Renowned Indian actors in Hollywood
Known Indian actors/actresses who are making or have made their mark in Hollywood....
I haven't added Sunny Leone cause she has done porn and adding her would BLACKLIST the list :)
List will get updated from time to time.
I haven't added Sunny Leone cause she has done porn and adding her would BLACKLIST the list :)
List will get updated from time to time.
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Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor, of Gujarati Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary (Goodman), was an English actress. Ben began to act in stage plays during the 1960s. He soon became a successful stage actor, and also began to have roles in films and television. His birth name was Krishna Bhanji, but he changed his name to "Ben Kingsley" soon after gaining fame as a stage actor, fearing that a foreign name could hamper his acting career.
Kingsley first earned international fame for his performance in the drama movie Gandhi (1982). His performance as Mohandas K. Gandhi earned him international fame. He won many awards - including an Academy Award for Best Actor. He also won Golden Globe, BAFTA and London Film Critics' Circle Awards. After acting in Gandhi (1982), Ben was recognized as one of the finest British actors.
After his international fame for appearing in Gandhi (1982), Kingsley appeared in many other famous movies. His success as an actor continued. His performance as Itzhak Stern in the drama movie Schindler's List (1993) earned him a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actor. Schindler's List (1993) won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. During the late 1990s, Kingsley acted in many successful movies. He played Sweeney Todd in the television movie The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997), for which he was nominated for the Screen Actors' Guild Award. His other notable role was as Otto Frank in the television movie Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), for which he won the Screen Actors' Guild Award.
In 2002, Kingsley was appointed Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Years Honours for his services to drama. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment. That same year, he also received the Fellowship Award at the Asian Awards in London, England.- Actor
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Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, in Jaipur, Rajasthan (NW India) January 7, 1967 to a Pashto-speaking Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum Khan, was from the Tonk Hakim family and his father, Jagirdar Khan, from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, ran a tire business.
The Khan family name comes from Turkish and Mongol languages and mean "king" or great leader. Descendants of Genghis Khan (13th century) in central Asia adopted Islam and became the Moghuls, who conquered India for several centuries until British rule.
Irfan was a skilled cricket player. In his early 20's he was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament (a stepping stone to First Class cricket). He did not turn up for the tournament owing to lack of funds and as a result he focused on acting.
In 1984 he earned a scholarship to the National School of Acting in New Delhi.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor for his contribution to the field of arts.
His portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2011) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. His performance in the BAFTA Award nominated romance The Lunchbox (2013) earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences.
Globally, Khan was in The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016). As of 2017, his films have grossed $3.643 billion at the worldwide box office. In 2018, Khan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor.
Khan got married to his wife Sutapa Sikdar, in 1995. She is a Hindu of the Brahmin caste. She is a movie producer, dialogue writer and screenwriter. Among her famous movies are Khamoshi: The Musical (Dialogue Writer, 1996), Supari (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Kahaani (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Madaari (Producer, 2016), Qarib Qarib Singlle (Producer, 2017)
They have two kids: Ayaan Khan, Babil Khan
Unlike most Indian film stars, Irrfan has been outspoken on religion. On Arnab Goswami's talk show, he took on Muslim fundamentalists, including India's Grand Imam. Irrfan Khan argued against "transactional religious interaction" and for "personal religious discovery"..."to discover yourself, to find God". Though he admits he is "not an authority" on the Koran and Islamic Holy scriptures he has bravely stood by his comments despite heavy criticism and even threats of violence. He's aware of the dangers that his frank comments pose to him and his family. His wife commented, "We are very proud of him."- Actress
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Freida Selena Pinto was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to Sylvia, a school principal, and Frederick Pinto, a senior bank branch manager. She is from a Mangalorean family.
Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai (represented by Elite Model Management India) for two years before gaining her big break when director Danny Boyle picked her out in the audition process to play the female lead, Latika, for his project Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In a promo interview, Boyle likened spotting her to his discovery of Kelly Macdonald for Trainspotting.
Surprisingly, Freida, who studied at Mumbai's St. Xaviers College, began taking acting classes (she has done amateur theater before) only after completing her debut film -- when she attended a three-month workshop by Barry John, the veteran theater guru.
Between 2006 and 2007, she anchored Full Circle, a travel show that was telecast on Zee International Asia Pacific. She went on assignments to Afghanistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Fiji, among other countries.- Born Naveen William Sidney Andrews in London on January 17, 1969. His parents were both Indian immigrants from Kerala, India. In high school, he auditioned for drama school and was accepted at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Two of his classmates were Ewan McGregor and David Thewlis. His studies paid off when he won a role in Hanif Kureshi's film, London Kills Me (1991). He is best known for his role as that 'Sikh bloke' in The English Patient (1996) and as Sayid in the popular television series Lost (2004). He splits his time between homes in Los Angeles and Hawaii, where Lost (2004) was filmed.
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Kal Penn was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, to Asmita, a fragrance evaluator, and Suresh Modi, an engineer. His parents are Gujarati immigrants to America from India. He attended the Freehold Regional High School District's Performing Arts High School where he participated in the school's theater productions. In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles to study at the UCLA's prestigious School of Theatre, Film and Television. He majored in film and sociology. He began his acting career in several indie films. His breakthrough film role came in the comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). Several Harold & Kumar films have followed. He went on to appear for 2 years in the television series House (2004). He developed an interest in politics from his grandparents who marched for India's independence. In 2009, he joined the Obama administration as an Associate Director.- Actor
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Danny Pudi was born on 10 March 1979 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Community (2009), DuckTales (2017) and Knights of Badassdom (2013). He has been married to Bridget Showalter Pudi since 5 June 2004. They have two children.- Actress
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Parminder Nagra was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Bend It Like Beckham (2002), ER (1994) and The Blacklist (2013). She was previously married to James Stenson.- Actress
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Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title, which she won, her beauty and charm made her India's darling. Ash stormed into the Indian movie industry, where she has proven herself a brilliant & genuine actress. Her performance in Iruvar (1997) was critically acclaimed, and she won the Screen best female debutant award for her role in ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997). She was adored in movies like Taal (1999), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Devdas (2002), her item number in 'Bunty & Bubbly' had sent waves of rhythm across the nation. With her successful Bollywood movies and prestigious Hollywood projects lined up for release it is impossible to ignore this Indian diva in international scenes.- Actress
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After her debut film Mississippi Masala (1991) became an art house hit, Sarita Choudhury was determined not to "go Hollywood," focusing her acting energies on independent film instead.
Raised in Jamaica, Mexico, and Italy, the half-Indian, half-English Choudhury studied economics at Queens University in Ontario before switching to acting. She casually auditioned for Mississippi Masala (1991) and wound up cast as the lead opposite Denzel Washington in the singular interracial romance between a Southern African American man and a transplanted Indian woman. Despite the film's surprise success, Choudhury stuck to her non-Hollywood roots, putting her exotic looks and talent to versatile use as a Pakistani country-western singer in Wild West (1992), a Chilean maid who is raped in Bille August's adaptation of The House of the Spirits (1993), and a lesbian mother in Fresh Kill (1994).
