Anu Aggarwal is a former model and actress. She was born in Delhi on January 11, 1969, and was raised in Chennai. She graduated in Sociology from Delhi University, and soon began her career as a model and video jockey on MTV India.

She made her debut in the film industry with Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui (1990), a film that remains her most recognizable work. She allegedly agreed to the project after Bhatt’s repeated attempts at convincing her, claiming the role was written for her and that, without her the film would not be made. Over the next four years, Aggarwal acted in several films including Saawan Kumar’s Khal-Naaikaa (1993) and Mani Kaul’s short film The Cloud Door (1994). In 1994, she also hosted a music show on the Star network, BPL Oye!, but left this job in the same year, to be replaced by Neelam Kothari.

Though Aggarwal had a handful of new releases in the coming years, including Janam Kundli (1995) and Return of Jewel Thief (1996), she wrapped up all her acting projects and declined all new offers post 1994, even staying away from all media events and declining to give interviews and public statements. Aggarwal travelled extensively in the following years, after which, in 1997, she turned her focus to meditation and yoga. “I liked that life, that discipline and that anonymity,” she said.

Two years later, in 1999, Aggarwal was involved in a major accident which left her in a month-long coma. She has been quoted saying that it was upon awakening from this coma that her life really began, and she claims to have gone through deeply spiritual experiences around this time in her life.

After a long period of recovery, Aggarwal moved to Munger, Bihar, where she taught yoga at the Bihar School of Yoga. The Anu Aggarwal Foundation, an organisation that promotes the understanding of alternative medicine and meditation techniques, as well as implementation of methods to bring relief to the poor, was also founded by her at this point of time.