Amruta Fadnavis (née Ranade; born 9 April 1979) is an Indian banker, actress, singer and social activist. She is married to the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. She holds the post of vice-president with Axis Bank.[1][2]

Amruta Fadnavis
Amruta Fadnavis recording song
Born (1979-04-09) 9 April 1979 (age 45)
Occupation(s)Banker, actress, singer, social activist
SpouseDevendra Fadnavis
Children1

She has represented India at National Prayer Breakfast – 2017, an International peace initiative presided by U.S. President Donald Trump.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and career

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Amruta Fadnavis was born as Amruta Ranade on 9 April 1979 in Nagpur, Maharashtra to Sharad Ranade, an ophthalmologist and Charulata Ranade, a gynaecologist. She studied at St. Joseph Convent School, Nagpur. She was a state level under 16 tennis player.[7] She graduated from G.S. College of Commerce and Economics, Nagpur. Later she pursued MBA in finance and studied taxation laws from Symbiosis Law School, Pune.[8]

Fadnavis started her career with Axis Bank as executive cashier in 2003 and subsequently headed Axis Bank business branch in Nagpur.[9]

Personal life

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Amruta Fadnavis with Husband Devendra Fadnavis and daughter

Amruta married Devendra Fadnavis in December 2005.[10] They have one daughter.[11]

Career

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As a banker

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As a banker, Fadnavis has worked with Axis Bank since the last 17 years. She joined as an executive cashier and works as Vice-president – Transaction Banking Department. She migrated to the corporate office at Worli, Mumbai in January 2015 and continued working with Axis Bank even after her husband became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.[12]

As a singer

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Trained since the age of six in classical music, Fadnavis has performed at various social events as well as has sung for many commercial and social films.[13][14] She made her debut as a playback singer in Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangaajal with the song titled "Sab Dhan Mati". She sang a song in a biopic Sangharsh Yatra based on the life of BJP leader Gopinath Munde.[15]

Fadnavis' first music video "Phir Se" featuring Amitabh Bachchan released by T-Series was viewed over 700,000 times in a single day and reached over 1.4 million views in three days.[16][17]

In 2018, her song "Mumbai River Anthem" was to save the four rivers of Mumbai-Poisar, Dahisar, Oshiwara and Mithi.[18] In 2020, she sang "Alag Mera Ye Rang Hai" for acid attack victims,[19] "Tu Mandir Tu Shivala" for the corona warriors[20] and "Tila Jagu Dya" for women's empowerment.[21]

On the occasion of Mahashivratri in 2022, Fadnavis launched a new song, a rendition of the Sanskrit hymn Shiva Tandava Stotra.[22] Released by Times Music, it received over 12 million views on YouTube as of 14 April 2022.[23]

As a social activist

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In 2017, Fadnavis organised a fashion show of acid attack survivors, dubbed the "Acid Attack Victors", at National Sports Club of India, Worli. The show was supported by Divyaj Foundation in collaboration with Maharashtra State Women Commission.[24][11][25] Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, who was present at the event, announced an increase of the compensation amount for acid attack victims from 300,000 to 500,000.[26]

In 2019, Fadnavis and the Divyaj Foundation initiated a musical talent show titled Mitti Ke Sitare for underprivileged school children between the ages of 7 and 15 from the slums of Mumbai, with an aim to provide selected candidates in different genre of vocal and instrumental music a larger platform.[27][28]

Other activities

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Amruta Fadnavis led the delegation to Manasarovar to promote Indo-Chinese peace in 2015.[29][30]

Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) announced Fadnavis as the Chief Patron of the Davis Cup tie between India and New Zealand 2017 in Pune.[31] She was again announced as the chief patron of the L&T Mumbai Open Tennis Tournament which took place in November 2018.[32][33]

A documentary about Fadnavis, The Voice won the Best Film Documentary at IndieFEST, in 2019.[34] It was written, directed, and produced by Sagar Pagar.[34]

Controversies

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In October 2018, Amruta Fadnavis attended the inaugural voyage of India's first luxury cruise liner 'Angriya'. Fadnavis was criticised after a video of her sitting on the edge of the vessel risking her life to take a selfie was released online. Fadnavis purportedly ignored multiple requests from security personnel to return to the safe areas of the vessel. She later issued an apology for setting a bad example for the youth by taking undue risks to take a selfie.[35][36]

In September 2019, Fadnavis was in a controversy for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the "Father of our Country" while wishing the latter on his birthday.[37]

Awards

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  • Women's Excellence Awards 2017.[38]
  • The Woman of Substance Award at I Am Woman awards 2017.[39]
  • Award for Excellence – 2017 for Excellence in Women Empowerment by All Ladies League and Divine Vibrations.
  • Suryadatta National Award-2016 for excellence in the field of Banking & Finance.[40]
  • Woman of the Year – 2015 awarded by Army, Airforce, Navy (AAN foundation) towards – service to Woman's Dignity & Equality in society.[citation needed]
  • Lokmat Most Stylish Icon – Power Woman Award 2016 [41]
  • JITO (Jain International Trade Organisation) power woman award[citation needed]
  • Honored with Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award & Certificate of Recognition.[42]

