List of people from Pune

This is a categorized list of notable people who were born or have lived in Pune, India. Only people who are sufficiently notable to have individual entries on Wikipedia have been included in the list.^[1]

Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre (1898–1969) – Marathi writer, poet and educationist
Subhash Awchat (1950-) – artist and author
Sarojini Babar (1920–2008) – writer and politician
Malati Bedekar (née Baltai Khare) (1905–2001) – writer in Marathi
Ninad Bedekar (1949–2015) – writer, historian and orator^[2]
Vasudeo Sitaram Bendrey (1894–1986) – historian who discovered first image of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, wrote first full-proof biography of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and wrote on whole Shivshahi period
Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar (1850–1882)^[3] – essayist; editor of Nibandha Mala, a Marathi journal; educator; mentor to Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar; founder of the influential Chitrashala press^[4]
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (Pu La Deshpande) (1919–2000) – Marathi author, actor, music composer, singer
Muktabai Dixit (1901–1980) – writer in Marathi
Rohit Gore (1977-) – author in Hindi
Chintaman Vinayak Joshi (1892–1963) – Marathi humorist and a researcher in Pali literature
Shakuntala Karandikar (1931–2018) – biographer and philanthropist
Dinkar G. Kelkar (1896–1990) – writer, art collector and historian
Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar (1872–1947)^[5] – writer, journalist, nationalist leader; served on the Viceroy's Executive Council (1924–29)
Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar (1872–1948) – editor of Kesari and Navakal^[6]
Vinayak Kulkarni (1950-) – Marathi writer and researcher of literature produced by Marathi saints
Shripad Mahadev Mate (1886–1957) – writer and teacher^[7]
Shaiju Mathew (1980-) – author, film maker
Shirish Pai (1929–2017) – writer in Marathi and English
Shanta Shelke (1922–2002) – Marathi poet
Mangesh Tendulkar (1934–2017) – cartoonist^[8]

Artists and entertainers

Movie, television and theater personalities

Bharati Achrekar (1957-) – actress and singer
Mohan Agashe (1947-) – theater/film actor and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee
Radhika Apte (1985-) – film and stage actress^[9]
Sanskruti Balgude (1992-) – actress in Marathi movies and television^[10]
Mukta Barve (1979-) – film, television and theater actress, and producer^[11]
Pooja Chopra (1986-) – Femina Miss India, 2009^[12]
Annalisa Cochrane (1996–) – actress
Kashmira Irani (1986-) – television and theatre actress^[13]
Shivangi Joshi (1998-) – television actress and model
Shivangi Khedkar (1995-) – television actress and model
Dipika Kakar (1986-) – actress
Gauahar Khan (1983-) – model and actress^[14]
Chandrakant Kulkarni (1963-) – director, script writer and actor associated with Marathi theatre and film
Mrunal Kulkarni née Dev/Deo (1971-) – actress
Roopesh Kumar (1946–1995) – film actor
Reema Lagoo (1958–2017) – stage and film actress; alumna of Huzurpaga high school^[15]
Shriram Lagoo (1927–2019) – film and stage actor^[16]
Prajakta Mali (1989-) – television/film/theatre actor, anchor, producer and Bharatnatyam dancer
Spike Milligan (1919–2000) – Irish comedian who spent his childhood in the city
Anjali Mukhi (1986-) – television and theatre actress
Sai Paranjpye (1938-) – broadcaster and film director
Nilkanth Krishnaji Phule (Nilu Phule) (1931–2009) – film and theatre actor
Sharad Talwalkar (1918–2001) – film, TV and theatre comedy actor
Damoo Dhotre (1902–1973) – circus performer and animal trainer with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Musicians and dancers

Sanjeev Abhyankar (1969-) – Hindustani classical music vocalist of the Mewati Gharana^[17]
Mandar Agashe (1969-) – music director
Vineet Alurkar (1949-) – musician and singer-songwriter^[18]
Prabha Atre (1932-) – Hindustani classical music vocalist of the Kirana gharana and a Padma Shri awardee^[19]
Neela Bhagwat (1942-) – Hindustani classical music musician of the Gwalior Gharana
Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860–1936) – eminent maestro of Hindustani classical music; alumnus of Deccan College^[20]
Bhaskar Chandavarkar (1936–2009) – musician
Rahul Deshpande (1979-) – Hindustani classical music vocalist; grandson of Pandit Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande
Ajay Gogawale (1976-) – one half of the music director-composer sibling duo Ajay–Atul
Atul Gogawale (1974-) – one half of the music director-composer sibling duo Ajay–Atul
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (1922–2011) – Hindustani classical vocalist and recipient of the Bharat Ratna
Ritviz (1996–) – singer-songwriter, electronic musician, and record producer
Altaf Tadavi (1999–) – singer-songwriter, rapper, music producer

Defence services personnel

General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (1960-) – retired Army general who served as the 27th Chief of the Army; temporary Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee;^[21]^[22] alumnus of the Jnana Prabodhini Prashala and the National Defence Academy^[23]

