Arishfa Khan is an Indian television actress and social media creator, born on April 3, 2003, in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, which makes her 23 as of September 2026. She started as a child actor in 2012 and is now a housemate on Bigg Boss 20.
India Today’s profile, which ran the day after the season premiere, lists her debut as Chhal – Sheh Aur Maat and her best-known television part as the younger Gunjan in Ek Veer Ki Ardaas… Veera. Her audience today sits mainly on Instagram, where the same report counted more than 29 million followers.
Quick Facts
- Name: Arishfa Khan (her Instagram account, @arishfakhan138, carries the name Sayyed Arishfa Khan)
- Age: 23 as of September 2026
- Date of birth: April 3, 2003 (India Today, FilmiBeat)
- Birthplace: Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Occupation: Television actress, social media creator
- Known for: Young Gunjan in Ek Veer Ki Ardaas… Veera; contestant on Bigg Boss 20
- Father: Rashid Khan, a businessman
- Mother: Arshi Naz (named by FilmiBeat)
- Sibling: One sister, Arisha Khan (named by FilmiBeat)
- Television debut: Chhal – Sheh Aur Maat, Colors TV, 2012
- Marital status: Unmarried, as reported in September 2026
Early Life and Family
India Today reports that Arishfa was born in Shahjahanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on April 3, 2003. FilmiBeat’s September 2026 profile gives the same date and place, and adds that she completed her schooling in Delhi. LatestLY, writing in the same week, repeats both details.
Her father, Rashid Khan, is a businessman, a point India Today and FilmiBeat both make.
FilmiBeat names her mother as Arshi Naz and her sister as Arisha Khan. India Today confirms that she has a sister but does not print the name, so the sister’s name rests on a single outlet.
Her route into television ran through her mother. In a 2020 interview with Humans of Bombay, quoted by BollywoodShaadis, Arishfa said her mother worked as a stuntwoman and often took her along to shoots. Watching those sets is where her interest in acting began, by her own account.
The same interview carries the most personal moment on record about her family. She recalled that when she won her first lead show in 2018, her mother hugged her and cried, while people around them said “a stuntwoman’s daughter has become a heroine.”
Career: Child Actor to Digital Creator
Television roles
Arishfa began acting at about nine, when she was cast in the Colors TV serial Chhal – Sheh Aur Maat in 2012, according to FilmiBeat. Wider recognition followed with the Star Plus drama Ek Veer Ki Ardaas… Veera, in which she played the younger version of Gunjan. India Today lists Jeannie Aur Juju, Uttaran, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Gangaa and Meri Durga among the shows that came next, along with episodes of Crime Patrol and television commercials.
Her first lead came in 2018. BollywoodShaadis, citing the Humans of Bombay interview, identifies that show as Papa By Chance on Star Bharat. It is the latest scripted series on the credit list India Today printed in 2026, and it closed a run of roughly six years on television sets.
Music videos
Between television jobs she also worked in music videos, and FilmiBeat credits her in Mamta Sharma’s Yaara 2 in 2019 and in Teri Baatein Mulaqatein in 2020, where she appeared opposite Rohan Mehra. India Today names the same two songs as her main music-video work.
TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
The much larger audience came online. India Today reports that she became hugely popular during India’s TikTok period, and FilmiBeat puts her following on the app above 25 million before it was banned in India in 2020. After the ban she moved her short videos to Instagram and YouTube, where she posts fashion, beauty, travel and trend-based clips.
By September 2026 her Instagram account had more than 29 million followers, according to India Today. BollywoodShaadis put the figure at about 29.1 million and reported that it was the largest following among the 16 contestants of Bigg Boss 20, well ahead of the next largest, gaming creator Tanmay Singh, known as ScoutOP, at about 7.3 million.
Arishfa Khan in Bigg Boss 20
Bigg Boss 20 premiered on September 6, 2026, on Colors TV and JioHotstar, with Salman Khan hosting for a seventeenth straight season, and Arishfa entered the house on the opening night. LatestLY and FilmiBeat both describe her as the youngest contestant of the season. The season’s twist, called Tathas-two, gives every housemate two lifelines, so a contestant who finishes last in a public vote can lose a lifeline and still stay.
