Last updated: 3 October 2026
Nine thousand six hundred and eighty-three. That was the number of paying subscribers reported on Neha Sharma’s Instagram in late April 2026, each said to be paying ₹299 a month for posts, reels and stories that the general public could not see. Within days it had become a talking point on X and in entertainment headlines, with some users likening the paid profile to OnlyFans and others calling it plain business.
It was an unusual headline for an actress who has spent almost two decades in front of cameras, from a Telugu debut in the same film that launched Ram Charan to Hindi cinema, a courtroom web series and a cameo in Bad Newz. Neha Sharma, 38, has rarely been far from public attention, but the conversation around her has mostly been about films, music videos and magazine rankings. This time it was about a business model.
This profile follows both threads: the Bhagalpur-born fashion graduate who became a film heroine, the long run through Hindi, Telugu and Punjabi cinema and streaming, and the Instagram subscription that put her back in the news. Where the reporting is thin, and on the subscription it is, we say so.
Neha Sharma Quick Facts
| Full name | Neha Sharma |
| Born | 21 November 1987, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India |
| Age | 38 (as of 3 October 2026) |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Years active | 2007 to present |
| Education | Mount Carmel School, Bhagalpur; National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi |
| Film debut | Chirutha (2007, Telugu) |
| Hindi film debut | Crook (2010) |
| Best known for | Crook, Tanhaji, Illegal, Aafat-e-Ishq, 36 Days |
| Father | Ajit Sharma, Congress politician |
| Sister | Aisha Sharma, actress |
| Next project | Sanjog (Punjabi film, release date not confirmed) |
| @nehasharmaofficial |
Who Is Neha Sharma?
Neha Sharma is an Indian actress and model who works in Hindi, Telugu and Punjabi films and in streaming series. Born on 21 November 1987 in Bhagalpur, Bihar, she made her film debut in the Telugu film Chirutha (2007) and her Hindi debut in Crook (2010). She is best known for Crook, Tanhaji, the legal drama Illegal, the ZEE5 film Aafat-e-Ishq and the thriller series 36 Days. She is the daughter of Bihar Congress politician Ajit Sharma and the sister of actress Aisha Sharma. She is not the same person as television actress Nia Sharma, who was born Neha Sharma in 1990.
Early Life: From Bhagalpur to NIFT
Neha Sharma’s route into films began in Bhagalpur, where she was born and attended Mount Carmel School. She then moved to Delhi to study fashion design at NIFT. Fashion came first in her training, and in a 2011 interview she spoke of wanting to launch her own clothing label.
She is also a trained Kathak dancer and has said she studied street hip hop, salsa, merengue, jive and jazz at Pineapple Dance Studios in London. Politics runs in the family. Her father, Ajit Sharma, is a Congress politician who won the Bhagalpur assembly seat in 2014, 2015 and 2020, and her sister Aisha Sharma is also an actress.
Career
Chirutha and the South (2007 to 2009)
Her first film was a notable one. Chirutha (2007), directed by Puri Jagannadh, was a Telugu action drama that also marked the debut of Ram Charan, and Neha played Sanjana. Kurradu followed in 2009, opposite Varun Sandesh. Her next move was to Hindi cinema.
Crook and the Bollywood years (2010 to 2018)
Crook: It’s Good to Be Bad, released on 8 October 2010, was her Hindi debut. Directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, it starred Emraan Hashmi and was built around the controversy over attacks on Indian students in Australia between 2007 and 2010. Neha played Suhani, his love interest, and the film introduced her to Hindi audiences.
Over the next several years she moved between comedies, romances and ensemble films: Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012), a cameo in Teri Meri Kahaani (2012), Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (both 2013), Youngistaan (2014), Tum Bin 2 (2016) and Mubarakan (2017). When Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 came out, she described it as her biggest film so far. In 2016 she appeared in Xuanzang, an India-China project reported as China’s official Oscars entry, and in 2017 she acted in Solo, a bilingual Malayalam and Tamil film directed by Bejoy Nambiar with Dulquer Salmaan.
Most of her roles in this stretch were romantic leads or supporting parts. Away from the screen, she was a regular on The Times of India’s Most Desirable Women list, placing 13th in 2013. In a 2021 interview she said that even after roughly ten years in Bollywood she was still being rejected at auditions, and called it a terrible feeling.
Tanhaji, Illegal and the streaming turn (2020 to 2024)
The 2020s changed the shape of her work. In January 2020 she appeared in Om Raut’s Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the period drama with Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Kajol, playing Kamla Devi. The same year she made her web debut in Illegal – Justice, Out of Order, a legal drama with Piyush Mishra in which she played advocate Niharika Singh. The series ran for three seasons, with the third arriving in 2024.
