In 2009, Rashami Desai walked into Colors’ Uttaran as the grown-up Tapasya and was winning awards for the role by 2010. In September 2026 she is back on daily television with a new character: Maya in Star Plus’s Sayoneee, a return to television fiction that coverage describes as coming after nearly eight years.
Between those two shows lies one of Indian television’s more varied careers: Bhojpuri and Gujarati films, dance and comedy reality shows, two Bigg Boss seasons, Naagin, a web-series debut in Tandoor and, more recently, theatre. This profile covers all of it, with the latest confirmed updates.
Who Is Rashami Desai?
Rashami Desai is an Indian television and film actress and a trained classical dancer. She is best known as Tapasya Thakur in Uttaran, and she reached a wider audience through Bigg Boss 13 and 15, Naagin and the web series Tandoor. She has also worked in Assamese, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Hindi films. In 2026 she is credited as the founder of Raaga Desai, a label for contemporary Indian sarees and statement jewellery.
How Old Is Rashami Desai?
Rashami Desai is 40 years old as of October 2026. She was born on 13 February 1986 in Nagaon, Assam, India.
Early Life and Background
Rashami Desai was born Shivani Desai in Nagaon, Assam, on 13 February 1986. She is Gujarati by origin and grew up in Mumbai, where she went to school and later studied at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. In a 2020 Hindustan Times interview she spoke about being raised by her mother and about money being tight, including not being able to afford a ₹350 dance class. Her mother said the name was changed from Shivani to Divya and later to Rashami because she feared how family and society would react to her daughter becoming an actress. She has a brother, Gaurav Desai.
Career
Regional films and early television (2002 to 2008)
She began in regional cinema, appearing in the Assamese film Kanyadaan (2002) and in a run of Bhojpuri films that included Kab Hoi Gawna Hamar, which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Bhojpuri. Her Hindi film debut was Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke (2004), in which she was credited as Divya Desai and played Sheetal, the younger sister of Raveena Tandon’s character, alongside Shah Rukh Khan. Television followed with Raavan on Zee TV in 2006, where she played Queen Mandodari, and Pari Hoon Main on Star One in 2008, in a dual role.
Uttaran and the Tapasya years (2009 to 2014)
Her breakthrough came in 2009, when she joined Colors’ Uttaran as the adult Tapasya Thakur, replacing Ishita Panchal in the role. The show ran from December 2008 to January 2015 and became one of Colors’ longest-running series. Her performance won her Best Actress (Popular) at the 2010 Indian Television Academy Awards and the Indian Telly Award for Most Popular Actor in a Negative Role (Female) the same year. She left the show in January 2012, returned in November 2012 and left again in 2014, citing creative differences. In 2012 she also appeared in the song Dagabaaz Re in the Salman Khan film Dabangg 2.
Reality shows and Dil Se Dil Tak (2010 to 2019)
Alongside Uttaran, she became a regular on reality television. Her team, the Massakali Girls, won Zara Nachke Dikha 2 in 2010. She was part of the runner-up team on Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala (2011), first runner-up on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 (2012) and a participant in Khatron Ke Khiladi 6 (2015). She and then-husband Nandish Sandhu finished as first runners-up on Nach Baliye 7 in 2015. On fiction she played Shorvori in Colors’ Dil Se Dil Tak (2017 to 2018) opposite Sidharth Shukla and Jasmin Bhasin, and she made her Gujarati film debut in Superstar (2017).
Bigg Boss 13 and Naagin (2019 to 2022)
Bigg Boss 13 put her in front of a much larger audience in 2019. She finished the season as third runner-up in February 2020, in a season won by Sidharth Shukla. Her time in the house was also marked by her relationship with fellow contestant Arhaan Khan, which ended after the show. In 2020 she played Shalaka in Naagin 4 and made a special appearance in Naagin 5. She returned to the franchise in Naagin 6 in 2022, reprising Shalaka and playing a new character, Shanglira.
She went back into the Bigg Boss house in November 2021, this time as a wild card entrant in Bigg Boss 15, and finished as fifth runner-up.
Web series, films and theatre (2021 to 2025)
Her web debut was Tandoor (2021), a crime drama loosely based on the Tandoor murder case in Delhi, in which she played Palak Sahni opposite Tanuj Virwani. The series earned her Best Debut Actress in a Web Series at the 2022 Midday IIIA Awards and Stellar Performer of the Year at the 2023 IIFTA Awards.
In 2022 she appeared in the anthology Ratri Ke Yatri. She returned to cinema with JNU: Jahangir National University (21 June 2024), starred in the Gujarati family drama Mom Tane Nai Samjay (10 January 2025) and played Monalisa Yadav in ZEE5’s Hisaab Barabar, opposite R. Madhavan (24 January 2025). In 2025 she also had a cameo on Sony SAB’s Wagle Ki Duniya and starred in the micro-drama Roadpati Bana Crorepati on Kuku FM (22 September 2025).