References

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  1. ^ Mehta, Tejas (1 March 2016). "This New Singer Debuting In Bollywood Is A Chief Minister's Wife". NDTV. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ Mathur, Barkha (29 October 2014). "Fadnavis's banker wife to seek transfer from Nagpur". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis attends 'National Prayer Breakfast' in the US". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  4. ^ PTI (8 February 2017). "Amruta Fadnavis attends National Prayer Breakfast in the US". India Today. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis talks on drought in US". The Indian Express. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  6. ^ Banage, Mihir (10 February 2017). "Trump event was a learning experience: Amruta Fadnavis". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  7. ^ "I used to call him sir, have never demanded his time: Amruta Fadnavis". The Indian Express. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  8. ^ Desai, Geeta (2 November 2014). "How my life changed in 24 hours: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' wife speaks". DNA India. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Like being a Banker but love being a Mom more - Amruta Fadnavis". Nagpur Today. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  10. ^ "What's the secret to Devendra and Amruta Fadnavis' happy relationship?". Mid Day. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Amruta Fadnavis, daughter Divija walk the ramp". mid day. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  12. ^ Jore, Dharmendra (15 January 2015). "On first day at Mumbai office, CM's wife sets out to make friends". Mid Day. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  13. ^ Lohana, Avinash (4 March 2017). "CM's wife Amruta Fadnavis sings for a Marathi biopic". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis sings kirtan at Santacruz Gurudwara Sahib on gurparab". Mumbai Mirror. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  15. ^ Deshpande, Manasi (12 September 2015). "Amruta Fadnavis, Maharashtra CM's wife debuts as singer in Munde biopic". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis' first music video launches". The Times of India. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Maharashtra CM's Wife Amruta's Video With Big B Goes Viral, Viewed Over 7 Lakh Times in a Single Day". Daily Bhaskar. June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  18. ^ PTI (27 February 2018). "Mumbai River Anthem: Opposition seeks clarification from CM Devendra Fadnavis". DNA India. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  19. ^ "HLatest Hindi Song 'Alag Mera Yeh Rang Hain' Sung By Amruta Fadnavis". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  20. ^ Vijayakar, R. M. (15 May 2020). "T-Series Presents Amruta Fadnavis' Tribute to Corona Warriors – 'Tu Mandir Tu Shivala'". India West. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  21. ^ "अमृता फडणवीस का नया गाना 'तिला जगू द्या' हुआ रिलीज, मिले 39 हजार से ज्यादा डिसलाइक". ABP (in Hindi). 20 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  22. ^ "New Shiv Tandav Song By Amruta Fadnavis Gets Millions of Views in Few Hours". News18. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Shiv Tandav Stotram | Amruta Fadnavis | Ravi Jadhav | शिव तांडव स्तोत्र | MahaShivratri Special 2022". YouTube. Times Music Spiritual. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  24. ^ "The state women's commission, in association with NGO Divyaj Foundation, has also organised a confidence walk – Saksham". Indian Express. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Divyaj Foundation's Fashion show with 'Confidence Walk' by Acid Attack Victors attended by CM presided by wife Amruta Fadnavisaccess-date=11 April 2022". marathicineyug.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis leads confidence walk for acid attack survivors; compensation increased to Rs 5 lakh". maharashtratoday.in. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  27. ^ "Mumbai: Young stars to sing for Mitti ke Sitare honours". dna. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  28. ^ "Music reality show 'Mitti Ke Sitare' for underprivileged kids announced". Zee News. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Sustainable Development Accelerator awards presented". @businessline. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis Crowned As World Peace Ambassador". This Week India. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  31. ^ "From fashionable to frisky, Ms Fadnavis breaks stereotypes". asianage. 24 January 2017.
  32. ^ D'Cunha, Zenia (22 August 2019). "Mumbai Open, India's only WTA tournament, won't be held in 2019". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  33. ^ Haji, Irfan (24 November 2017). "Ankita Raina wants Bendrey as travelling coach". The Asian Age. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  34. ^ a b "Documentary On Maharashtra CM's Wife Amruta Fadnavis Wins At IndieFEST". spotboye. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  35. ^ "Maharashtra CM's wife apologises for crossing cruise ship barricade for a selfie". Scroll.in. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  36. ^ "Maharashtra CM's wife Amruta Fadnavis apologises for selfie on ship, says it wasn't risky". The Hindu. PTI. 22 October 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  37. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis calls PM Modi father of the country; Twitter reminds her it is Mahatma Gandhi". Mumbai Mirror. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  38. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis among WOW 2017 awardees". The Times of India. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  39. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis honoured with I Am Women Award 2017". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  40. ^ "Suryadatta Institute honours Mrs. Amruta Fadnavis with 2016 Suryadatta Lifetime Achievement Award". Suryadatta Group of Institutes SGI. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  41. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis: Maharashtra's Most Stylish Power Woman. Lokmat Maharashtra's Most Stylish Awards 2017 Winners". Lokmat. 13 September 2021.
  42. ^ "Amruta Fadnavis honoured with Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award". G News 18. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.