Gitanjali Rao (born 1972) is an Indian theatre actress, animator and film maker.
Her debut animation short Printed Rainbow (2006) had won the Kodak Short Film Award, Small Golden Rail and the Young Critics Award at Critics Week section at Cannes in 2006.
[1][2] She has served in the judge's panel at various festivals including the 2011 Cannes Critic's Week short films jury.
[5][6] In 2018, she made her Hindi film debut alongside Varun Dhawan and debutante Banita Sandhu in the coming-of-age drama October directed by Shoojit Sircar.
The film, and her performance as Prof. Vidya Iyer, a professor at IIT Delhi and the mother of Sandhu's character, received widespread critical acclaim, and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.