Model, director, producer, dancer, and actress Nataša Stanković is a Bollywood icon. She came into the spotlight after featuring in the singer Badshah’s 2015 music video “DJ Waley Babu.” Natasa is the fiance of the Indian cricketer, Hardik Pandya. The 29-year old was a part of Bigg Boss season 8 and has made cameo appearances in movies like Ajay Devgn’s Action Jackson and Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero. She also appears in the Fukrey Returns’ song O Meri Mehbooba. Before that, she was part of a dance performance in the item number of Prakash Jha’s 2013 Hindi film Satyagraha. Stankovic was born in Serbia. She attended ballet dance school for seventeen years, then she started modeling in Serbia. Here are more details on how she made her way to India and found fame and success in Bollywood!
Nataša Stanković: Finding Fame, Biography, and Facts!
Life in Serbia:
Natasa Stankovic came into this world on Saturday, 4 March 1992 (age 29 years; as in 2021) in Pozarevac, Serbia, Europe. She is the daughter of Serbian gentlemen Goran Stankovic and Radmila Stankovic. Natasa Stankovic has an elder brother, Nenad Stankovic.
As a young girl, Natasa was inclined towards dance and started learning dance when she was just 3 years old. She went to Serbia’s Ballet Dance School for seventeen years and learned different dance forms. As her life went on, she got interested in modeling and began this career at home in Serbia. In 2010, she won the title of “Miss Sports of Serbia.”
She came to Mumbai in 2012:
Natasa Stankovic is a Serbian actress, model, dancer, film director, and producer who mostly works in Mumbai. Coming to Mumbai in 2012, paid off as she was able to pursue a career in acting. Just within a year, In 2013, she made her Bollywood debut with the film Satyagraha, directed by Prakash Jha, where she appeared in the dance number “Aiyo Ji” opposite Ajay Devgn a famous Bollywood actor who’s been acting since 1980.
She started advertisements for johnson and johnson:
In 2012, she moved to Mumbai, Maharashtra to pursue her career in modelling and acting. Natasa Stankovic started her career as a model by featuring in the TV advertisements of brands like Philips, Cadbury, Tetley, J Hampstead, Durex, and Johnson & Johnson. Standing at above average Indian height for women (she’s 5′ 6″) and with black hair, she blended right in with the Indian nation.
The Serbian actress initially started her career as a model for brands Johnson & Johnson.
After this, she seriously pursued her acting career and got lucky with her first music video or dance video which is a seriously big landing for an actress in the Bollywood industry.
As a model, Nataša Stanković has walked the runway for various fashion shows like India Runway Week.
Reality TV:
The transition from modelling to dance video to reality TV went smoothly for Natasa Stankovic as in just 2 years of coming to India, this model/actress appeared in Bigg Boss, where she stayed in the house for one month. This was a BIG opportunity for her to gain popularity amongst all age grounds and win over the masses! By 2014, she was also working on the side lines for another dance video which would cement her name in Indian media or Bollywood forever: “DJ Waley Babu”.
Keeping in touch with reality TV, She was seen in the ninth season of the dance reality television series Nach Baliye alongside Aly Goni (with who she was in a relationship with).
In 2019, Stanković made her digital debut with the web series The Holiday by Zoom Studios starring alongside Adah Sharma. She portrayed the role of ‘Sara’ in Zoom TV’s web series “The Holiday.”
Music Video Fame:
She gained popularity when she appeared in the popular dance number “DJ Waley Babu” by Badshah. Stankovic has also featured in the music video of the Punjabi song “Nai Shad Da.n 2017, Stanković was featured in the popular dance number “Mehbooba” from the film Fukrey Returns, for which she was praised.
Acting:
In 2013, Nataša Stanković made her Bollywood debut by dancing in the song “Aiyo Ji Hamri Atariya Mein” from the film ‘Satyagraha.’ At the same time, she made special appearances in many Bollywood films like “Fukrey Returns,” “FryDay,” and “Zero.” She has also played a cameo in the Tamil film “Arima Nambi” and in the Kannada film “Dana Kayonu.”
In 2016, she acted in the film 7 Hours to Go, directed by Saurabh Varma. In the movie, she portrayed the role of a cop and performed in action scenes. The busy actress was able to bag a cameo in the 2018 film Zero, directed by Aanand L. Rai, alongside huge Bollywood names like Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.