Choudhury worked with Mississippi Masala (1991) director Mira Nair again in The Perez Family (1995) and played the cuckolded queen Tara in Nair's frankly-sensual feminist parable Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996).
By the late 1990s, Choudhury added a touch of Hollywood to her repertoire with supporting roles in the glossy Alfred Hitchcock remake, A Perfect Murder (1998) and the John Cassavetes retread Gloria (1999).- Actor
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Om Puri was an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.
Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana. His father worked on the railways and served in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.
Puri had worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States. He made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. He had collaborated with Amrish Puri as well as Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992). He had been active in cinema. He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as a victimized tribal in Aakrosh (1980) (a film in which he spoke only during flash-back sequences); Jimmy's manager in Disco Dancer (1982); a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), where he revolts against life-long social, cultural and political persecution and for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor; the leader of a cell of Sikh militants in Maachis (1996); as a tough cop again in the commercial film Gupt in 1997; and as the courageous father of a martyred soldier in Dhoop (2003). In 1999, Puri acted in a Kannada movie A.K. 47 as a strict police officer who tries to keep the city safe from the underworld - it became a huge commercial hit. Puri's acting in the movie is very memorable. He has rendered his own voice for the Kannada dialogues. In the same year, he starred in the successful British comedy film East is East, where he played a first-generation Pakistani immigrant in the north of England, struggling to come to terms with his far more westernized children. Om Puri had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough). In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, where his roles are more tuned to mass audiences than film critics. He became known internationally by starring in many British films such as My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and The Parole Officer (2001). He appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy (1992), opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf (1994) alongside Jack Nicholson; and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. In 2007, he appeared as General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. He has worked in Hindi television serials like Kakkaji Kaheen (1988) (roughly meaning "Uncle says") as a paan-chewing 'Kakkaji', which was a parody on politicians, and Mr. Yogi (1989) as a suave 'Sutradhaar' who enjoys pulling the protagonist's leg. These two serials underlined Om Puri's versatility as a comedian. He received critical acclaim for him performance in Govind Nihalani's television film Tamas (1987) based on a Hindi novel of the same name. He essayed comic roles in Hindi films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which reached a cult status, followed by Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002) and Malamaal Weekly (2006). His more recent Hindi film roles include Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Billu. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009). In 2010, he appeared in The Hangman. In 2011 he was in the Indian action movie Don 2. He had also worked in Aahat TV Series in some episodes during second season which was aired between 2004-2005 on Sony channel.- Actor
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Anupam Kher is a renowned Indian actor who has worked extensively in the Indian film industry, as well as in international films and television shows. He is known for his versatile acting skills and has portrayed a wide range of characters throughout his career.
Kher studied at Simla in D.A.V. School and graduated with a degree in Economics from Simla's Himachal Pradesh University. He studied at the Government College, Sanjauli. He left the university mid-way and instead studied the Indian theatre in Chandigarh at Panjab University.
Kher was a part of several plays at Himachal Pradesh University. He took drama classes in Lucknow at Raj Bisaria's Bharatendu Natya Akadem for a small role in Sheeshay Ka Ghar (1984), his debut film.
In 1984, he landed his first role in Bollywood with the film Saaransh (1984). He played the role of a 65-year-old teacher in this film. He went on to work in projects like Tezaab (1988) and Vijay (1988), for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Kher received public recognition for his performances in movies like Ram Lakhan (1989) and his first Filmfare Award under the Best Performer in a Comic Role category. He also won a Filmfare Critics Award and a National Film Award - Special Mention for his role in Daddy (1989).
In 1990, Kher starred in Dil (1990) and received another Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination. He was critically acclaimed for his performance in Lamhe (1991). He won a Filmfare Award as the Best Comedian for his role in the movie.
Kher later appeared in Beta (1992) alongside Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor. In the same year, his role in Khel (1992) earned him another Filmfare Award as the Best Comedian.
Kher went on to star in massive hits like Darr (1993), which got him a Filmfare award as the Best Comedian. In 1994, he appeared in another blockbuster, Laadla (1994).
One of Kher's most successful movies Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), earned him another nomination as the Best Supporting Actor at Filmfare and was the second movie for which he won the National Film Award, this time under the category Best Popular Film.
Kher's performance in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) got him his fifth Filmfare Best Comedian Award and was highly applauded and loved by the audience.
After a gap of almost three years, he made his comeback in yet another blockbuster Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), for which he received the Best Comedian nomination at Filmfare.
Kher also tried his skills in directing with Om Jai Jagadish (2002) and was also the producer. In 2007, Kher collaborated with Satish Kaushik and started Karol Bagh Productions, a film production company. They produced their first movie Teree Sang: A Kidult Love Story (2009), in 2009.
He hosted TV shows like Say Na Something to Anupam Uncle (2000) and The Anupam Kher Show (2014).
Kher has also appeared in international films like Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Bride & Prejudice (2004).
Kher received the Best Actor Award at the Karachi International Film Festival for his performance in I Did Not Kill Gandhi (2005), which was also produced by him.
His other foreign films were The Mistress of Spices (2005), Lust, Lust, Caution (2007), the TV show ER (1994), Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and Hotel Mumbai (2018).
He also received a nomination for BAFTA for his supporting role in the British sitcom The Boy with the Topknot (2017).
In 2019, Kher took the role of Manmohan Singh, India's former Indian Prime minister in The Accidental Prime Minister (2019). In 2022, he appeared in the controversial film The Kashmir Files (2022), which was a blockbuster.
Kher was awarded the best actor for his role in a short film titled Happy Birthday (2021) at the New York City International Film Festival. He is a recipient of two National Film Awards, eight Filmfare Awards, two International Indian Film Academy Awards, two Screen Awards India, and five other state/viewer awards.
His handprint was preserved for posterity at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai as he was honoured by 'Walk of the Stars'. The US state of Texas presented him with the "Honoured Guest" award for his contribution to cinema and art.
He has also been honoured with Civilian Awards like the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 by the Indian Government for his contribution to Indian cinema and arts.
Anupam Kher tied the knot with Kirron Kher, a fellow Indian actress, in 1985. Kher became a stepfather to Kirron's son, actor Sikandar Kher. He was appointed as the goodwill ambassador of the Pratham Education Foundation in 2010, which works to improve the education of children in India. In 2021, Kher received an honorary doctorate degree in Philosophy of Hindu Studies from the Hindu University of America.- Actress Noureen DeWulf was born in New York and raised in Georgia. Her parents are from Pune, India. She was educated at Boston University's School of the Arts. One of DeWulf's first roles was in the Oscar winning short West Bank Story (2005). Acting success continued with roles in TV hits such as CSI: NY (2004), Numb3rs (2005), Outsourced (2010) and Hawthorne (2009). Feature film projects include Ocean's Thirteen (2007) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). In 2012, DeWulf was cast alongside Charlie Sheen in the TV series Anger Management (2012).
