Mrinal Kulkarni

Mrinal Kulkarni, honestly, is just one of those names that pops up and you’re like, “Oh yeah, she’s good.” This woman’s been all over Marathi cinema and TV, picking up these iconic roles that stick in your head for ages. Everyone remembers her as Sonpari—yeah, that magical fairy in the old TV serial, the one that pretty much every kid in the early 2000s wanted to visit their home. But her talent isn’t just limited to sprinkling fairy dust on screen. She’s done such varied work, it’s actually hard to pin her down to just one thing. Take her role as Jijau in ‘Raja Shivchhatrapati’—King Shivaji’s mom—people still rave about how she just owned that character. It wasn’t just the costume or the heavy dialogues; it was the way she brought this intense, caring, no-nonsense mother vibe that made you believe she actually raised a king. Oh, and those Vico ads? If you grew up in India, you’ve definitely seen her face, selling beauty products with that smile that’s somehow both friendly and classy. More recently, she turned up in ‘Rajwade and Sons,’ not as some background elder, but as one of the siblings. Yeah, she’s got range. Watching her in that modern family drama, you’d never guess she was the same person commanding 17th-century Maharashtra as Jijau. It’s honestly wild how she keeps switching gears like that and still nails every part. That’s Mrinal Kulkarni for you—always surprising, never boring.