Akanksha Puri was flying as international cabin crew for Kingfisher Airlines when modelling assignments began to pull her in another direction. Within a few years she was a Tamil film debutant, then a Madhur Bhandarkar heroine, and from 2017 the face of Goddess Parvati on Sony’s Vighnaharta Ganesh. Reality television followed: a wild card entry on Swayamvar: Mika Di Vohti in 2022 and a short stay on Bigg Boss OTT 2 in 2023.
In May 2026 she was back in front of a streaming audience as Meetu Punjaban, a dancer turned informer, in Randeep Hooda’s Inspector Avinash 2 on JioHotstar. This profile covers how she got there, what actually happened between her and Mika Singh, and what she is working on now.
Who Is Akanksha Puri?
Akanksha Puri is an Indian actress, model and dancer who has worked in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Bhojpuri films as well as on television. She is best known as Goddess Parvati in Vighnaharta Ganesh and as Nandita Menon in Calendar Girls (2015). Her Instagram bio describes her as the winner of Mika Di Vohti and a part of Bigg Boss OTT 2.
How Old Is Akanksha Puri?
Akanksha Puri is 38 years old as of 15 October 2026. She was born in 1988 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The exact birth date is not consistent across sources. Wikipedia’s article text gives 26 July 1988, its infobox says 26 August 1988, and Hindi daily Amar Ujala reported a birthday celebration on 28 August 2022. Belloria therefore uses the year and the age, which come out the same under either of the first two dates.
Early Life and the Kingfisher Years
Wikipedia places her birth in Indore, and several profile sites say she grew up in Bhopal, though those sites are secondary sources. What is better documented is the job she held before acting. Puri worked as international cabin crew for Kingfisher Airlines, picked up modelling work during that period, and appeared in a 2011 Vasan Eye Care advertisement. She told Gulf News in 2019 that she had been happy with her flying career until the airline shut down, after which modelling opened new options.
Career
South Indian films (2013 to 2015)
Studio Green spotted her for the 2013 Tamil action comedy Alex Pandian, her first film. Malayalam, Kannada and more Malayalam followed: Praise the Lord (2014), Lodde (2015) and Samrajyam II: Son of Alexander (2015, as Saira IPS), plus a cameo in Amar Akbar Anthony.
Calendar Girls (2015)
Her Hindi debut came with Madhur Bhandarkar’s Calendar Girls, in which she played Nandita Menon. The film opened doors, but not always the ones she wanted. She told the Times of India in 2017 that after Calendar Girls she was mostly offered erotic roles.
Vighnaharta Ganesh (2017 to 2020)
The turning point was television. In 2017 she was cast as Goddess Parvati in Sony’s mythological series Vighnaharta Ganesh, a role that took her from a glamour-film image to a family audience. The show also aired in the south as Vinayagar, which widened her recognition beyond the Hindi belt. In September 2020 she confirmed she had quit the show, adding that she was not leaving for Bigg Boss 14 and wanted people to see the real her.
Music videos and a Tamil return
Between and after those roles she became a regular in music videos, among them Jahaan Tum Ho with Shrey Singhal (2017), Dangerous (2021) and Bewafa Tera Muskurana with Jubin Nautiyal (2021). In 2019 she returned to Tamil cinema in Sundar C’s Action, playing an assassin named Kiara, which she described to Gulf News as a deliberate contrast to Parvati.
Streaming and recent films (2023 to 2026)
Jio Studios’ Inspector Avinash was her first web series, with Randeep Hooda, in 2023. Honey Trap Squad (2023) and Dons and Darlings (2024) followed, then the Hindi crime thriller So Long Valley (2025) and the Bhojpuri films Rajaram (2024) and Rishtey (2025).
Is Akanksha Puri Married to Mika Singh?
No. Akanksha Puri is not married to Mika Singh. She entered Swayamvar: Mika Di Vohti, which premiered on 19 June 2022 on Star Bharat, as a wild card contestant and won. Mika garlanded her at the finale on 25 July 2022 but they did not marry on the show. Afterwards she told ETimes that a wedding could not happen just by completing tasks on a show and that she had been his friend for years without dating him, and Mika told ETimes TV the two had mutually decided to stay friends. In 2023 she described their bond as an old and special one that would stay that way.
Her earlier publicly known relationship was with actor Paras Chhabra. Their split became a talking point in 2019 when Chhabra spoke about it during Bigg Boss 13.
Bigg Boss OTT 2 and the Jad Hadid Kiss
Puri entered Bigg Boss OTT 2 at its premiere in June 2023 and was evicted on 2 July 2023, finishing 12th according to Wikipedia. Her short stay is remembered for a 30-second kiss with housemate Jad Hadid that drew heavy reaction online. She later said she had zero regret about the kiss while calling Hadid fake, according to an Indian Express interview.
Bigg Boss was already familiar territory by then. She appeared as a guest in Bigg Boss 13 (2019) and entered the Bigg Boss 15 house as a challenger in January 2022.
What Is Akanksha Puri Doing Now?
Inspector Avinash 2 premiered on JioHotstar on 15 May 2026 with all ten episodes released together. Directed by Neerraj Pathak and set in 1990s Uttar Pradesh, it brought back Randeep Hooda in the title role, with Puri playing Meetu Punjaban. She told IANS she wanted to do something fearless and different, and that the role pushed her out of her comfort zone.
In August 2026 she told IANS she is making a special appearance in an upcoming Gujarati film, and that she studied the language and culture so the performance would feel authentic. The film’s title and release date have not been announced.
Social Media Stats
| X (Twitter) | IMDb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| @akanksha8000 | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified | IMDb profile not verified |
| About 4.7M (Qoruz, August 2026) | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified |
Social media figures are approximate and may change.
Earnings and Net Worth
There is no verified net worth figure for Akanksha Puri. Profile sites quote estimates in the range of $1 million to $5 million without showing how they were calculated, so Belloria does not use them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where was Akanksha Puri born?
Wikipedia says she was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Some older profile sites say Bhopal, where she is also said to have grown up.
Who did Akanksha Puri play in Vighnaharta Ganesh?
She played Goddess Parvati from 2017. She confirmed in September 2020 that she had quit the show.
What was Akanksha Puri’s Bollywood debut?
Madhur Bhandarkar’s Calendar Girls (2015), in which she played Nandita Menon. Her first film overall was the Tamil action comedy Alex Pandian (2013).
Was Akanksha Puri in Bigg Boss 15?
She entered as a challenger in January 2022, along with Surbhi Chandna, Vishal Singh and Munmun Dutta. She also appeared as a guest in Bigg Boss 13 and was a full contestant in Bigg Boss OTT 2.
How many Instagram followers does Akanksha Puri have?
Her account, @akanksha8000, had about 4.7 million followers in August 2026 according to the analytics platform Qoruz.
What was Akanksha Puri’s job before acting?
She worked as international cabin crew for Kingfisher Airlines before modelling and acting.
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