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Kunal Nayyar is an British actor. He moved from India to the US in 1999. He first moved to Portland, Oregon, to study business. He started acting in plays as a way of making new friends. He took acting classes, but he went on to graduate from the University of Portland with a degree in business, as something to fall back on. He then went on to get a master's degree in fine arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He did some work for the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, UK. He then landed his breakthrough role in The Big Bang Theory (2007) in 2007, just a year after graduating.- Actress
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Vera Mindy Chokalingam is an Indian-American actress, comedienne, producer, writer and director from Cambridge, Massachusetts known for playing Kelly Kapoor in The Office, Disgust in Inside Out, and creating The Mindy Project. She also appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, Despicable Me, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Ocean's 8, and Monsters at Work. She has two children.- Actor
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Living in a Chawl in Tilak Nagar, Punjabi-speaking Anil was born in 1959 to Surinder and Nirmal aka Suchitra Kapoor. He has an elder brother, Boney, a sister, Reena, and a younger brother, Sanjay. His dad used to be Shammi Kapoor's Secretary.
A loner, without many friends, he studied in the nearby O.L.P.S. (Our Lady of Perpetual Succor) School, and was an ardent fan of Bollywood flicks that were telecast during the Ganesh Maha Utsav every year. He was a fan of Raj Kapoor, and it was this that influenced his acting, and people saw him as a mimic of the legendary showman. He landed a role as a child artiste with Shashi Kapoor in the lead, but the movie (Tu Payal Main Geet) was never released.
After school, he went to study in St. Xaviers College. He commuted by bus and train from Chembur to Bombay V.T., and the walked the rest of the way. It was here that he met Mazhar Khan. A distracted Anil was kicked out of College in the second year due to his lack of presence. His attempts to join the Pune Film Institute were in vain, as he failed in the written examination. He then decided to join Roshan Taneja's Acting school.
He first appeared on the silver screen in Hamhare Tumhare in a character role. His first lead role was in 'Woh 7 Din' and from thence on there has been no looking back. He has acted in close to a 100 movies, and has 5 in production. He has produced two movies (Gandhi My Father & Badhaai Ho Badhaai), as well as been a Casting Director/Outdoor In charge for 'Hum Paanch'.
Kapoor's first role in an international film was in Danny Boyle's 2008 Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. His performance in the eighth season of the action series 24 generated rave reviews from the American press Globally, Anil Kapoor is one of the most recognized Indian actors.
Anil met wealthy and chic model, Sindhi-speaking Sunita Bhambhani, and married her in 1984. Since then they have given birth to 3 children, kapoor has two daughters and a son Harshwardhan Kapoor.Kapoor's elder daughter is actress Sonam Kapoor. Rhea Kapoor attended school in New York and is now a producer in Mumbai.- Actor
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Jimi Mistry was born in 1973 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for RocknRolla (2008), 2012 (2009) and Blood Diamond (2006). He has been married to Flavia Cacace since 28 December 2013. He was previously married to Meg Leonard.- Actor
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Naseeruddin Shah was born on July 20 1950, in Barabanki, a small village in Uttar Pradesh. He is a seasoned Bollywood actor and has received several awards for his notable performance in several movies. The actor has also been awarded the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan awards for his enormous contributions to Indian cinema.
Shah was born into a Nawab family. He studied at St. Anselm's Ajmer School in Rajasthan and St. Joseph's College in Nainital. He completed his graduation from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1971. He also attended the National School of Drama, New Delhi.
At the age of 19, Shah married Manara Sikri, who was 36 years old and a divorcee. Post one year of their marriage, their daughter Heeba Shah was born. However, the relationship didn't work out, and they decided to part ways after 12 years of marriage.
Shah met Ratna Pathak Shah, daughter of Dina Pathak and a Bollywood actor in the 1970s. They fell in love and went on to co-star in several films. They tied the knot in 1982. They have two sons together - Imaaduddin Shah and Vivaan Shah. The couple currently resides with their children in Mumbai.
At the age of 18, Shah acted in Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968), starring Hema Malini and Raj Kapoor. However, his scene was removed before the release of the movie.
He made his Bollywood debut with an uncredited role in Aman in 1967, a film starring Rajendra Kumar Tuli and Saira Banu. From then onwards, he went on to feature in various movies like Nishant (1975), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Katha (1983) and Junoon (1979).
In 1974, Shah founded a theatre company called Motley Productions, and their inaugural production was Waiting for Godot. He is also part of a theatre troupe and has performed across different cities like New Delhi, Lahore, and Mumbai. He has directed a few plays written by Lavender Kumar, Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.
He started gaining popularity with his films Hum Paanch (1980) and Masoom (1983), which was shot at St Joseph's College, Nainital, where Shah had studied during his childhood. Another movie called Karma (1986), where he starred beside Dilip Kumar gained much acclaim.
Shah has been a part of several multi-star Bollywood movies like Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989), and Tridev (1989). In 1994, he completed his 100th movie as an actor with Mohra (1994), where he played the role of a villain.
Shah has also been a part of international projects like the Hollywood adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). He played the role of Captain Nemo in the film, which gained him a lot of praise.
In 2003, he acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool (2003), an Indian adaptation of Macbeth, and in 2004, he appeared in Rajiv Rai's Asambhav (2004) with Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra.
Shah has won several awards, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare awards, one IIFA award and two Bengal Film Journalists' Association awards. He also received the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 1984.- Actor
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Sendhil Ramamurthy (born May 17, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC sci-fi drama Heroes and Jai Wilcox in the action spy series Covert Affairs. He appeared as Abhay in the Indian film Shor in the City. He played Gabriel Lowen in The CW sci-fi romance series Beauty & the Beast. He has one sister who is also a physician. He and his sister were raised in San Antonio. There, he went to Keystone School and graduated in 1991. He is the cousin of comedian and film director Jay Chandrasekhar. Ramamurthy is married to actress Olga Sosnovska with two children, daughter Halina and son Alex, and lives in London.- Actress
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Archie is an Emmy Award winning British actress best known for her role as Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife, for which she was nominated for an Emmy three times in a row and went on to to be honored with a Golden Globe Nomination. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed East Is East which won a Bafta for Best Film. She then went onto star in the Bafta and Golden Globe nominated international hit Bend It Like Beckham. She appeared in John Le Carre's The Constant Gardener, which was nominated for 10 Bafta's and won an Oscar and went on to work alongside Angelina Jolie in the gut wrenching A Mighty Heart. Archie then went on to star in 2 Bafta winning Netflix/BBC series; The Fall, opposite Gillian Anderson as well as Shetland. She recently starred on the American TV hit Blindspot and in the International blockbuster earthquake movie San Andreas opposite Dwayne Johnson. The New Year will see Archie lead the highly anticipated 6 part drama Next Of Kin on ITV.- Actor
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A native of New Delhi, India, British character actor of theater and film Roshan Seth honed the skills he learned at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in British repertory theater. His first break came in Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which toured in 1972. Seth entered feature films in Richard Lester's Juggernaut (1974), but because subsequent filmmakers only wanted Seth for ethnic roles, his career abruptly stalled. Discouraged, he abandoned acting and returned to India, where he worked as an editor and journalist until the early '80s, when Richard Attenborough asked Seth to play Pandit Nehru in Gandhi (1982). Shortly thereafter, Seth essayed Indian author Victor Mehta and toured the globe in playwright David Hare's biography A Map of the World. After the play's Broadway run, Seth's movie career took off, with roles in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and David Lean's A Passage to India (1984). Seth's subsequent film credits include Mississippi Masala (1992), Street Fighter (1994), The Journey (1997) and Such A Long Journey (1998).- Actor
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Dileep Rao was born on 29 July 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Inception (2010), Avatar (2009) and Drag Me to Hell (2009).- Actress
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One of the leading lights of the 1965-1990's Indian New Wave, Shabana Azmi (alongside the late Smita Patil) was one of the main female actors who dominated the films of the so-called "Parallel Cinema" in India in the 1970s and 1980s. Born to noted Urdu progressive poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi and theatre actress Shaukat Azmi, Shabana has acted in films by virtually all of India's most famous art-house directors including Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and others, as well as in commercial and middle-of-the-road Hindi films, where she has essayed several strong female characters (e.g., in The Death Sentence: Mrityu Dand (1997) and Godmother (1999)). Shabana Azmi was paired opposite Rajesh Khanna in 7 successful films.She is noted for her naturalness and intensity on-screen, matched by her fierce advocacy of the rights of women, minorities and slum-dwellers off-screen, both through activism and in her role as a Member of Parliament, where her consistent stand in defense of liberal values and the freedom of expression is noteworthy. She has also acted on stage to considerable acclaim, most notably in Tumhari Amrita with Farookh Sheikh. She is married to noted scriptwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar.- Mallika Sherawat is an Indian actress who mainly works in the Hindi film industry. She was named Reema Lamba at birth but later took up Mallika Sherawat as her screen name.
