Decent Looking Sameer Soni

Samir Soni

              Samir Soni,born on September 29, 1968 is an Indian film and television actor and a former model.

Biography

Soni was born to a Punjabi Hindu family in London, United Kingdom and attended school at St. Xavier's School, Delhi. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in Economics.

Prior to his Bollywood career, Samir was an investment banker with one of the bulge bracket firms on Wall Street in New York, before coming back to India to start modeling. He has attended acting courses in New York and Los Angeles. 

Career

Soni made his debut in the 1995 Hindi serial Samandar based on Navy officers. Later that year, he appeared as Ashok Mathur in Doordarshan's A Mouthful Of Sky, based on Ashok Banker's script and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. He made his film debut as a lead actor opposite Mamta Kulkarni in China Gate (1998), though it was followed by forgettable cameos in films.

In 2003, Samir shot to fame by appearing in the film Baghban opposite legendary artistsAmitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. He then played his first solo lead roles in Basti and Kahan Ho Tum.

After failing to become a successful actor in Bollywood, Samir established himself on television with his performances in popular TV shows Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin and Saakkshi, with both airing on Sony.

 Samir became a prominent TV star. He also showcased his skills in the popular TV show Kumkum on STAR Plus, portraying the negative role Yash Thakur.

Samir continued his movie career with supporting roles in blockbuster movies including Vivah, Fashion and I Hate Luv Storys. In 2010, Samir Soni was featured as one of the contestants in the season 4 of reality television show Bigg Boss. He was evicted from the house a week prior to the grand finale. As of 2011, Samir is portraying the lead role of a lawyer Kunal Chopra in Balaji Telefilms' TV serial Parichay that airs on Colors TV.

Personal life

Through modeling, he met his ex-spouse, Rajlakshmi Khanvilkar. The two were married for six months before they divorced. After that Soni was involved in a three year relationship with the late Nafisa Joseph, Miss India 1997. Khanvilkar is now married to one-time actor Rahul Roy.

On 24 January 2011, he married former actress Neelam Kothari. 

Acting

Delhi boy Samir Soni, made his mark as the cunning but slick Ashok Gupta in Doordarshan's A Mouthful of Sky in 1996, followed by forgettable cameos in films like Raj Kumar Santoshi's China Gate. Having learnt theatre under Barry John, Soni has done numerous Bollywood movies including Basti, Lajja, Kaha Ho Tum, Baghban and a cross over movie like Dance Like a Man.
With a forgettable debut in China Gate, where his role got slashed at the editing table, Samir considered himself lucky to get to play Amitabh Bachchan's younger son in Baghban. That itself was a memorable experience. Soni has also played a part in the recent Pamela Rooks film, Dance like a Man and has also been seen alongside Mandira Bedi in a play by Vikranth Pawar, tentatively titled Double Act.

He has played a role of Purab in a popular TV soap Jassi Jaisse Koi Nahin which made a huge impact on the viewers around the world. He has also done another soap, Saakshi where he played as head of an anti-terrorist organization - Astra. He is this infallible character who never fails, has all the gadgetry and information he needs. And he was involved with one show in star one called Dil Kya Chahta Hai where he has played a Ram Sinha, a complete Casanova. Besides movies and soaps he has acted in plays like "Ask what father says", Champagne on the house, Insomnia and recently had done Double Act with Mandira Bedi.