Sonali Raut
Sonali Raut is an Indian actor, best known for Tamil cinema. Sonali Raut began their career in 2014 and has been a prominent figure in the industry for over 12 years. With 30 credits to their name, Sonali Raut remains one of the most prolific and celebrated talents in the industry. An emerging voice in Tamil cinema, Sonali Raut is already attracting significant attention for their distinctive work.
- Born
- Age
- 35
Biography
Sonali Raut is a Mumbai-born Hindi cinema actress and model, primarily known for her work in Bollywood alongside a prominent modeling career that included the Kingfisher Calendar from 2010. She made her acting debut in The Xpose (2014), a period romantic-thriller opposite Himesh Reshammiya, where she played a murdered movie star. She gained wider recognition with Great Grand Masti (2016), appearing as Shiney and performing the item song 'Lipstick Laga Ke,' which ranked among the top 20 songs of that year. Her sister is internationally renowned supermodel Ujjwala Raut, and Sonali gained additional public visibility as a contestant on Bigg Boss Season 8 and Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6 in 2026.
Career Milestones
Kingfisher Calendar Girl, launching modeling career
Bollywood film debut in lead role as Zara Peter Fernandes
View film →Contestant on Bigg Boss Season 8, lasting 105 days
Appeared in Great Grand Masti and performed item song 'Lipstick Laga Ke'
View film →Signed web series Dangerous opposite Karan Singh Grover
Iconic Roles
The Xpose
Her acting debut in this retro romantic-thriller opposite Himesh Reshammiya, playing the lead female role that brought her into mainstream Bollywood.
Great Grand Masti
Adult comedy role that further raised her profile, including the item number 'Lipstick Laga Ke'.
Dangerous
Lead role in MX Player thriller web series, marking her digital debut and a more substantial acting opportunity.
Defining Moments
Kingfisher Calendar 2010 appearance at age 19, sharing space with future Bollywood A-listers, which served as her industry entry point and led directly to film offers.
The defining launchpad of her career — she later publicly revealed how the calendar made overnight stars of Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif, situating herself within that same star-making machinery.
Debut as Zara Peter Fernandes — a glamorous movie star who gets murdered — in the 1960s-set noir thriller. Her screen presence and bold portrayal opposite Himesh Reshammiya drew attention as a confident debut performance.
Her Bollywood acting debut; critics noted her glamorous screen presence and confidence, establishing her as a bold newcomer in a period thriller setting.
View film →Bigg Boss Season 8 arc — evicted, then brought back due to viewer popularity, and surviving 105 days. Her outspoken, unapologetic personality made her one of the season's most talked-about contestants.
Transformed her from a film face to a household name; her boldness and controversy on the show generated more public recognition than her film work at that point.
Item number 'Lipstick Laga Ke' — an energetic dance performance that became one of the most-streamed songs of 2016 and landed in the top 20 songs of the year.
Her most widely-discussed on-screen moment; the song's viral popularity cemented her image as a bold entertainer and reached a mainstream audience far beyond her film roles.
View film →Sonali Raut by the Numbers
If you watched every Sonali Raut film back-to-back, you'd be at it for roughly 4 hours. Most-paired with Mishti — 2 films together.
Filmography
See all 30 credits →
Collaboration Network
Career Analytics
Language Distribution
Films by Decade
Top Co-Actors
See all →Sonali Raut has worked most frequently with Mishti (2 films).
Did You Know?
Sonali Raut is the younger sister of actress and model Shweta Raut.
She was a contestant on the reality show Bigg Boss 8 in 2014.
She began her career as a model before entering films.
She made her Bollywood debut in the 2014 film 'The Xpose'.
She participated in the dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9' in 2016.
Legacy & Influence
Sonali Raut's career in Indian cinema, though brief and selective, represents a distinct path within the contemporary Bollywood landscape. Emerging as a model and pageant contestant, she transitioned to film with a debut in the 2014 musical thriller 'The Xpose'. Her role as Zara Peter Fernandes placed her in a film that paid homage to the stylized cinema of the 1970s, allowing her to be part of a project that consciously engaged with Bollywood's own cinematic history, albeit with mixed critical reception. Her subsequent notable appearance in the adult comedy 'Great Grand Masti' (2016) further situated her work within popular, mass-entertainment genres that have a significant box-office footprint in India. While her filmography is limited, her career trajectory mirrors a common model-to-film pathway, contributing to the industry's ongoing blend of fashion, glamour, and acting. Her presence in these specific films adds to the diverse ensemble casts that characterize such commercial ventures. Raut's contribution is thus not one of prolific output or transformative performances, but rather of participation in defined, genre-specific projects that cater to particular audience segments. She represents a facet of Bollywood where modeling success provides a gateway to film, contributing to the industry's visual aesthetics and star-driven promotional culture. Her career choices reflect a strategic engagement with mainstream, high-visibility projects over a pursuit of critically acclaimed roles, a valid and recognized path within the commercial film ecosystem.