Mahima Makwana didn't just wake up one day and decide to be a movie star. It's been a long, kinda exhausting road from being a kid in a chawl to sharing a screen with Salman Khan. Honestly, if you've followed Indian television over the last decade, you've definitely seen her face. She was that girl in Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke who basically became every Indian household's favorite daughter. But the jump from the small screen to the big screen is notoriously hard in India. Most TV actors get stuck. They get labeled. Mahima, though, seems to be playing a different game entirely.
The TV Years: More Than Just "Rachna"
Most people start their Mahima Makwana movies and tv shows binge with her early television work. It's extensive. She started auditioning when she was just 10 years old. Think about that for a second. While most of us were struggling with long division, she was doing the rounds of Mumbai's production houses.
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Her real breakthrough? Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke (2012). She played Rachna, a shy girl from Varanasi. The show was a massive hit on Zee TV. It ran for three years, which in TV time is basically a lifetime. But before that, she was doing the "blink and you'll miss it" child artist roles. She was in Balika Vadhu as young Gauri and even popped up in Miley Jab Hum Tum.
What's interesting is the sheer variety of her TV resume:
- Adhuri Kahaani Hamari: A weird but fun supernatural drama about reincarnation and naagins.
- Rishton Ka Chakravyuh: She played Anami, a badass, free-spirited girl with dreadlocks. It was a huge departure from her "good girl" image.
- Shubharambh: Her last big TV stint before the movies took over. She played Rani, a girl with a sharp business mind.
She’s basically done it all—dreadlocks, period costumes, and the classic "docile bahu" roles. It gave her a range that most "insider" movie debuts don't have.
Crossing the Border: The Movie Debut
It’s a bit of a misconception that Antim: The Final Truth (2021) was her first film. It wasn't. Like many actors looking for a break, she headed South first. She made her Telugu debut in Venkatapuram back in 2017. It was a gritty crime thriller. If you haven't seen it, you should—it shows a much darker side of her acting than the soaps ever did. She also did Mosagallu in 2021, another Telugu flick about a massive technical scam.
Then came the big one. Antim.
Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. Opposite Aayush Sharma. Produced by Salman Khan.
She played Manda, a tea-seller’s daughter who wasn’t afraid to stand up to a gangster. People liked her. Critics noted that she didn't look like a "newbie." She looked like she belonged there. But Mahima has been pretty vocal about the fact that a big debut doesn't mean you've "made it." In interviews, she’s mentioned how she still has to audition for every single role. No red carpets are being rolled out just yet.
The OTT Shift: Where the Real Acting Happens
If you want to see what she’s actually capable of, skip the songs and dances. Look at her web series work.
In Rangbaaz Season 2, she played Chiku. It was a solid, grounded performance. Then there was Flesh (2020), a series about human trafficking. It was brutal and hard to watch, but she held her own next to Swara Bhasker.
Most recently, she’s been in Showtime (2024) on Disney+ Hotstar. It’s meta as hell. The show is about the dirty underbelly of Bollywood—nepotism, power struggles, and the "insider vs outsider" debate. Mahima plays Mahika Nandi, a young producer trying to navigate this mess. It’s almost poetic, considering she’s living that exact struggle in real life.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Career
People think she "left" TV because she got "too big" for it. That’s not really how it works. In reality, the grind of a daily soap is soul-crushing. You’re filming 12-14 hours a day, 25 days a month. There’s no time for growth.
Mahima’s move was about longevity. She’s part of a new wave of actors like Vikrant Massey or Mrunal Thakur who proved that the "TV actor" label isn't a life sentence.
The Current Slate: 2025 and Beyond
So, what’s next on the Mahima Makwana movies and tv shows list?
She’s got Bas Karo Aunty (also known as Tumse Na Ho Payega in some markets), a comedy-drama produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Nitesh Tiwari. It’s based on Varun Agarwal’s book How I Braved Anu Koppikar and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company. This is a big deal. Working with Nitesh Tiwari (the guy who directed Dangal) is a major stamp of approval.
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She's also been linked to a few more projects in the works for 2026, though she keeps her cards close to her chest. There's talk of a return to a major OTT platform for a thriller series, but nothing's "official" until the trailer drops, right?
How to Follow Her Journey
If you’re looking to catch up on her best work, don't just watch the hits.
- Start with Rishton Ka Chakravyuh to see her TV peak.
- Move to Venkatapuram for her raw film energy.
- Finish with Showtime to see her current, more polished version.
The reality is that Mahima is an underdog. She doesn't have a famous last name. She doesn't have a godfather. She just has a massive filmography that started when she was a literal child. Whether she becomes a "Superstar" or stays a "Solid Actor" depends on the scripts she picks now. But for someone who’s already survived 15 years in this industry, she’s doing just fine.
To get the most out of her filmography, check out her early Telugu work on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime; it’s often overlooked but contains some of her most natural performances. If you're more into the drama side, Disney+ Hotstar is currently the hub for her most recent projects like Showtime. Following her career trajectory gives a pretty clear blueprint of how the Indian entertainment industry is shifting from traditional TV to digital-first content.