Born into a Tamilian Brahmin family, on May 11, 1992, Adah Sharma grew up in Mumbai. Adah's father, a captain in the merchant navy, hailed from Madurai and mother, a yoga teacher, is from Nattupura, bordering Palakkad. Adah's last name was originally spelt as Sarma, but the actress attributed the change in spelling to years of living in Mumbai. (All pictures/mid-day archives and Adah Sharma's official Instagram account)

Talking about her acting aspirations and entering the film industry, it all started when Adah Sharma was in class 10. She developed an interest in acting and was ready to do whatever it takes to make it. So much so that she wanted to quit her education too. However, Adah's parents insisted that she at least completes studies till Junior College.

Without a godfather, Adah Sharma began giving auditions in Mumbai for work, after four years of struggle, she got an opportunity in 1920 film (2009), opposite Rajneesh Duggal and directed by Vikram Bhatt. Adah's portrayal of a possessed woman is still remembered.

"I started with 1920. I am very fortunate, the actresses in our industry for years don't get a chance to do what I got to do in my debut," Adah said in an interview. And we couldn't agree more!

In 2014, Adah Sharma lost her father S. L. Sharma. On her father's birth anniversary, she posted this adorable childhood picture of hers with her beloved father and captioned, "Happy birthday Pappa! If u were alive today u would have definitely put onions in the sambhar and made me eat it telling me there aren't any onions in it! So as revenge Since u were a super private person I thought Instagramming your birthday will be the perfect way to annoy your ghost self. I hope they let you make your own filter coffee in the afterlife. Feel free to haunt us anytime, it's been a while and u are being missed. I'm in Mauritius now and this pic was taken with my dad in Mauritius when I was in the 5th Std. [sic]"

Talking about her hobbies, Adah has been dancing since she was three. Adah started learning jazz and ballet and later started learning Kathak, when she was in class eight.

In picture: Adah Sharma posted this picture and captioned: Kathak to me is expressing my Adah. And what better than a bright yellow outfit to start my morning dance routine with?

Adah Sharma graduated from Gopi Krishna's Dance Academy in Kathak. She also trained in Salsa from the US. The actress is a good belly dancer and a gymnast too.

Another, intriguing hobby of Adah Sharma is whistling! "I have a number of hobbies but whistling is one of my favourites along with playing the piano. I literally start my day with a whistle rhyming it with the chimes of the cuckoo clock. Though people normally associate whistling with boys, I feel that girls can also whistle in a really cool fashion. I normally whistle to my favourite movie songs. At times, I can whistle out an entire song. I also do it while playing the piano," she said, in an old interview with mid-day.

Further adding, she said, "The whistling activates my lungs, by which I inhale more oxygen. This keeps my brain alert which helps me think with clarity. It also helps me emote better on screen. I'm gifted; I have been able to whistle since I was a kid. And it's only getting better with every passing day. I usually whistle in the privacy of my home. Sometimes, I whistle when I am in a mischievous mood."

In picture: A 'Then and Now' picture of Adah. The actress captioned it: Not much has changed ...even the saree remains yellow and pink

Okay, we are not done yet with Adah's long list of hobbies. Adah stays creative whenever she has time on hand. Whenever she gets time off in between shots, she begins to paint on anything she gets. She has painted a lot of bags, in the past, some of which she even carried to events and caught a lot of eyeballs too. Not only that she also paints shoes and t-shirts.

Adah Sharma is also actively involved with animal welfare organisations. She had launched a drive a few years ago to adopt strays. She wants to spread the message that instead of buying expensive dog breeds, it is better to give a stray a home.

Interestingly, the pet lover has a stuffed toy cat, whom she calls Radha. She has created an Instagram page of her stuffed cat 'Adah Ki Radha' which already has over 36,000 followers. Her toy cat made a debut on-screen with short film Tindey, directed by Seemaa Desai. Adah leaves no bounds to share pictures and videos of her toy. She, surely, has a different perspective to look at things, we must say!

On the acting front, after tasting success with her debut film itself, Adah Sharma was later seen in films like Hasee Toh Phasee, Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke, Phhir., the Commando franchise, and Bypass Road.

In picture: Adah Sharma with her mommy dearest. She captioned the picture: "The secret behind my sanity or the reason and encouragement to my insanity my mammmmaaaaa [sic]"

Adah Sharma has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries apart from Bollywood. She will next be seen in the film Man To Man. The film revolves around actor Naveen Kasturia's character falling in love with and marrying Sharma's character, only to realise she was biologically a man who became a woman after surgery.

Here's wishing good luck for Adah's future projects and very happy birthday!