Usha Sharma is an Indian actress and dancer. She is best known for playing the titular character in the Haryanvi film Chandrawal

Chandrawal

Chandrawal is a 1984 Indian film. It is the third Haryanavi-language film to be released and the first financially successful one. Written by Late. Shri Devi Shankar Prabhakar,produce by usha sharma and directed by Jayant Prabhaker, the film's music was created by J. P. Kaushik...

. She serves as the president of Haryana Kala Parishad (The Haryana Arts Council) and is an executive member of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee

Pradesh Congress Committee

The elected committee that directs the Congress Party in an Indian state is known as a PCC, or Pradesh Congress Committee. It is elected by card-holding members of the Congress, the world's largest political organisation, and in turn elects State Congress Presidents and delegates to the All India...

.

Life and career

Sharma was born in Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. From an early age she learned classical and folk dance, studying with Birju Maharaj

Birju Maharaj

Brijmo Mishra popularly known as Pandit Birju Maharaj is currently the leading exponent of the Varanasi Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Kathak dance in India.He is a descendant of the legendary Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, including his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father...

, Kundan Lal Gangani and Maya Rao. During primary school she danced for Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

. Sharma married poet Devi Shankar Prabhakar who later decided to become a film producer. He wrote the script for the 1984 film Chandrawal and cast his wife as the leading lady. Sharma also choreographed the film, drawing on her dance training. The film was a financial success, and remains the highest grossing Haryanvi film to date. The two made several less successful Haryanavi films together. Sharma later became the director of the Haryana Kala Parishad, an organization that promotes Haryanavi culture. After her husband died in 2005, Sharma decided to produce a sequel to Chandrawal, a project he had been planning for some years.

Filmography

• Bahurani (1982)
• Chandrawal (1984)
• Lado Basanti(1985)
• Phool Badan (1986)
• Jatni(1991)
• Chandrawal 2 (In production and will be released in 2012)