She has worked on stage too. In July 2025 she told Hindustan Times that theatre was her calling for now rather than television, and in 2026 she began playing Kunti in the Hindi play Swayamsiddha Kunti.
Major Work and Notable Projects
- Uttaran (2009 to 2014): Tapasya Thakur, the role that made her famous.
- Dil Se Dil Tak (2017 to 2018): Shorvori, opposite Sidharth Shukla.
- Bigg Boss 13 (2019 to 2020): third runner-up.
- Naagin 4 (2020): Shalaka.
- Tandoor (2021): web debut as Palak Sahni.
- Bigg Boss 15 (2021 to 2022): wild card entry, fifth runner-up.
- Hisaab Barabar (2025): ZEE5 satire with R. Madhavan.
- Sayoneee (2026): her return to television fiction as Maya.
Awards
Her Uttaran-era wins include the Indian Television Academy Award for Best Actress (Popular) in 2010, the Indian Telly Award for Most Popular Actor in a Negative Role (Female) in 2010, a Gold Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role (Female) in 2010 and the FICCI Frames Excellence Award for Best TV Actor (Female) in 2011. She also won Best Debut Actress at the Gujarati Transmedia Awards in 2018 for Superstar.
Current Projects and Latest Updates
Sayoneee on Star Plus
Sayoneee premiered on 23 September 2026 at 7:30 pm on Star Plus and streams on JioHotstar. It is produced by Sargun Mehta and Ravi Dubey’s Dreamiyata Entertainment and directed by Uttam Bhelavat. The story follows Saanvi, played by Janhavi Soni, a young woman searching for a mother’s love, with Gautam Singh Vig as Aditya. Rashami plays Maya, described as a powerful and guarded woman, in what coverage calls her return to television fiction after nearly eight years.
She has said she received several offers during the break and waited for a story and a character she genuinely connected with.
Beyond television
Outside television she is credited as the founder of Raaga Desai, and she has announced films including Mission Laila and the Punjabi film Chambe Di Booti, neither of which has a confirmed release date.
Social Media Stats
| X (Twitter) | IMDb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| @imrashamidesai | Not publicly verified | @TheRashamiDesai | IMDb |
| About 5.7M (third-party trackers, Aug 2026) | Not publicly verified | Not publicly verified | IMDb profile |
Social media figures are approximate and may change.
Personal Life
Rashami Desai married her Uttaran co-star Nandish Sandhu on 12 February 2011. They separated in 2014, filed for divorce in 2015 and the divorce was finalised in March 2016. During Bigg Boss 13 she formed a relationship with fellow contestant Arhaan Khan, which ended after the show in 2020. In an April 2026 interview with IANS she described herself as a single woman, and earlier in 2026 she told Mid-Day that marriage and motherhood were on her mind.
What Comes Next
Seventeen years after Tapasya, Rashami Desai is back where she started, on daily television, but with a body of work that now includes reality-show finales, a web series, Gujarati cinema and a stage lead. Sayoneee will show whether the audience that followed her through Uttaran and Bigg Boss follows her to a new character as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Rashami Desai’s real name?
She was born Shivani Desai. She has also been credited as Divya Desai, including in her Hindi film debut Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke, and later adopted the name Rashami. Her mother has said the names were changed because she feared her family’s and society’s reaction to her acting.
What is Rashami Desai’s new show?
Sayoneee on Star Plus, which premiered on 23 September 2026 at 7:30 pm and also streams on JioHotstar. She plays Maya.
Is Rashami Desai married?
No. She married actor Nandish Sandhu in 2011 and the divorce was finalised in March 2016. In April 2026 she described herself as single.
Does Rashami Desai have children?
She has not said publicly that she has children. Claims on some websites that she has a daughter are not supported by any statement from her, and in 2026 interviews she has spoken about motherhood as something she hopes for.
Where did Rashami Desai finish in Bigg Boss 13 and Bigg Boss 15?
She finished Bigg Boss 13 as third runner-up, in a season won by Sidharth Shukla. She entered Bigg Boss 15 as a wild card in November 2021 and finished as fifth runner-up.
What is Rashami Desai best known for?
She is best known for playing Tapasya in Uttaran, and for Bigg Boss 13, Naagin 4, Dil Se Dil Tak and the web series Tandoor.
What is Rashami Desai’s net worth?
There is no verified figure. Online estimates range from about $1.5 million to $8 million across profile sites and do not show how they were calculated.
How many Instagram followers does Rashami Desai have?
Her Instagram account, @imrashamidesai, had roughly 5.6 to 5.8 million followers as of August 2026, according to third-party trackers.
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