Minissha Lamba is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Apart from Bollywood, she has also appeared in a few Kannada and Punjabi movies. Minissha started her career in modelling, where she received her first break in movies with director Shoojit Sircar signing her on for the film "Yahaan". The film released in the year 2005, following which she appeared in several films, the most notable of them being "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.", "Bachna Ae Haseeno", "Well Done Abba" and "Bheja Fry 2".
Early Life of Minissha Lamba
Minissha Lamba was born on January 18, 1985 in New Delhi, into a Punjabi-speaking Jat Sikh family to parents S. Kewal Lamba and Manju Lamba. She did her schooling partially from Chettinad Vidyashram School in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where she studied for a year and then shifted to Army Public School in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Later she majored in English Honours from Miranda House, University of Delhi in 2004. She wanted to opt for a career in journalism, having been inspired by the bravery of journalists of CNN (Cable News Network) in her teenage years. However, she also had a keen interest in modelling.
Career of Minissha Lamba
While pursuing her English (Hons.) degree at Miranda House, Minissha Lamba started receiving offers to model in ad commercials of popular brands like Cadbury, Sunsilk, Airtel, LG, Sony, Hajmola etc. She was also a part of Femina`s Generation "W" ad. Her acquaintance with Bollywood occurred quite unexpectedly when she was approached by Bollywood director Shoojit Sircar, whilst shooting for a Cadbury commercial in Delhi. Minissha was signed by the director as the female lead in his film "Yahaan". She began filming for the film while still studying at Miranda House. The film, released in 2005, saw Minissha alongside Jimmy Shergill. Though appreciated by critics, the movie performed poorly at the box office, but launched Minissha as an actress and also brought her a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She relocated herself in Mumbai, to pursue a further career in Bollywood. Post "Yahaan", the actress starred in different films such as "Corporate", "Anthony Kaun Hai", "Rocky: The Rebel", "Anamika", "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd", "Dus Kahaniyan" and "Shaurya", where she appeared in both lead and supporting roles.
In 2008, she featured in the movie "Bachna Ae Haseeno" alongside Ranbir Kapoor, under the Yash Raj banner. The film became her biggest commercial success till date. In the same year, she was noticed for her role in Sanjay Gadhvi"s "Kidnap", where she featured alongside Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan. Her next major role was in critically-acclaimed director Shyam Benegal`s political satire "Well Done Abba". The movie received favourable reviews from critics, while also garnering the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues. Minissha"s portrayal of Muskaan Ali in the film was appreciated.
Minissha later appeared in films "Bheja Fry 2", "Hum Tum Shabana", "Joker" and "Zilla Ghaziabad". She also appeared in a pivotal role in the Kannada film "Kontract", released in 2011, and Punjabi movies "Heer and Hero" released in 2013 and "Double Di Trouble" in 2014, where she was last seen in a feature film.
Minissha Lamba has also performed in the music video for the song "Tera Surroor", from Himesh Reshammiya"s album "Aap Kaa Surroor" that became very popular. She entered and participated in the popular Indian television reality show "Bigg Boss 8", in September 2014, which aired on Colors TV. She stayed in the house for six weeks before getting evicted. She was also seen in an episodic appearance as Kavya Shastri, on the Hindi soap opera "Chhoona Hai Aasmaan" in 2008, which aired on STAR One.
Filmography of Minissha Lamba
Minissha Lamba has thus far appeared in the following films, highlighted hereunder along with their respective years of release.
| Year | Film |
| 2005 | Yahaan |
| 2006 | Corporate |
| 2006 | Rocky: The Rebel |
| 2006 | Anthony Kaun Hai |
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. |
| 2007 | Dus Kahaniyaan |
| 2008 | Bachna Ae Haseeno |
| 2008 | Kidnap |
| 2008 | Shaurya |
| 2008 | Anamika |
| 2010 | Well Done Abba |
| 2011 | Bheja Fry 2 |
| 2011 | Hum Tum Shabana |
| 2011 | Kontract (Kannada) |
| 2012 | Joker (Extended Appearance) |
| 2013 | Zilla Ghaziabad |
| 2013 | Heer and Hero (Punjabi) |
| 2014 | Double Di Trouble (Punjabi) |