In 2021 she led ZEE5’s Aafat-e-Ishq as Lallo, in a remake of the Hungarian film Liza, the Fox-Fairy, alongside Amit Sial, Deepak Dobriyal and Namit Das. Public award listings show a critics’ Best Actress nomination for it. In 2022 she and her sister Aisha fronted Shining with the Sharmas, a reality series described as a Kardashian-style look at their lives. Jogira Sara Ra Ra (2023) paired her with Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Dimple Chaubey, and in 2024 she played a femme fatale with deep secrets in the series 36 Days, with Purab Kohli, and had a cameo as Sejal in the comedy Bad Newz.
Music videos
Music videos have been a steady second stage. She appeared in Tony Kakkar’s Dheeme Dheeme (2019) and, in 2020, in Dil Ko Karaar Aaya with Sidharth Shukla, which crossed 100 million views, as well as B Praak’s Galib and Guri’s Lambo Car. Later credits include Thoda Thoda Pyaar (2021), Pehli Pehli Baarish (2022), Tu Hai (2024) and B Praak’s Mukke Paaye Si (2024).
Beyond acting
In 2020 she became a co-owner of the IPL Soccer team Birmingham Challengers. In September 2024 a Japanese restaurant she co-founded, Call Me Ten, opened in Vasant Vihar, Delhi.
Major Work and Notable Projects
If you want the shortest route through her career, these are the projects that mark its turning points:
- Crook (2010): the Hindi debut opposite Emraan Hashmi.
- Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013): the film she called her biggest so far at the time.
- Tanhaji (2020): a role in one of the year’s biggest period dramas.
- Illegal (2020 to 2024): the three-season legal drama that marked her web debut.
- Aafat-e-Ishq (2021): a ZEE5 lead role as Lallo.
- 36 Days (2024): the thriller series for which public award listings credit her with a Best Female Actor win.
Films
| Year | Film | Language | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Chirutha | Telugu | Sanjana | Debut; also Ram Charan’s debut |
| 2009 | Kurradu | Telugu | Hema | With Varun Sandesh |
| 2010 | Crook | Hindi | Suhani | Hindi debut; directed by Mohit Suri |
| 2012 | Teri Meri Kahaani | Hindi | Meera | Cameo |
| 2012 | Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum | Hindi | Simran Singhania | |
| 2013 | Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story | Hindi | Simran Desai | |
| 2013 | Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 | Hindi | Suman Khanna | |
| 2014 | Youngistaan | Hindi | Anwita Chauhan | |
| 2016 | Xuanzang | Mandarin | Kumari | India-China project |
| 2016 | Tum Bin 2 | Hindi | Taran | |
| 2017 | Mubarakan | Hindi | Advocate Nafisa Qureshi | |
| 2017 | Solo (Bhama in Tamil) | Malayalam, Tamil | Akshara | Bilingual; directed by Bejoy Nambiar |
| 2020 | Tanhaji | Hindi | Kamla Devi | With Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol |
| 2020 | Ik Sandhu Hunda Si | Punjabi | Simran | With Gippy Grewal |
| 2021 | Aafat-e-Ishq | Hindi | Lallo | ZEE5 original; remake of Liza, the Fox-Fairy |
| 2023 | Jogira Sara Ra Ra | Hindi | Dimple Chaubey | With Nawazuddin Siddiqui |
| 2023 | Hi Nanna | Telugu | Model | Cameo |
| 2024 | Bad Newz | Hindi | Sejal | Cameo |
| TBA | Sanjog | Punjabi | To be announced | Release date not confirmed |
Series, short films and reality shows
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Kriti (short film) | Kriti | Title role |
| 2020 to 2024 | Illegal – Justice, Out of Order | Advocate Niharika Singh | Three seasons |
| 2021 | Vikalp (short film) | Shivani | Title role |
| 2022 | Shining with the Sharmas | Herself | Reality series with sister Aisha |
| 2024 | 36 Days | Farah Zaidi / Suhana Mohan | Thriller series |
Public award listings credit her with a Best Female Actor win in 2024 for 36 Days and show nominations for Tanhaji (2020), Illegal (2021) and Aafat-e-Ishq (2021).
Current Projects and Latest Updates
The ₹299 Instagram subscription
In late April 2026, users noticed that Neha Sharma’s Instagram profile carried a paid subscription. Instagram’s subscription feature lets a creator put selected posts, reels and stories behind a monthly fee, and hers was priced at ₹299 a month. The Free Press Journal reported that the subscriber-only area showed 9,683 active subscribers, with 562 stories, 8 posts and 23 reels available to them.