Educationalists and researchers

Shivrampant Damle (1900–1977) – educationalist
Sonopant (Shankar Vaman) Dandekar (1896–1969) – philosopher and educationalist
Rohini Godbole (1952–2024) – particle physicist
Jyoti Gogte (1956-) – academician
P. A. Inamdar (1945-) – educationalist
B. K. S. Iyengar (1918–2014) – yoga teacher; developed internationally popular Iyengar Yoga
Anandibai Joshi (1865–1887)^[24] – first Indian and Hindu woman to get a medical degree from a foreign university^[25]
Narendra Karmarkar (1957-) – mathematician and creator of Karmarkar's algorithm
Irawati Karve (1905–1970) – anthropologist^[26]
Raghunath Mashelkar (1943-) – chemical engineer, scientist
Tarabai Modak (1892–1973) – advocate of Montessori education; recipient of the Padmabhushan^[27]
Jayant Narlikar (1938-) – astrophysicist
Satish Pande – radiologist, conservationist and wildlife researcher
Datto Vaman Potdar (1890–1979) – historian
Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (1863–1926) – historian; founder of Pune-based Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal^[28]
Kamal Ranadive (1917–2001) – biologist specialising in cancer research
Nalini Sengupta – principal of Vidya Valley School and mountaineer
Vasant Honavar – computer scientist who is also involved in bioinformatics
Pandurang Vasudeo Sukhatme (1911–1997) – statistician, recipient of the Padmabhushan^[29]

Engineers and architects

Prof. Christopher Charles Benninger (1942-) – born in the US and settled in Pune in 1976; one of India's highly decorated architects; his award-winning projects include the Mahindra United World College of India, the Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, the Suzlon One Earth world headquarters, the National Ceremonial Plaza at Thimphu, Bhutan and India House^[30] (his residence and design studio at Balewadi, Pune); co-founded the Center for Development Studies and Activities along with his wife Aneeta Gokhale-Benninger in Pune in 1976

Industrialists and business leaders

Industrialists

Anu Aga (1942-) – businesswoman and social worker^[31]
Chandrashekhar Agashe (1888–1956) – founder of Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate
Rahul Bajaj (1938–2022) – industrialist
Rajiv Bajaj (1966-) – businessman and managing director of Bajaj Auto^[32]
Ajaypal Singh Banga (1960-) – USA-based corporate executive and political advisor to former US President Barack Obama and Padma Shri awardee^[33]Anant Gadgil (Dajikaka Gadgil) (1915–2014) – founder of P. N. Gadgil Jewellers
Babashaeb Neelkanth Kalyani (Baba Kalyani) (1949-) – industrialist
Laxmanrao Kashinath Kirloskar (1869–1956) – founder of Kirloskar Group
Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar (1903–1994) – industrialist
Ivan Menezes (1959-) – business executive, CEO of Diageo; brother of Victor Menezes^[34]^[35]
Victor Menezes (1947-) – banker, former chairman and CEO of Citibank; brother of Ivan Menezes^[35]
Adar C. Poonawalla (1981-) – businessman, CEO of the Serum Institute of India; son of Cyrus S. Poonawalla^[36]
Cyrus S. Poonawalla (1945-) – businessman, chairman of Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India; father of Adar Poonawalla^[36]

Business leaders

Shashishekhar Balkrishna Pandit (Ravi Pandit) (1950-) – chairman and group CEO of KPIT Technologies;^[37] founder trustee of Janwani (an NGO focused on improvements in urban India) and the Pune International Centre recipient of Maharashtra Corporate Excellence (MAXELL) Awards for "Excellence in Entrepreneurship" and for his contribution to the economic and industrial development of Pune, and the Samata Award^[38]
Natasha Poonawalla (1981-) – businesswoman, chairwoman of the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation
Laxman Narasimhan – CEO of Starbucks from October 2022; former chief commercial officer of PepsiCo; former CEO of Reckitt
Sheetal Agashe (1977–) – managing director of Brihans Natural Products and former actress^[39]

Political figures

Personages during the Maratha empire

Peshwa Bajirao – minister in the court of Shahu of Satara, responsible for shifting the administrative capital to Pune
Jijabai (1598–1674) – wife of Shahajiraje Bhosale Jagirdar of Pune, Shahajiraje; mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who raised him during 1640s in Pune

Freedom fighters

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856–1895) – journalist, educator and social reformer^[40]
Senapati Bapat (born Pandurang Mahadev Bapat) (1880–1967) – a figure in the Indian independence movement^[41]
Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915)^[42] – early Nationalist leader on the moderate wing of the Congress party; founder of the Servants of India Society
Lokhitwadi (Gopal Hari Deshmukh) (1823–1892) – social reformer^[43]
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule – prominent leader of modern India responsible for women's educational rights and eradicating caste discrimination
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920) – Indian nationalist leader

Politicians post-independence

Vitthalrao Gadgil – leader of Indian National Congress
Sharad Pawar – ex-CM, Maharashtra
Anil Shirole – ex-member of Parliament from Pune; former Big Leader of Pune and BJP
Siddharth Shirole – member of Legislative Assembly from Shivajinagar Assembly Constituency Pune, Present Leader of Shivajinagar, Pune and BJP
Bal Thackeray (1926–2012) – founder of the Shiv Sena; born in Pune

Social reformers

R. G. Bhandarkar (1837–1925) – Orientalist and social reformer
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (1827–1890) – social reformer, prominently known for modern educational ideas & eradicating caste discrimination
Pandita Ramabai Dongre (1858–1922)^[24] – social reformer
Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842–1901)^[44] – judge and social reformer
Savitribai Phule (1831–1897) – social reformer; responsible for women's educational rights after a great revolt against society