Sherawat did her schooling at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. She earned her degree in philosophy from Miranda House at Delhi University. She worked as an air hostess and acted in commercials before joining the film industry.
Sherawat's film career began with Talat Jani's romance film Jeena Sirf Merre Liye (2002), in which she plays a small role. She debuted in a lead role in Khwahish (2003), directed by Govind Menon, starring Himanshu Malik. While the film failed to impact the box office, Sherawat gained popularity due to her 17 kissing scenes in the movie.
A year later, she appeared in Murder (2004), a romantic thriller co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Ashmit Patel, directed by Anurag Basu. She went on to act in films like Kis Kis Ki Kismat (2004) and Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005).
In 2005, Sherawat appeared in her first international film, The Myth (2005), a Chinese fantasy-adventure and martial arts film directed by Stanley Tong that had Jackie Chan in the lead role. Her next film was Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006), a romantic comedy written and directed by Saket Chaudhary with Rahul Bose playing the lead opposite her.
Sherawat was next seen on Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story (Joy: The Real Love Story (2007)), a romantic thriller directed by Prashant Chadha, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Hansika Motwani. She essayed the role of an advocate in the movie. Her next film was Welcome (2007), directed by Anees Bazmee, starring Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Nana Patekar. The film became a huge commercial success and earned more than Rs. 117 crores worldwide.
The following year, Sherawat appeared in Ugly Aur Pagli (2008) and Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam (2008). She debuted in Tamil cinema with the film Dasavatharam (2008), with Kamal Haasan in the lead role.
Sherawat played the lead role in Hisss (2010), an English-Hindi crossover from the adventure-horror genre directed by Jennifer Lynch. She promoted the film at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. She won the Best Actress Award at the Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest 2011 for her performance in the film.
She went on to work on Politics of Love (2011), directed by William Dear. Sherawat plays the lead role in this romantic comedy set during the campaign for the U.S. Presidential Election in 2008.
Sherawat appeared in films like Double Dhamaal (2011), Kismet Love Paisa Dilli (2012), and Dirty Politics (2015), among others. She acted in Time Raiders (2016), a Chinese fantasy-action-adventure movie directed by Daniel Lee.
Sherawat has also appeared in item numbers in several films, such as Thank You (2011), Bin Bulaye Baraati (2011), and Tezz (2012). She appeared in TV shows like Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai (2004) and Hawaii Five-0 (2010). In 2013, she took part in Bachelorette India - Mere Khayalon ki Mallika (2013), a reality dating show meant to find the ideal bachelor for herself.
Sherawat received the 2008 Renaissance Artist Award. She also received the International Youth Icon Award at the Kalakar Awards in 2015 - Alyy Khan is a British Asian actor and host who has worked in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood films and television series. He is known for his roles in the films A Mighty Heart (2007), Traitor (2008), Don 2 (2011), 3 Bahadur (2015), Actor in Law (2016) and Mogul Mowgli (2020), and also played a parallel lead in the telefilm Anjuman (2013). Alyy Khan has also appeared in several television series, including The Bill (2006), Strike Back (2011), Saat Pardon Mein (2012), Indian Summers (2015) and Pakeezah (2016). In 2012, Khan hosted the television reality show Foodistan for NDTV and Geo TV. Recent credits include The Serpent (2020) for Netflix, Shantaram (2021) for Paramount/Apple+ TV and The Archie's (2022) for Netflix India.
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Aasif Mandvi was born on 5 March 1966 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Million Dollar Arm (2014), Evil (2019) and The Proposal (2009). He has been married to Shaifali Puri since 26 August 2017.- Dalip Singh was born on 27 August 1972 in Dhirana, Himachal Pradesh, India. He is an actor, known for Get Smart (2008), The Longest Yard (2005) and MacGruber (2010). He has been married to Harminder Kaur since 27 February 2002. They have one child.
- Ayesha Dharker was born in 1977 in Bombay, India. She is an actress, known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), The Father (2020) and Outsourced (2006).
