Who Is Shikhar Pahariya? Janhvi Kapoor's Boyfriend and Endgame
Janhvi Kapoor has confirmed she is dating Shikhar Pahariya. Who he is: his age, famous family, polo and business career, and their story so far.
Janhvi Kapoor has stopped dodging the question. On the latest episode of Koffee With Karan, the Bollywood star confirmed that she is dating Shikhar Pahariya, said yes when asked if he is her endgame, and put a wedding two to three years away. Searches for his name have exploded since, and so have searches for his brother, actor Veer Pahariya. Here's everything we know about the man in her life.
Who is Janhvi Kapoor?
For readers outside India: Janhvi Kapoor is one of Bollywood's best-known young stars. She is the daughter of the late screen legend Sridevi and the film producer Boney Kapoor, and she made her acting debut in 2018 with Dhadak. Earlier this year she starred opposite Ram Charan in the Telugu film Peddi.
Koffee With Karan is filmmaker Karan Johar's long-running celebrity talk show, famous for getting stars to say things they normally wouldn't. Its ninth season streams on JioHotstar.
What did Janhvi say on Koffee With Karan?
Janhvi appeared on the third episode of the season, released on 28 October, with her Bawaal co-star Varun Dhawan, and her brother Arjun Kapoor dropped in as a surprise guest. When Karan asked whether she was officially dating Shikhar, she replied, "Yeah, I am," according to Bollywood Hungama.
She explained why she no longer sees the point in hiding it. "I just think it's overrated to be like, 'Let no one ever know ever.' It's just kind of boring to be tiptoeing around, and it's not a big deal," she said, as quoted by Bollywood Hungama.
When Karan asked whether Shikhar was her endgame, she said yes without hesitating, Gulf News reports, and then told the story that has since gone viral (more on that below). She also said the couple is in a good place, even with breakups happening all around them.
Who is Shikhar Pahariya?
Shikhar Pahariya is a Mumbai entrepreneur and polo player from one of Maharashtra's best-known political families. On his mother's side, he is the grandson of Sushilkumar Shinde, a former chief minister of Maharashtra and a former Union Home Minister of India. His father, Sanjay Pahariya, is a businessman.
According to his Wikipedia biography, he studied Global Financial Management at Regent's University London and then worked as an investment analyst in London. In 2018 he co-founded Indiawyn Gaming, an online gaming company, and he later set up Basilius International, an infrastructure business working in energy and aviation.
He is also a trained polo player. In 2013 he was part of the Jaipur Polo Team that won the Asia Polo Cup in Windsor, England, beating the English side 5-4.
How old is Shikhar Pahariya?
He was born on 3 April 1997 in Mumbai, so he is 29. Janhvi was born on 6 March 1997, which makes them the same age: she is less than a month older.
Who is Veer Pahariya?
Shikhar's older brother, Veer Pahariya, born on 1 February 1995, is an actor. He made his Bollywood debut in 2025 in the war drama Sky Force, alongside Akshay Kumar and Sara Ali Khan.
Veer got his own moment on Koffee With Karan. In the rapid-fire round, Karan asked Janhvi what dating advice she would give him, and she shot back, "Never take her to a concert." She didn't name anyone, but viewers read it as a reference to Veer's ex-girlfriend, actress Tara Sutaria, whose onstage moment with singer AP Dhillon at one of his concerts was widely discussed, Siasat reports. According to BollywoodShaadis, Veer and Tara split in January 2026, and Tara has said the concert moment was purely work. Not everyone found the joke funny: some viewers criticised it online.
How did Janhvi Kapoor and Shikhar Pahariya meet?
They have known each other since they were teenagers. Janhvi has said Shikhar has been part of her life since she was 15 or 16, describing them as each other's support system, OdishaBytes reports. According to Bollywood Hungama, they were close in their teens, took a break around the time of her acting debut in 2018, and had rekindled the relationship by 2022.
What did Shikhar do after Sridevi's death?
This is the story that made headlines. Sridevi died in Dubai on 24 February 2018, aged 54. Shikhar was a student in London at the time, and he and Janhvi were not even together.
"I think he was studying in London, he took like half a semester off," Janhvi told Karan. He came back to Bombay and, as she only found out much later, moved into a friend's house in Juhu, near her, for about a month. "Not that I was seeing him every day or anything like that, but later on I just found out that he was like, no, in case she needs me, I just want to be around," she said.
According to Gulf News, she said that kind of consistency, through everything, is what made her sure about him.
When will Janhvi Kapoor and Shikhar Pahariya get married?
Not soon. "Not for another 2-3 years for sure," she told Karan when he asked about marriage, according to Bollywood Hungama.
Her diary is full. Gulf News lists three films lined up for 2027 (Lag Jaa Gale, the Tamil film Jackie and Atlee's Raaka) on top of a romantic thriller she is currently shooting.
Wedding rumours aren't new: her father, Boney Kapoor, denied reports in May 2024 that the couple planned to marry in 2026, OdishaBytes notes.
Have they been seen together in public?
Yes, and more openly every year: Marriage questions follow other young stars too, as JoJo Siwa has found with her boyfriend Chris Hughes.
- July 2024: at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding in Mumbai, they posed together for photographers for the first time, the Free Press Journal reported.
- July 2026: at the wedding reception of her half-sister Anshula Kapoor, fans spotted "Shikhu", his nickname, written in Hindi in Janhvi's mehendi, Khaleej Times reported. Republic World reported that he was pictured with the family at the mehendi ceremony.
- August 2026: Janhvi posted a photo series that included pictures with Shikhar, walking hand in hand and dancing together, captioned "I tried but these pics were too cute not to post".
On the previous season of Koffee With Karan, she had already named him, by his nickname, as one of the three people on her speed dial.
What is Shikhar Pahariya's net worth?
There's no reliable figure. He has business interests in gaming and infrastructure and comes from a prominent family, but no credible source has published his net worth. Any number you see online is an estimate.
