Murali Sharma is one of the finest actors of his generation who is known for his versatile body of work in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi cinema. Some of his notable films include “Golmaal Series,” “Main Hoon Na,” “Sunday,” “Baby,” “Athidhi,” “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo,” and many more.
Early Life and Career
Murali Sharma was born on August 9, 1972, in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, to a Marathi father, Vrijbhushan Sharma, and a Telugu mother, Padma Sharma. Sharma was brought up and educated in Mumbai. After he completes his bachelor’s degree, he gets an acting diploma from the Roshan Taneja Acting School, Mumbai.
After completing a diploma in acting, he began his acting career on TV, doing small roles in serials including “Aahat,” “Saturday Suspense,” “Suspense Hour,” “X-Zone,” “Suraag: The Clue,” “Khoj,” and “Ghar Jamai,” among others. His first significant role was in “Dial 100,” where he played the role of sub inspector “Sub Inspector Vijay Naik.” Over the years he was part of many successful serials like 1998 Saaya (1998), Aryamaan-Brahmaand Ka Yodha Shukrant (2002), Special Squad (2002), Hum Ne Li Hai… Shapath (2002), and many more.
Murali Sharma In Films
Sharma’s film debut was a role that came in 2002 with Anant Mahadevan’s “Dil Vil Pyar Vyar.” He followed it by films like “Raaz,” “Maqbool,” “Market,” “Dhoop,” “Ek Hasina Thi,” “Masti,” and “Black Friday.” However, it was his portrayal of Captain Khan in “Main Hoon Na (2004)” that brought him widespread recognition. Since then, he has been a constant presence in over 130 feature films across multiple languages, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema.
In 2005 he acted in Ketan Mehta‘s Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) starring Amir Khan and Rani Mukherjee. He then acted alongside Ajay Devgan in Prakash Jha’s Apaharan (2005), whicj gave him immense critical acclaim.
His subsequent films espacially Dhamaal (2007), Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2007), Sunday (2008), Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011), and OMG—Oh My God! (2012), proved his versatility. Murali Sharma is a permanent fixture of Golmaml series with apearances in Golmaal Returns (2008), Golmaal 3 (2010), and Golmaal Again (2017). He again worked with Prakash Jha in Chakravyuh (2012), and Jai Gangaajal (2016).
Directed by Sriram Raghavan, Badlapur (2015) cast Sharma as Michael, a morally complex prison official. His nuanced performance added tension to the gritty revenge drama, starring Varun Dhawan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Some of his other films include Baby (2015), ABCD 2 (2015), Wazir (2016), Saaho (2019), Street Dancer 3D (2020), Radhe Shyam (2022), Cirkus (2022), Yaariyan 2 (2023), and many more.
The Star of Regional Cinema
Murali Sharma made his Telugu film debut with “Athidhi (2007),” where his dual role earned him the Nandi Award for Best Villain. He then starred in many Telugu films, notably “Kantri (2008),” “Dhoni (2011),” “Krishnam Vande Jagadguru’ (2012),” “Yevadu (2014),” “Dwaraka (2017),” “Awe (2018),” “Saaho (2019),” “Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene (2019),” “Evaru (2019),” “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020),” “Paagal (2021),” “Radhe Shyam (2022),” “Veera Simha Reddy (2023),” “Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnu Katha (2023),” “Rangabali (2023),” “Guntur Kaaram (2024),” and many more.
His versatility shines through his performances, whether it’s playing a comedic role or a menacing villain. He received the Filmfare Award South and the SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor—Telugu for his role in ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’ in 2021. His contributions to cinema and society were also recognised with an honorary doctorate from New Life Theological University. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020)
Directed by Hanu Raghavendra, Sita Ramam (2022), featured Sharma as Subramanyam, a key figure in a romantic epic. His restrained performance added emotional weight to the narrative, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur.
Murli Sharma also acted in Marathi films like “Vijay Aso (2013),” “Poshter Boyz (2014),” “Guru (2016),” “Ghantaa (2016),” and Tamil films like “Pattathu Yaanai (2013),” “Arrambam (2013),” “Anjaan (2014),” “Devi (2016),” “Bhaagamathie (2018),” Kolai (2023), “RRathnam (2024),” and many more.
Personal Life
Sharma met actress Ashwini Kalsekar during the filming of Apaharan in 2005. They became friends, fell in love, and married on March 22, 2009. Kalsekar, known for roles in Kasamh Se and Jodha Akbar, was previously married to Nitesh Pandey. The couple has no children. Sharma and Kalsekar, together make a power couple in the Indian entertainment industry.
Murali Sharma on IMDB