- Actress
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Karen David is a multi-hyphenate talent - actress and singer/songwriter - who has found equal diversity in her film, television, stage, and recording career. Born in Shillong, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas; raised in Toronto; and the daughter of a half-Chinese, half- Khasi mother and an Indian father, David discovered her love of performing at a young age. At 17 she won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied jazz and gospel. It was there she discovered a flair for songwriting and the desire to pursue her love for drama, which led her to study at the Guildford School of Acting in London. Her first professional acting role came shortly after graduation in the original stage cast of the London West End musical Mamma Mia! David can currently be seen as a series regular in the AMC Network show, "Fear The Walking Dead" as Grace, where her recent, poignant, storylines have garnered critical appraise and a beloved international fandom. She is also recurring on HBO's "Barry" alongside creator, Bill Hader, and in the CW series "Legacies" from executive producers, Julie Plec and Brett Matthews. She has also had recurring roles on on the ABC series, "The Rookie" CBS' long-running drama"Criminal Minds", as well as major arcs on YouTube's "Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television" and ITV's "Cold Feet", and as Princess Jasmine on ABC's "Once Upon a Time." Best known to US audiences for her breakout role as Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's "Galavant", David showcased both of her passions - acting and singing - in the musical fantasy series. Created by Dan Fogelman (This Is Us), the cult hit featured music by the award-winning composer, Alan Menken. She got her start in television in the UK on BBC's BAFTA nominated, "Waterloo Road" and the BBC's comedy series "Pixelface", produced by comedian, Graham Norton's company, So Television. From there she landed roles on MTV's "Top Buzzer" playing opposite the likes of Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays, and on Cinemax's action thriller, "Strike Back", and guest-starring roles on ABC's "Castle", FOX's "Touch" alongside Kiefer Sutherland, and NBC's "Timeless." Karen has also been very busy in the animation world, lending her vocal and musical talents in heavily recurring roles on Disney's hit series, "Mira: Royal Detective". She can also be seen guest starring on the new, HBO Max animation, "The Prince", created by Gary Janetti, Netflix's "Captain Fall" and AMC's upcoming animated series, "Pantheon." David's film career began with a supporting role in the UK cult hit, "Bollywood Queen", opposite James McAvoy. This led to co-starring roles in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins", the Vince Vaughan comedy, "Couples Retreat", and Millennium Film's drama, "Red Lights", starring Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro. David has had starring roles in the heartwarming independent comedy, "The Tiger Hunter" opposite Danny Pudi, Universal Pictures' "The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior", and the acclaimed Netflix British comedy romance, "Amar Akbar & Tony." More recently she portrayed a tough FBI agent in the blockbuster, "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit". On the musical front, David is continually refining her passion for writing and recording "feel- good indie-girl pop with a twist" in between filming. In the wake of her hit 2003 single, It's Me (You're Talking To), which became a Top Ten hit in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as BMG's fourth highest airplay hit for a debut artist, she released her first two EPs, The Live Sessions EP (2008) and Magic Carpet Ride (2009), followed by the 2010 single Hypnotize and three mixes. David worked with A.R. Rahman, (Slumdog Millionaire), to help develop the soundtrack for the Bollywood-themed musical, "Bombay Dreams" alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black. They subsequently created the theme tune for the British drama, "Provoked", in which David had a supporting role. In addition, David is an avid supporter of charity who devotes much of her time to campaigning for various issues, including the Alzheimer's Association, and is also an ambassador for the Prince's Trust. She is also
an active supporter of SOS Children's Villages Foundation and Designers Against AIDS.- Actress
Navi Rawat was born on 5 June 1977 in Malibu, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Feast (2005), The O.C. (2003) and Numb3rs (2005). She has been married to Brawley Nolte since 2012. They have one child.- Actress
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AGAM DARSHI is an award winning actress, writer and director working internationally in TV, Film and Theater.
She worked with Ava DuVernay's series DMZ for HBOMAX, as Mia Franklin working opposite Rosario Dawson. She also starred in Oscar nominated director Deepa Mehta's newest film FUNNY BOY based on Shyam Selvadurai's best selling novel, for which Agam was nominated for a CANADIAN SCREEN AWARD IN 2021, and won a Leo Award for her performance.
Agam wrote, produced and directed DONKEYHEAD. The film, starring Agam as Mona Ghuman, also stars Kim Coates (Son's of Anarchy), Sandy Sidhu (Nurses), Stephen Lobo (Nancy Drew, Snow Piercer) and Husein Mandhavji (Shitt's Creek), was Executive Produced by Deepa Mehta. DONKEYHEAD was acquired by Array Distribution and premiered on Netflix USA/UK/AUS/NZ on January 21 2022. It was the opening film for the Mosaic Film Festival where it screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and won Best Feature Film Award, Best Support Actor and Best editing. Agam won best direction in a feature film at the Vancouver Women's International Film Festival and was the opening film at 75th Yorkton International Film Festival in May. Donkeyhead won 3 Leo Awards in 2022 for best screenplay, best lead actress and best lead actor. Agam was also awarded best director at the 43rd Durban International Film Festival in 2022. Agam was been nominated for outstanding achievement in directing for the 2022 Director's Guild of Canada Awards and wonBest Lead Performance by a Female at the 2022 ACTRA/UBCP awards.
Agam recently co created and directed the pilot episode of the TV Series Our Big Punjabi Family, set to premiere in 2023.
Agam is a recipient of the illustrious Film Independent Project Involve 2020 Fellowship as a writer, and is the co-founded the VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (VISAFF). Currently in its tenth year, the festival focuses on 'bridging the gap' between South Asian talent and mainstream audiences, by breaking stereotypes and expanding North American views on South Asian culture.- Actress
- Producer
Shelley Conn is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Dean Indira Shetty in Amazon's No.1 show, Gen V (2023), as Beelzebub in Good Omens 2 (2023), and as Lady Mary Sharma in the hugely successful Netflix series, Bridgerton (2022). Other notable appearances include Isabella in the film Love Sarah (2020), and as Dr Elizabeth Shannon in the Steven Spielberg series Terra Nova (2011). Shelley Conn was born in Barnet in north London to Anglo-Indian parents. As the daughter of a British Army Officer, she moved home and countries many times as a child, living in Germany and Gibraltar before settling in Hampshire. She is of mixed heritage, which includes Indian, Portuguese, Burmese and English. After being a student at Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke, she trained at Bretton Hall College of Performing Arts and Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. She began her career on London stages and in small roles on British television. After appearing in independent films and two seasons at the RSC including All's Well That Ends Well (2003/2004) with Judi Dench she landed a breakthrough role as Ashika Chandirimani in the BBC political drama Party Animals (2007) which has led to a long and varied career in theatre film and television, both in the UK and the US. She lives in London.- Actress
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Naomi Scott is a multi-talented actor, singer, and songwriter. She stars as "Jasmine" in Disney's blockbuster live-action remake Aladdin (2019), alongside Mena Massoud and Will Smith, directed by Guy Ritchie. Disney released the film in May 2019, and it became one of the biggest films of the year.
Naomi was born in London, England to Usha (Joshi) and Christopher Scott, who are pastors of the Bridge Church, Woodford in Redbridge. Her father is British and her mother, who is from Uganda, is from a Gujarati Indian family.
Naomi appeared in "The 33," directed by Patricia Riggen. Starring Juliette Binoche, Gabriel Byrne, and Antonio Banderas, the film is based on the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners after being trapped for 69 days in a gold and copper mine. Naomi plays "Escarlette", the daughter of Banderas' character who is the leader of the miners. Additional credits include a series regular role in Steven Spielberg's television series "Terra Nova" for DreamWorks and FOX, a lead role in the hit Disney Channel movie "Lemonade Mouth", and a lead role in Lee Toland Krieger's short film "Modern/Love" produced by Roman Coppola.
In 2017, Scott was seen in Lionsgate's Power Rangers (2017), directed by Dean Israelite, which tells the story of a group of teenagers who transform into a uniformed team of superheroes ready to protect the world from evil. Naomi plays "Kimberly" aka 'The Pink Ranger', a girl unconventionally cool in a way all the popular girls wish they were.
Naomi is in production on "Charlie's Angels," which Elizabeth Banks is helming for Sony; she won the highly-coveted leading role of "Elena" opposite Kristen Stewart. Sony is set to release the film in November 2019.
Naomi resides in London.Her father is a British-Indian- Actress
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Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress. Her film debut and first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series The Canterbury Tales, Rome, Luther, Human Target, and Game of Thrones (as Ellaria Sand). In September 2016, she began starring in the ITV/Netflix series Paranoid, as DS Nina Suresh.