Relationship History Before Hardik Pandya:
Natasa was seriously dating the Indian television actor and model, Aly Goni. The couple were in love for around one year and then split ways due to cultural differences and other issues. She has also participated in the dance reality show “Nach Baliye 9” with her ex-boyfriend, Aly Goni.
Thereafter, she dated Sam Merchant, a model-turned-entrepreneur, for a while.
Dating, Marriage and A Son with Hardik Pandya:
On 1 January 2020, Natasa was prosed to by the Indian cricketer, Hardik Pandya in Dubai. The Baroda cricketer announced his engagement with Natasa by uploading pictures and videos from the event on his Instagram account. Within 7 months of being engaged, in July 2020, her fiance, Hardik Pandya shared on his Twitter and Instagram accounts that they had been blessed with a baby boy, Agastya.
This is how they met:
Multiple reports suggest that Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic met at a nightclub in Mumbai and for the former, it was love at first sight. The pair coupled up beautifully and partied together moving forward. The Baroda-born cricketer also revealed to Harsha Bhogle once during a live chat about how he met Natasa and how they began speaking.
Hardik laid eyes on Natasa at an event when Natasa saw someone looking strange, wearing a hat, a chain, a watch, at 1 am and thought it’s a bizarre creature. It was when they started talking, started dating, and eventually got engaged. “I got her by talking. She saw someone in a hat at a place where I met her, wearing a hat, a chain, a watch, at 1 am. So she thought he is ‘alag prakaar ka aadmi aaya’ (different kind of person came),” the 27-year old claimed.
As time passed, the two of them became quite good friends. The early days of 2019 were perhaps the most tumultuous days that Hardik might have faced in his life.
Nataša Stanković showed signs of being a great Indian wife:
Hardik and Natasa’s love grew strong to the extent that they introduced each other to their families. Natasa was a part of every celebration that took place at Pandya’s house, including celebrating Diwali together. The Serbian actress had also accompanied the Baroda all-rounder at a few of his cricket parties and has become known to be the favourite amongst Pandya’s friends.
Engagement:
It was on the last day of 2019 that Hardik first shared a picture with Natasa Stankovic on Instagram, giving the caption “Starting the year with my firework”. It merely seemed as if both were just dating. But the very next day, he announced his engagement with her along with some magnificent pictures and videos.
The pair enjoyed their engagement on a cruise amid a party with some friends. Akin to a ceremony, they exchanged their engagement rings with each other in a speedboat as the performers sang a Bollywood song in the background. Hardik’s family members and friends were present as this mesmerizing event took place and even cheered for the newly-engaged couple.
At a live online session with reputed cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, Hardik Pandya gave more details about his engagement story, claiming that even his parents were unaware of his plans. He admitted to his elder brother, Krunal Pandya that he found a woman, that is also enabling him to become better in his life. The family entirely supported him in the same.
Pregnancy and being a new mom:
Hardik and Natasa often share pictures and videos of themselves on social media inspiring “couple goals” for their fans. From pictures of working out together to videos of cooking and goofy conversations, Hardik and Natasa have kept their fans entertained amid the ongoing lockdown including – Natasa’s pregnancy!
The couple announced their pregnancy in May along with photos of them from a puja and one of Hardik holding Natasa’s baby bump. He wrote in the caption, “Natasa and I have had a great journey together and it is just about to get better. Together we are excited to welcome a new life into our lives very soon. We’re thrilled for this new phase of our life and seek your blessings and wishes.”
Nataša Stanković’s weight loss post pregnancy:
The Serbian dancer-actress-model opened up about her weight loss journey after pregnancy and surprised many! The Serbian actress who is married to cricketer Hardik Pandya, posted a boomerang video on Instagram flaunting her toned body dressed in black lycra pants and sports bra. Alongside the clip, she wrote: “Some of you have asked me how I have lost weight after pregnancy. As I’m not someone who does gym or any heavy training I guess I can only thank my good genes and healthy food.”
Networth in Bollywood:
Nataša Stanković’s net worth isn’t publicly shared yet. The details of her professional life are open for all to see on her social media, along with important personal details so that her fans can keep up with her and her famous hubby. That being said, we can only assume that she has a good salary as seen on the luxurious Instagram stories and posts and things like expensive parties and trips that she partakes in.