

• After becoming a mother to a daughter, she pursued her higher education through a distance learning program at Kanpur University (presently known as CSJM University).

• Her journey into the entertainment sector began in 2002.

• She took up a teaching job in a school in Lucknow when her daughter started school at the age of three.

• On her way from school to home, she would pass by the Bhartendu Natya Academy (BNA), a prestigious drama institute in Lucknow, which sparked her interest in acting. Eventually, she decided to visit BNA and signed up for a summer acting workshop. Her classes were scheduled in the evenings, from 3 pm to 6 pm. Neetu’s traditional in-laws were ignorant of her aspirations to become an actor. In an interview, she shared that her sister-in-law Poonam played a crucial role in supporting her ambitions. To keep their acting classes a secret from their in-laws, Neetu and Poonam pretended they were attending evening computer courses while they were actually going to BNA. They pulled off this lie for a month after which their in-laws found out about the acting workshops and opposed Neetu’s participation. She managed to persuade them to allow her to complete the workshop, arguing she was already midway through it.

• In her first theatrical performance, Charandas Chor by Habib Tanvir, Neetu was cast as the queen, a role she landed by chance when the original actress for the queen’s part had to leave for a trip. Initially, Neetu was assigned the role of a daasi (handmaiden of queen).

• Until 2008, she starred in numerous theatrical productions in Lucknow.

• During her tenure as a theatre artist, she started working for Doordarshan as a B-grade artist.

• Then, she hosted several programs, including the well-known Krishi Darshan on Doordarshan and also presented Salaam UP for ETV.

• For better opportunities, she relocated to Mumbai, the epicentre of the Indian entertainment scene, on 24 December 2008 along with a friend.

• She gave an audition at Vishal Kapoor’s office but had no luck.

• Then, she secured an acting job through a coordinator named Saurabh Sharma. She did her first shoot in Mumbai on 27 December 2008. She played the role of a doctor. In an interview, she said that she received a check for Rs 4000 after the shoot. The first thing she did was buy a small temple worth Rs 350 with the money.

• Later, she played minor roles in various TV series, earning a daily wage of Rs 1500-2000 during that period.

• Between 2010 and 2011, she played four different roles in the popular police drama CID on Sony Entertainment Television.

• She gained recognition with her roles in the crime-themed anthology series Savdhaan India: Crime Alert (2012) on Life OK, Gumrah End of Innocence (2015) on Channel V India, and Crime Patrol Dial 100 (2016) on Sony.

  

• In 2012, she appeared in the TV show Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek – Arjun (2012) on STAR Plus.

• In 2014, she starred in the play Sandhya Chhaya by Punit Asthana. It was later telecasted by Lucknow
  Doordarshan.

  

• In 2020, she was featured in Kiske Roke Ruka Hai Savera on DD Kisan.

  

• She played the role of  Narmada Rathore, the mother of Aryan and Arpita, in STAR Plus’ popular drama Imlie in 2022.

  

• During the same period, she also appeared in Aggar Tum Na Hote on Zee TV, playing the role of Anand’s mother.

• In the following year, she began playing Jyoti, Deva’s mother, in Chand Jalne Laga on Colors TV.

• In 2024, she appeared in Sony’s mythological series Shrimad Ramayan in which she played Kaikasi.

• She marked her Bollywood debut with the 2005 romantic comedy Main, Meri Patni… Aur Woh! in which she played a member of Veena’s family, alongside leading actors Rajpal Yadav, Rituparna Sengupta, and Kay Kay Menon.

• In 2009, she played the role of Jillani’s wife in the gangster film Baabarr and Aslam’s mother in the 2018 action-packed Satyameva Jayate.

  

• Her filmography includes the roles of Mrs Jha in Bhonsle (2018), Sarla in Marudhar Express (2019), and Jay’s mother in Phulmania (2019).

• Apart from that, she appeared in the Bollywood films Shorgul (2016), Happy Bhaag Jayegi (2016), T for Taj Mahal (2018), Babuji Aur Humsab (2021), Satyameva Jayate 2 (2021), Hurdang (2022), Naach Baiju Naach (2022), and Lohardaga (2023).

• In 2021, she was also featured in the Netflix anthology film Ajeeb Daastaans.

• She was featured in the short film Eidi: A Gift of Faith (2018).

  

• She appeared in the web series My Name is Sheela in 2019. In 2021, she appeared in the web series Love J Action on Sony Liv.