Antara Mali was born on July 1, 1979 into a family that was deeply involved with artistic pursuits. Her mother was a theatre actress, her father Jagdish Mali was a photographer, while her grandfather Shantanu Mali was a painter. She made her entry into the film industry with Ram Gopal Verma’s Telugu drama, Prema Katha (1999). This film also marked the beginning of a long association between her and Verma, and the two have worked together multiple times over the course of the next decade.

Though Mali has not had a very prolific career so far, and not many of her films have been commercially groundbreaking, her performances have generally been critically appreciated. Some of her notable roles have been in films like Road (2002), and Naach (2004). Her iconic role in Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon (2003), was considered to be one of her best performances. She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Filmfare Award for Company (2002). Each of these films is also associated with Ram Gopal Verma, in his capacity as a director or producer. Many of Mali’s roles have been different and quirky, and have included characters like a small town girl with dream of making it big in Mumbai, a struggling choreographer, and a man who wakes up in a woman’s body. Mali claims she has always been selective about her work to the extent that she looks out for roles that need not necessarily be challenging, but should be interesting and different.

Later, Mali co-directed, wrote as well as starred in Verma’s production, Mr. Ya Miss (2005). This film fared rather poorly both critically and commercially, and remains her only attempt till date at directing and writing. “I retired after Mr. Ya Miss”, claims Mali, “I think at that point, I’d hit a dead end in terms of what I wanted to do”.

After a five year hiatus from films, Mali returned in a different avatar for Amol Palekar’s And Once Again (2010), in which she played the character of a Buddhist monk, shaving her head for the role. While many considered this film to be Mali’s comeback, she categorically refuted this position, claiming that it was just a one-off project. She has not appeared in any new releases since.

Mali is currently based in Mumbai where she lives with her husband Che Kurrien and their baby daughter.