Born in a Marathi-speaking family in Mumbai on August 1, 1992, Mrunal Thakur, who is best known to viewers as Bulbul Arora in Kumkum Bhagya, has studied Mass Media from KC College and also possesses a B-Tech degree. (All pictures/Mrunal Thakur's Instagram account)

Mrunal Thakur was always interested in acting and started getting acting offers as she completed her studies.

Mrunal Thakur showed her acting chops on the TV series, 'Mujhse Kuch Kehti Hai... Yeh Khamoshiyan.' She played Gauri in the show.

Mrunal Thakur has also played important roles on the show 'Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek Arjun' and 'Kumkum Bhagya'.

Mrunal Thakur was also a part of some Indonesian TV shows and has quite a fan following in Indonesia.

Of course, Mrunal was looking for a Bollywood break for many years and was first considered for Salman Khan's Sultan. She had even auditioned for the film, though that didn't work out. She had once stated that she wants to essay a character with mental difficulties because it's an extremely challenging role for an actor.

In 2018, Mrunal Thakur made her international debut with Love Sonia. After watching her performance in the film, Aamir Khan, blown away by her talent, offered her Thugs of Hindostan.

Yes! Aamir Khan wanted to work with Mrunal Thakur and Fatima Sana Shaikh was not the first choice for Thugs of Hindostan. But Mrunal turned it down. Apparently, she was not ready to sign the three-films deal with Yash Raj Films at that moment.

Mrunal Thakur has done a commercial with Ranveer Singh as well. The actress was all praises for Ranveer, whom she called 'wonderful human being, energetic, and down-to-earth.'

In an interview with mid-day, Mrunal said, 'When I was auditioning for the role of Supriya, I didn't know Hrithik was in the film. Four months later, I got to know it was him and the first thing that came to my mind was 'Ik Pal Ka Jeena'', she was referring to the hit song from her co-star's 2000 debut, Kaho Naa, Pyaar Hai.

Well, after saying 'no' to Aamir Khan's Thugs of Hindostan, getting rejected for Salman Khan's Sultan, finally Mrunal Thakur got her big Bollywood break with 2019's Super 30. Mrunal played the love interest of Hrithik Roshan in the film.

Talking about Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur shared, "The first time I saw him in character was at Varanasi's Ganga ghat where we had to shoot an intense scene. For a moment, I forgot it was Hrithik and called him Anandji. He is so good looking that we forget that he is also a great performer. Nothing better than romancing the Greek God himself. I was a little under-confident initially, but Hrithik helped me with the scenes, which elevated my performance."

Mrunal, who made her big-screen debut with the critically-acclaimed Love Sonia in 2018, said she was advised by people to take up a more conventional film instead of the drama. 

"As an actor, I just want to perform. There were lots of people who told me 'are you mad to choose 'Love Sonia' as your first film?' I was told to do something light, romantic and glamorous. But I felt the audience is smart today. We can't woo them with a great, glamorous look. We have to keep them satisfied by delivering good performance," Mrunal said in an interview with PTI.

Though Love Sonia was far removed from the traditional commercial cinema of Bollywood, the actor said that the film gave her a lot, including her next, Super 30. When asked was it difficult for her to break out from the film and find other roles, Mrunal said, "It wasn't difficult for me. 'Love Sonia' is very lucky for my career, I owe a lot to it. If I have a Batla House, Super 30, it's only because of Love Sonia."

Mrunal Thakur further added, 'With the buzz it created, it helped me. When you perform in your first film, it adds a lot to your career graph. The journey becomes easy.' Mrunal started her career with TV before moving to the big screen and the actor said with time she has become more aware as a performer.

"Initially, I was just doing it for fun but now I've taken it very seriously. I owe my career to TV. Most of my training has been through TV. In television, you don't get enough time to prepare for your character. In films, you have proper scripts and you get time. I have evolved as an actor."

As an outsider, Mrunal Thakur believes in Super 30's tagline, 'a King's son will no longer become the king'. 'What is important is the kind of faith you have within yourself. Slow and steady, things happen. You need to have patience. I am happy people are approaching talent and our audience is changing. The new audience is looking for creatively satisfying films. I am happy the way my career is moving and the appreciation I'm getting,' she added.

Mrunal Thakur's nickname is Goli and she is a jovial and fun-loving person in real life. Her Instagram account is filled with quirky captions. She loves reading books and photography. She creates an entire photo album whenever she goes on holiday.

Apart from TV shows Mrunal Thakur has appeared in the Marathi films 'Hello Nandan', 'Vitti Dandu', 'Surajya' and 'Rangkarmi'.

Mrunal Thakur was rumoured to be dating TV writer Sharad Chandra. However, reportedly, the couple parted ways.

Mrunal Thakur is active on social media and likes to be connected with her fans. She prefers to spend time at home rather than hanging out with friends and partying.

Speaking of upcoming projects, Mrunal will be seen opposite Farhan Akhtar in "Toofaan" and Shahid Kapoor in "Jersey" respectively.

Here's wishing a very happy birthday to Mrunal!