Shuddh desi Parineeti turns 25

Intro: All of three films old, Parineeti Chopra has already won a National Award and swept the best debut awards in the country for her role in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. Priyanka Chopra's young cousin is as far removed from the standard Bollywood bombshell as it is possible for a lead actress to be. Yet, her girl next door looks and her energetic performances have contributed to Parineeti being hailed as Bollywood's next big thing.

As the actress turns 25 today, here is a look at her Bollywood journey.

Born in Ambala on October 22, 1988, Parineeti's father Pawan Chopra is a businessman and mother Reena, a homemaker. She has two brothers and is trained in Hindustani classical music.

Parineeti studied at Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ambala and later moved to London to receive a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School. In several interviews, the actress has confessed that she always aspired to be an investment banker and, in her own words, is an "accidental actor."

In the wake of the economic recession, Parineeti returned to India in 2009 and joined Yash Raj Films as a publicist. It all started when director Maneesh Sharma of Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl was casting for the film. Parineeti went for a dummy audition and was selected.

She later signed a three film contract with Yash Raj Films.

Parineeti, made an impressive debut as the brash, loud mouthed Dimple Chaddha in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl in 2011. Though she had a small role and shared screen space with three other actresses, she was noticed and the role fetched her a number of Best Debut awards, including at the Filmfare, Stardust and IIFA shows.

There was no looking back for Parineeti as she continued her winning streak with her second film Ishaqzaade. Her portrayal of feisty Muslim girl Zoya pleased critics and audiences alike and she won the National Film Award – Special Mention at the 60th National Film Awards.