Varma was born in Bath, Somerset, the only child of an Indian father and a Swiss mother who was of part Genoese Italian descent; her parents were relatively elderly and were often mistaken for her grandparents. She was a member of Musical Youth Theatre Company and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, in 1995.
Varma has had a number of television and film roles, including Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love in 1997 and Bride and Prejudice in 2004, and the young Roman wife Niobe during the first season of BBC/HBO's historical drama series Rome. Her character appeared briefly in the second season of the award-winning series when it aired on 14 January 2007.
In 2006, she played Suzie Costello in the first and eighth episodes, "Everything Changes" and "They Keep Killing Suzie", of BBC Three's science-fiction drama series Torchwood. She appeared as Dr Adrienne Holland in the CBS medical drama 3 lbs which premiered on 14 November 2006 and was cancelled on 30 November 2006 due to poor ratings. Varma guest starred in the fourth-season premiere of hit US detective drama Bones as Scotland Yard Inspector Cate Pritchard. She also played the role of Zoe Luther in the first series of the BBC drama Luther.
Varma played the role of Ilsa Pucci in the second season of the Fox series Human Target until the show was cancelled on 10 May 2011.
Varma played the role of Ellaria Sand, the paramour of Oberyn Martell in season 4 of the HBO show Game of Thrones, and reprised the role in seasons 5, 6 and 7.
She lent her voice to the Circle mage Vivienne, in the 2014 role-playing video game Dragon Age: Inquisition.
In 2016, she played the lead role of DC Nina Suresh in the eight-episode British television drama Paranoid, streamed worldwide on Netflix.
In 1997, Varma played Bianca in Shakespeare's Othello at the National Theatre, London. In 2000 to 2001, she appeared in Harold Pinter and Di Trevis's NT stage adaptation of Pinter's The Proust Screenplay, Remembrance of Things Past, based on À la recherche du temps perdu, by Marcel Proust. In the summer of 2001, she played Gila in One for the Road, by Harold Pinter, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
In 2002, she played Sasha Lebedieff in Ivanov by Anton Chekhov at the National Theatre and Bunty Mainwaring in The Vortex by Noël Coward at the Donmar Theatre, London. In 2004, she played Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder at the Young Vic Theatre Theatre, London. In 2008, she played Nadia Baliye in The Vertical Hour by David Hare at the Royal Court Theatre London. In 2009, she played Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with Donmar West End at Wyndham's Theatre, London. In 2012, she played Jessica in Terry Johnson's Hysteria at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In 2013 she played Miss Cutts in The Hothouse by Harold Pinter in the Trafalgar Transformed season at Trafalgar Studios.
In 2014, Varma played Tamora, Queen of the Goths, in Lucy Bailey's "gore-fest" production of Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare's Globe. In 2015, she appeared alongside Ralph Fiennes in George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman at the National Theatre.- Actress
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Shenaz Treasurywala was born on June 29, 1981 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. She is the daughter of a Merchant Navy captain and spent the first seven years of her life traveling the globe on board cargo ships carrying potatoes, onions and rice. After completing her school she enrolled in St. Xavier's College. It was during her first year in this college that she was discovered by a photographer. She started her career as a model and has appeared in TV commercials like Gold Spot, Philips, Trigger Jeans, Akai, Elle 18, and many more. She then started working as a Veejay for MTV.
In 2001, Shenaz moved to New York, USA, to enroll in the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute, as well as taking a writing course at New York University. She was thrilled to complete this 8 month course in the same school as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. She made quite a dramatic entry into Bollywood after she lost her luggage, passport and visa papers while traveling by Kuwait Airways, and as result was unable to return to New York. This incident proved to be an advantage as she was approached by Ken Ghosh, who signed her up for a role in Ishq Vishk (2003). She was nominated for the Filmfare Awards for "Ishq Vishk", which went on to be a huge Asia-wide box office phenomenon. She has since then acted in a total of several other movies.
Her hobbies include photography, playing the piano, travel, scuba, surfing, dancing, horseback riding, writing, and this natural beauty, with a dimpled and toothy smile atop curved lips, is ranked amongst the 'Top 100 Beautiful Women.' Quite versatile as she is an actress, writer, TV presenter, VJ, travel junkie, and nature lover. She is also host on Travel Channel's Culture Shock (2007), and has written travel articles in magazines which include Cosmopolitan, Femina, and Elle. Shenaz became a household name on MTV Asia at a very young age. Her most popular show, MTV's Most Wanted (1992) was the highest rated show on MTV for years and MTV often jokingly complained they had no space for her fan mail. She was on MTV Asia for 8 years hosting every show, based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai.
After this phenomenal success of "Ishq Vishk", Shenaz left India for Hong Kong to act in a comedy show called MTV Whatever Things (2003), which was the highest-rated show in South East Asia. Her dream series Culture Shock (2007), a quirky travel show was written, produced and hosted by her. It aired on the Discovery Travel Channel in the U.S. After "Culture Shock", Shenaz returned to India and hosted, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (2005) on Star TV and the "Unforgettable Tour" (Bachchan World Tour) on NDTV Imagine. She played lead roles in Umar (2006), Aagey Se Right (2009) and Radio: Love on Air (2009). She played a lead character of Rama Patel in one of America's longest running soap operas, One Life to Live (1968). Both she and her character were household name amongst the soap watchers. This femme fatale developed a huge fan base in America and was regularly on the cover of all the soap magazines.
Shenaz is also a screenplay writer and her first film, Luv Ka the End (2011) was produced by Yash Raj Films. She has also acted in Delhi Belly (2011) opposite Imran Khan which turned out to be the biggest hit of the year in India. It's been talked about as a cult film in which she plays a sassy sexy air hostess. Shenaz also acted in independent American films like The Networker (2015). In spring of 2015, she was a contributor in The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015). She resides in New York but does shuttle back and forth between the U.S. and India - depending on filming schedules - and calls herself 'Trans-Continental'.- Actress
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Tabu is an Indian actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali-language films, as well as one American film. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and holds the record for the most wins of Filmfare's Critics Award for Best Female Performer, with four. With few exceptions, she is best known for acting in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than substantial box-office figures. Her appearances in commercially successful films were few, and her parts in these films were small, such as Border (1997), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Biwi No. 1 (1999) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). Her most notable performances include Maachis (1996), Virasat (1997), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Cheeni Kum (2007). Her leading role in Mira Nair's American film The Namesake (2006) also drew major praise.
Regarded as one of the most talented Indian actresses of her generation, Tabu is known to be selective about her film roles. She was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2011 by the Government of India for her contributions towards the arts.- Actor
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Kal Parekh was born in India. He is known for New Year's Eve (2011), The Following (2013) and Pan Am (2011).- Actor
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Raza Jaffrey was born on 28 May 1975 in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Homeland (2011), Code Black (2015) and The Rhythm Section (2020). He has been married to Lara Pulver since 27 December 2014. They have two children. He was previously married to Miranda Raison.- Actor
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Saeed Jaffrey was born in Maler Kotla, Punjab, India. He was born on the 8th of January 1929. He attended University of Allahabad where he completed his post-graduate degree in history. He also attended the Staff Training Institute of All India Radio. He started his career in drama, as the founder of his own English theatre company called the Unity Theatre, in New Delhi between 1951 and 1956. He also served with All India Radio as Radio Director during this period. He played a wide variety of roles in comedy and drama with equal ease and enthusiasm. His early theatrical work included roles in productions of Tennessee Williams, Fry, Priesty, Wilde, and Shakespeare. In 1956, he finished his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, a premier school of drama. He went to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship and took a second post-graduate degree in drama from the Catholic University in America. With this experience as his base, he took his company on a tour of the United States doing Shakespearean plays in the year 1957. He was the first Indian Actor to have ever done so. He then became an active member of the Actors' Studio in New York. Here, he was noted for his acting in the play "Nights" and his role as the "Nawab" in Granada Television's adaptation of "The Jewel in the Crown". He married Madhur, actress and cookery writer, with whom he has had three children. He is now divorced from her.