Multiplying 9,683 subscribers by ₹299 gives roughly ₹28.95 lakh, the figure that circulated in several reports as her revenue. It is an estimate of gross subscription value, not a confirmed earnings figure, and it does not account for any platform fees or for subscribers joining and leaving.
The reaction was split. Some users called the move unnecessary for an established actress from a political family, and some likened it to OnlyFans. Others defended it as a legitimate way for a public figure to earn from her audience, and some questioned why anyone would pay. The publications that covered the story said the exact nature of the subscriber content was not known, and descriptions of it as behind-the-scenes material and personal updates were not independently confirmed. In those reports Neha had not issued an official statement, and we found no later one.
Claims about the content, including claims about live streams, circulate on social media and video channels. We could not find reliable reporting that confirms any of them, and this profile does not repeat unsourced claims about a real person.
Sanjog
Her next announced project is Sanjog, a Punjabi film directed by Harish Gargi, with Jassi Gill and Happy Raikoti in the cast. In May 2025 she wrapped her schedule in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. A release date has not been confirmed in the sources we could find.
What comes next
Almost two decades after Chirutha, Neha Sharma is still working across Hindi, Telugu and Punjabi cinema and streaming, and the Instagram subscription has added an unexpected line to a career that was never short of headlines. What the subscribers actually see stays private, and the reporting so far cannot say. The films, at least, are public.
Social Media Stats
| X (Twitter) | IMDb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| @nehasharmaofficial | @Officialneha | IMDb | |
| About 19.3M (third-party trackers, Aug 2026) | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified | IMDb profile |
Social media figures are approximate and may change.
Personal Life
Neha Sharma keeps most of her private life out of the public record, and this profile sticks to what she has said publicly. The family connection that has drawn the most coverage is political. Her father, Ajit Sharma, is a Congress politician who won the Bhagalpur assembly seat in 2014, 2015 and 2020. In April 2024 he contested the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat and lost to JD(U)’s Ajay Kumar Mandal. Neha, whose name had come up in speculation about a Congress ticket, campaigned for him in roadshows instead. She joined his campaign again for the Bihar Assembly election in November 2025.
In an India Today interview she said that coming from a political family had never backfired on her film career. Her sister, Aisha Sharma, is also an actress, and the two appeared together in Shining with the Sharmas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Neha Sharma?
Neha Sharma was born on 21 November 1987. She is 38 years old as of October 2026 and turns 39 on 21 November 2026.
What is Neha Sharma’s Instagram subscription?
It is a paid subscription on her Instagram profile, priced at ₹299 a month, that gives subscribers access to posts, reels and stories hidden from other followers. It drew wide attention and criticism in late April 2026.
How many subscribers does Neha Sharma have?
Reports in late April 2026 cited 9,683 subscribers. Multiplying that by ₹299 gives roughly ₹28.95 lakh, but that is an estimate of gross subscription value, not a confirmed earnings figure.
Has Neha Sharma responded to the backlash?
In the reports we reviewed, she had not issued an official statement, and we found no later one.
What is in Neha Sharma’s paid Instagram content?
The exact content has not been independently verified. Reports described the subscriber area as having stories, a few posts and some reels, and the publications covering it said the precise content was unclear. We could not find reliable reporting that confirms claims about live streams or any other specific content.
Is Neha Sharma the same person as Nia Sharma?
No. Nia Sharma is a television actress who was born Neha Sharma in 1990. Neha Sharma of Crook and Tanhaji was born in 1987.
What was Neha Sharma’s first film?
Her first film was the Telugu action drama Chirutha (2007), which also marked Ram Charan’s debut. Her first Hindi film was Crook (2010).
Who is Neha Sharma’s father?
Her father is Ajit Sharma, a Congress politician from Bhagalpur, Bihar. He won the Bhagalpur assembly seat in 2014, 2015 and 2020 and lost the 2024 Lok Sabha contest in Bhagalpur.
Is Aisha Sharma Neha Sharma’s sister?
Yes. Aisha Sharma is an actress and Neha’s sister. They appeared together in the 2022 reality series Shining with the Sharmas.
Which web series has Neha Sharma acted in?
Her series credits include Illegal – Justice, Out of Order (2020 to 2024) and 36 Days (2024). Her 2021 ZEE5 release, Aafat-e-Ishq, was a film.
What is Neha Sharma’s next movie?
Her next announced film is the Punjabi project Sanjog, directed by Harish Gargi, with Jassi Gill and Happy Raikoti. A release date has not been confirmed in the sources we could find.
How many Instagram followers does Neha Sharma have?
Third-party trackers put her account, @nehasharmaofficial, at about 19.3 million followers as of August 2026.