Something About Her

Whether it's a training session with her martial arts mentors, snuggling with her six pets on a Sunday morning, or plotting her next Antarctic adventure, DISHA PATANI is guided by both intuition and discipline.

- A beautiful study of contrasts, discovers Parul Karn

When M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) hit the screens, Disha Patani became a household name, making her one of the most searched people on Google Trends that year. A year earlier, she had made her debut with the Telugu film Loafer, starring Varun Tej, without any formal training in acting. Since then, she’s carved a distinct space for herself, known for her effortless high kicks and martial arts-inspired action sequences in films such as Kalki 2898 AD (2024), as well as her powerful dance routines that often go viral. For Disha, movement has always been more than just performance. It’s her emotional outlet and a way to express what words sometimes can't. But she wasn’t always the star we know today.

Disha recalls her childhood as a time of profound shyness and unbridled imagination. “I was, I am still actually, a very introverted person,” she tells us. “But I was hundred times more shy and introverted then.” With her short, boyish hair and simple clothes, she found comfort in solitude. “I never took acting classes. I was so shy – I couldn't even imagine standing in front of so many people. I still don't like being watched or being on stage.” She is, by her own admission, a “full-time geek” who would dream in circuits and wonder about the secrets of the universe.

She comes from Bareilly, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, and never had a fixed blueprint for her future. “I never actually honestly knew what I wanted to do,” she confesses. “Still don’t know...” As a child, she visualised becoming an Air Force pilot. Later, while pursuing a BTech in Biotechnology in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, she considered becoming a scientist. Neither path was certain, but both felt possible. Then, modelling entered the picture when she won a Fresh Face Hunt in 2012. At 19, Disha moved to Mumbai.