In the 1960s he made numerous stage appearances and participated in a number of tours. He also started his U.S. television career in these years. He was the director of publicity and advertising for the Government of India in their Tourist Office in the U.S. from 1958 to 1960. His performance in the BBC classic _Gangsters (1975) (TV)_, as "Rafiq" earned him countrywide recognition in the United Kingdom. This was even though he had acted in Theatres and appeared on television previously in the U.K. During this period he acted in the off-Broadway play "A Tenth of an Inch Make The Difference" written and directed by Rolf Forsberg, who later cast Saeed Jaffrey and his wife Madhur in the noted short films, "Parable" in 1964, and "Stalked", starring Jack Hawkins, in 1968. Mr. Jaffrey began his feature film career acting in the movie The Guru (1969), and since then has made numerous film appearances along with Hollywood stars such as Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan etc. He has, since then, worked with directors of high caliber such as Satyajit Ray, James Ivory, David Lean and Richard Attenborough. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He is known over the world for his impeccable English accent, his dapper style and his catch phrase "My dear boy". They form part of an acting persona that audiences have always found enchanting. He uses his smooth charm to good effect whether he is playing the archetypal oily, corrupt businessman or the kindly, knowing, father like figure. He is the first Asian to have received British and Canadian Academy Award nominations for acting, and is the first ever to be awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama.- Harish Patel was born on 5 July 1953 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He is an actor, known for Run Fatboy Run (2007), Eternals (2021) and Andaz Apna Apna (1994).
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Maulik Pancholy was born in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for 30 Rock (2006), Weeds (2005) and 27 Dresses (2008). He has been married to Ryan Corvaia since 28 September 2014.- Was born on February 20, 1990 in Bombay (Mumbai), India. Abhi grew up primarily in Pittsburgh where he attended the prestigious Shadyside Academy. He played competitive hockey while all along underplaying his abilities as a saxophonist. In middle school he began receiving awards and recognition as an accomplished saxophonist. He later moved with his family to the west coast where he attended The Webb Schools and began acting in his school's productions. After graduating from Webb, he attended USC his Freshman year, but then took an indefinite leave of absence to actively pursue a career as an actor. Plays the saxophone, tennis and ice-hockey.
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Born in Mumbai, India and raised in Nigeria until the age of seven, Contractor was well-versed in world travels and a variety of cultures at a very young age. She attended boarding school in London from seven to nine years old, then her family moved to Toronto, Canada, where she spent the majority of her childhood and young adulthood. In Toronto, Contractor excelled in academics and trained as a classical ballerina. She attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts, a specialized public arts high school where she not only danced but studied theater as well. At the age of 16, after nearly 10 years of dance Contractor realized she wanted to pursue acting seriously. Upon graduating from high school she accepted a full scholarship to the University of Toronto, where she pursued a masters in theatre and a double major in psychology and sociology. After one year at University, Contractor went to an open call audition for the play Pericles at the prestigious, world-renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival [Ontario, Canada], and landed the lead role. She received rave reviews for her work in the 92 shows performed, the play was voted the #1 production of the year by Canadian critics, in 2002. Contractor was offered the opportunity to enroll in Stratford's conservatory program, where a select eight men and four women are accepted for a 20-week crash course on classical theater, which she eagerly took. Contractor was guaranteed a spot in the next season of plays, and landed the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. By the third season with the company, Contractor wanted to pursue film and television. In 2005 she booked a role in a FOX pilot by Anthony Hines [Borat, Bruno, The Dictator]. The role was intense, leaving the actors in character for eight to nine hours a day in front of an audience, and was a precursor to the style of film that Borat would be, just one year later. When the pilot did not get picked up, Contractor decided to go back to school and finish her education. While securing her degrees, she booked "The Border," a Canadian drama for CBC. She starred as Layla Hourani for 26 episodes, and the series aired worldwide. The role also garnered her a Golden Nymph Award at The Montecarlo Television Festival, in 2008. Once the show wrapped, Contractor made the move to Los Angeles.
In 2009, Contractor booked the role of Kayla Hassan, in 21 episodes of the hit FOX series "24." As President Omar Hassan [Anil Kapoor] and Dalia Hassan's [Necar Zadegan] daughter, she was a scene stealer, portraying a seemingly sheltered young woman, whose secret life ends up putting her in horrible conditions. While in production on "24" Contractor also booked a recurring role on CBS' "Rules of Engagement" opposite David Spade and Adhir Kalyan. Other television credits for Contractor include "Lone Star" [FOX] and "Last Resort" [ABC]. On the film front, Contractor has been seen in Seance: The Summoning [Lionsgate] in which she won Best Supporting Actress at WorldFest Houston, in 2012.
In May 2013, Contractor appeared as a devoted wife and mother facing extreme challenges in her family in the highly anticipated, Paramount feature film Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
When not working, Contractor is an avid runner and yogi. She loves to travel the world, and her preferred method of transportation while in other countries is by motorcycle. She was also born into the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, and is one of the 150,000 Parsis in the world. Philanthropy is a huge priority for Contractor, she is a strong supporter of the organization Second Harvest to feed the homeless, and Look Good Feel Better, supporting women with cancer. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, son, and border terrier.- Suleka Mathew was born in India, raised in Vancouver and currently resides in Los Angeles working as a professional actress in film, television, radio and theatre.
Having been a lifelong dream of hers, Suleka started to pursue acting early in her college years. She was signed by an agent shortly after enrolling in classes and 6 months later she was hired for her first paid acting job as a lead in an episode of a Canadian anthology series. She has been working extensively in her field ever since.
Suleka's most recent work is on the film That's Amor (2021), the television show, Another Life (2020), and her portrayal of Detective Arlene Branch on TNT's hit show, Claws, for 3 seasons. Other notable roles include working as a series regular on the ABC drama, Red Widow, with Radha Mitchell, TNT's Hawthorne starring Jada Pinkett Smith, and ABC's, Men in Trees, opposite Anne Heche. Other credits include Midnight Sun, Ten Days in the Valley, How to Get Away with Murder, Castle, and The West Wing.
One of Suleka's first major roles was that of Dr. Sunny Raman on the acclaimed and award-winning Canadian dramatic series, Da Vinci's Inquest. An international hit, the series eventually made its syndicated debut in the United States.
