Sanaya Irani is an Indian model-turned-actress, who shot to prominence with the role of Khushi Kumari Gupta in STAR Plus" daily soap "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?". Her first major television role was in the Indian youth oriented series "Miley Jab Hum Tum", post which she also appeared in soaps "Chhanchhan" and "Rangrasiya".
Early Life of Sanaya Irani
Sanaya Irani was born on September 17, 1983 in Mumbai, Maharastra. She pursued seven years of schooling in a boarding school in Ooty. She completed her graduation from Sydenham College in Mumbai and wanted to pursue a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree, though got busy modelling in advertisements and eventually decided to become an actress. At the beginning of her career, Sanaya was not fluent in Hindi and spoke of her struggles with the language on several occasions.
Career of Sanaya Irani
Sanaya Irani began her career as a model, getting her first portfolio shot by the photographer-turned-actor Boman Irani. She appeared in various advertisements for brands like Airtel, Reliance, Pepsi and Dulux Paint with Barun Sobti. She had also worked with Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra for some acts in ad commercials. She made an appearance in the video of Jagjit Singh`s song "Tumko Dekha To Yeh", being her first screen appearance. She later made her acting debut in a feature film, playing a cameo in the Yash Raj Films production "Fanaa" in 2006, as Mehbooba.
Sanaya Irani made her debut on television in the year 2007 with SAB TV`s popular show "Left Right Left", playing Cadet Sameera Shroff opposite Arjun Bijlani. In 2008, she played the lead Sanaya in NDTV Imagine"s soap "Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi", but her first notable lead role was in STAR One`s youth oriented show "Miley Jab Hum Tum", where she played the female lead Gunjan in both seasons 1 and 2, opposite television actor Mohit Sehgal. The series aired till 2010, post which in 2011, she portrayed Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, the female protagonist in STAR Plus" daily soap opera "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?", which further shot her to fame. Irani`s portrayal of both these characters in "Miley Jab Hum Tum" and "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?" made her one of the most prominent and admired faces of Indian television. "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?" aired its final episode on November 30, 2012.
Sanaya was subsequently seen in Sony Entertainment Television"s family drama "Chhanchhan", playing the titular role of Chhanchhan Sarabhai Borisagar, alongside Supriya Pathak and Anuj Sachdeva. The show was loosely based on the 1980 Hindi film "Khubsoorat". She was later seen as Parvati in Colors TV"s "Rangrasiya", opposite Ashish Sharma which aired till September 2014. In 2015, she played Shruthi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada in the Malayalam dubbed version of "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?", titled "Mounam Sammadham".
Apart from acting in fiction TV, Sanaya Irani has hosted and participated in multiple Indian reality shows. In 2008, she participated in STAR Plus" friend-based reality show "Kaho Na Yaar Hai" and briefly co-hosted the second season of dance reality show "Zara Nachke Dikha" on STAR Plus, with Mohit Sehgal in 2010. The same year, she was also a contestant in NDTV Imagine"s "Meethi Chhori No. 1" and participated in Life OK"s cookery based reality show "Welcome - Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki" in 2013, in its first week. Early in 2013, Irani hosted Zee TV`s Valentine`s Day special "Ishq Wala Love" alongside Karan V Grover. In 2013, she also made guest appearances in Colors TV"s reality shows "Bigg Boss" (Season 7) and "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" (Season 6), also being a co-contestant in the latter along with eventual winner Drashti Dhami. In 2015, she participated in the 8th Season of "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa", judged by Shahid Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan, Lauren Gottlieb and Ganesh Hegde. She was the runner-up with Faisal Khan being declared the winner of the show. In 2016, she appeared on online channel Arré"s web series "I Don"t Watch TV".
Television Soaps of Sanaya Irani
Sanaya Irani has acted in the following fiction television soaps, highlighted alongside her roles.
| Year of Running | TV Show | Role |
| 2007 | Left Right Left | Cadet Sameera Shroff |
| 2008 | Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi | Sanaya |
| Miley Jab Hum Tum | Gunjan Bhushan | |
| Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? | Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada | |
| 2013 | Chhanchhan | Chhanchhan Sarabhai-Borisagar |
| Rangrasiya | Parvati Rudra Pratap Ranwat (Paro)/Myrah Mehra | |
| 2015 | Mounam Sammadham (Malayalam) | Shruthi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada |
Awards and Recognitions received by Sanaya Irani