Her record through the first three weeks, taken from the season’s nomination table on Wikipedia as revised on September 24, runs as follows:
- Week 1: Nominated on Day 3 with Kanika Mann, Love Gill and Uditi Singh. At the first Weekend Ka Vaar, Uditi received the fewest votes and lost a lifeline, so Arishfa stayed safe. On Day 3, captaincy contender Aasif Khan also named Arishfa as the housemate whose lifeline he would take if he won; Yung DSA became captain instead.
- Week 2: Not nominated. Bigg Boss cancelled the housemates’ nominations and directly nominated Aasif Khan, Rohed Khan and ScoutOP for discussing nominations. Rohed was evicted on Day 14.
- Week 3: Not nominated. Isha Rikhi and Yung DSA faced the public vote.
The first week also produced her most discussed argument. Pinkvilla’s recap of the September 8 episode describes her confronting Bhojpuri actor Amrapali Dubey for calling her a “kid,” then calling the housemates hypocrites, which pulled Mahhi Vij into the row. Arishfa apologized to Amrapali the following day, according to the same recap.
A second clash came during a task with ScoutOP. Pinkvilla reported on September 16 that clips of his remarks about her work drew criticism from viewers. Inside the house, Qazi Touqeer told ScoutOP that his language was out of line, and Isha Rikhi objected to the talk of slapping. The nomination table shows no lifeline lost by Arishfa as of its September 24 revision.
Her fellow housemates this season include Love Gill and Uditi Singh.
Personal Life and Relationships
Arishfa Khan is not married. FilmiBeat reported in September 2026 that she is unmarried and keeps her dating life private, and NewsX wrote in the same month that she has not publicly confirmed any relationship. Neither outlet names a boyfriend or a husband for her.
The one relationship claim that did spread was denied by her. After social media creator Danish Zehen died in 2018, she posted an emotional tribute, and some users claimed online that the two had been dating. India Today reports that she rejected the claim, said Danish was like a brother to her, and later accused his brother Gufran of harassing her family over it.
Some details stay off the record. National outlets have not reported her height or religion, and she has not stated either in an interview on record. NewsX also notes that no verified figure exists for her net worth and that online estimates vary widely, so any single number should be read as a guess.
TV Shows, Music Videos and Reality TV
Years appear only where an outlet reports them for her part in the show.
| Year | Title | Channel or format | Role or note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chhal – Sheh Aur Maat | Colors TV | Television debut |
| Not reported | Ek Veer Ki Ardaas… Veera | Star Plus | Younger Gunjan |
| Not reported | Jeannie Aur Juju | SAB TV | Cast member |
| Not reported | Uttaran | Colors TV | Cast member |
| Not reported | Yeh Hai Mohabbatein | Star Plus | Cast member |
| Not reported | Gangaa | &TV | Cast member |
| Not reported | Meri Durga | Star Plus | Cast member |
| Not reported | Crime Patrol | Sony TV | Episodes |
| 2018 | Papa By Chance | Star Bharat | First lead role |
| 2019 | Yaara 2 | Music video | Song by Mamta Sharma |
| 2020 | Teri Baatein Mulaqatein | Music video | With Rohan Mehra |
| 2026 | Bigg Boss 20 | Colors TV, JioHotstar | Contestant |
Arishfa Khan FAQ
Is Arishfa Indian or Pakistani?
Arishfa is Indian. India Today reports that she was born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and all of her television work has been on Indian channels, from Colors TV and Star Plus to Star Bharat.
Why did Arishfa quit acting?
Arishfa has not announced that she quit acting. The latest scripted series on her credit list is Papa By Chance in 2018, and BollywoodShaadis describes a move toward digital content afterward, where her audience grew far past its television size.
What is Arishfa doing now?
As of late September 2026, Arishfa is a housemate on Bigg Boss 20, which streams on JioHotstar at 9 pm IST and airs on Colors TV at 10:30 pm IST. Outside the show she works as an Instagram and YouTube creator.
Is Arishfa older than Jannat Zubair?
Jannat Zubair is older than Arishfa by about 19 months. Jannat Zubair Rahmani’s Wikipedia entry gives her birth date as August 29, 2001, while India Today gives Arishfa’s as April 3, 2003.