Other feature film credits include a starring role in the Sundance Festival hit, Touch of Pink, directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid. She appeared in the independent film, The Score, which was screened at the 2005 Vancouver International Film Festival. - Actor
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Erick Avari was born on April 13, 1952 in Darjeeling, India. His credits include leading roles in films from Kevin Reynolds' cult classic The Beast of War (1988) to commercial megahits such as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), The Mummy (1999) and Planet of the Apes (2001). His comedic skills have landed him starring roles in the Adam Sandler remake Mr. Deeds (2002), For Love or Money (1993) and Woody Allen's only television film Don't Drink the Water (1994). He is also featured in Revelation (2002), The Glass House (2001) and has a starring role in Michael Meredith's Three Days of Rain (2002) and Dancing in Twilight (2007). His long theatrical background has garnered him critical acclaim for several roles at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York City, including his portrayal of Vasquez in "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" and the Broadway hit, "The King and I".
Avari has had the pleasure of performing in some of the most prestigious regional theatres in the country, including The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Chicago's Goodman Theater and The Cleveland Playhouse, playing roles such as the King in "King Lear" and Joseph Smith in the Mabou Mines production of "The Morman Project". On television, in addition to his recurring role as Kasuf on Stargate SG-1 (1997), he has played notable roles on Heroes (2006), Cybill (1995), Cheers (1982), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Murder, She Wrote (1984), NYPD Blue (1993) and several made-for-television films.indian born persian- Producer
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Padma Lakshmi was born on 1 September 1970 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India. She is a producer and actress, known for Glitter (2001), Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (2020). She was previously married to Salman Rushdie.- Actor
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Lavrenti Lopes was born on 29 March 1985 in Mumbai, India. He is an actor and writer, known for The Internship (2013), Desperate Endeavors (2012) and SubHysteria (2010).- Actor
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Arjun Gupta was born on 28 November 1986 in Tampa, Florida, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bridge and Tunnel (2014), Nurse Jackie (2009) and Stand Up Guys (2012).- Actress
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Veena Sood is an award-winning actress - of Indian descent, recognized for her versatility in both comedy and drama. During her time at University Veena co-founded Canada's Loose Moose Theatre Company with Improv master Keith Johnstone. Over the years Veena has appeared in numerous plays, films, television series, and continues to perform her improvisation shows. Veena grew up in the Canadian Rockies where she developed a passion for outdoor pursuits & nature expeditions. She was even a competitive rodeo participant when she was younger. She continues to live in the mountains in western Canada - and continues her passion for nature by traveling the world on adventurous expeditions.- Actress
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Rekha Sharma is known for The Core (2003), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) and Love Happens (2009).She is of fiji-indian origin.- Actor
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Manoj Sood was born in Mombassa, Kenya and grew up in Western Canada. Manoj entered the entertainment world in 1995 and has been working steadily ever since. Manoj, much to his surprise, landed a supporting role in an American MOW after his very first audition. Up until then, his only acting experience had been from his acting classes. A very nervous Manoj walked onto set on his first day of shooting and when the sound-boom operator said "speed", Manoj thought he was saying "speak" so Manoj jumped right into saying his lines. The director then gave a very nervous Manoj his first on-set note: "Manoj they are saying "speed" not "speak" and you have to wait for the word "action" before you say your lines".
Since that day, Manoj has appeared in more than 75 Television and Feature Film productions. He has appeared on popular Television shows like Da Vinci's Inquest (1998), The Dead Zone (2002), Romeo! (2003) and Dead Like Me (2003), as well as numerous others. Manoj has also acted in popular films such as Meltdown (2004) and Rat Race (2001). Manoj plays the comically grumpy and lovable character, "Baber" on all six seasons of the internationally acclaimed TV series, Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007), now airing on Amazon Prime. Manoj also appears in the Amazon Prime series Insomnia (2018), filmed on location in Moscow, Russia and the highly anticipated TNT and Netflix TV series, Snowpiercer (2020). Most recently Manoj appears in the Netflix hit,Wedding Season (2022) and will appear int the new Bob Odenkirk series Lucky Hank (2023). Manoj has been a passionate fly fisherman and amateur astronomer since he was a child so when he's not acting, you will find him fly-fishing with his son or gazing into the universe with his telescope.- Actress
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The intriguing thing about Tehmina Sunny is that she seamlessly fits into a plethora of ethnicities from around the world. Her ethnically ambiguous looks and super sharp skills with accents gives her an international appeal. Born in London, Sunny has played characters from the Middle East, South America, North America, Native American, Spain, Italy, North Africa and the Indian sub continent.- Actress
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Her father is Tariq Anwar and her mother is Shireen Anwar. Anwar attended Laleham Church of England Primary and Middle School from 1975 to 1982. Trinian's sketch in the school concert of 1982 gave an early indication of her theatrical leanings. She studied at the London drama and dance school, "Italia Conti". She appeared in many British television productions before making her film debut in Manifesto (1988).
Her first American movie was If Looks Could Kill (1991), in which she played the daughter of a murdered British Agent (played by Roger Daltrey). In 1992, she made a guest appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as "Tricia Kinney". She followed that with the films, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991) (inspired by "A Girl and Five Brave Horses"), Scent of a Woman (1992), Body Snatchers (1993), For Love or Money (1993) and The Three Musketeers (1993). In 1994, People magazine named her one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. One of her most memorable moments on screen came in 1992's Scent of a Woman (1992), when she danced a tango with Al Pacino, whose character was blind.Her father is Indian- Actress
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Hannah Simone stars on FOX's hit series, New Girl (2011), opposite Zooey Deschanel. Simone hosted HGTV Canada's popular design show, "Space for Living", before moving onto Canada's largest music channel, "MuchMusic". After MuchMusic, Simone moved to Los Angeles, where she hosted two seasons of WCG Ultimate Gamer (2009), for the SyFy channel. Simone recently completed production on H+ (2011), the second Warner Premiere Digital Web series, made in conjunction with Dolphin Entertainment and produced by Bryan Singer. Born in London, Simone grew up living abroad and participating in local theater productions in Saudi Arabia, India, Greece and Canada. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, she majored in International Relations and Political Science, before going on to work as a human rights and refugee officer with the United Nations in London.Her father is Indian- Actor
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Best known for his role as 'Ravi Ross' on Disney Channel's hit series "Jessie" and its spinoff, "Bunk'd," Karan Brar is taking Hollywood by storm and seeking to break cultural barriers in the entertainment industry. He stars in "Bunk'd" on Disney Channel and 2018 will be a major year for Karan as he breaks out of his Disney roles for some exciting new projects including the Legendary Entertainment/Universal Pictures film "Pacific Rim: Uprising" and the YouTube Red teen dramedy series, "Youth and Consequences."
"Pacific Rim: Uprising" is a science-fiction monster film produced by Guillermo del Torro. The film is a sequel to the 2013 film "Pacific Rim" and also stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, and Jing Tian. Karan plays 'Suresh,' a new cadet for the Jaeger pilot program. To prepare for the role, Brar worked out with a personal trainer for several months both before and during shooting of the film, which included stunt and fight training as well as a monitored diet. The film is set to be released early 2018.
Born and raised in Bothell, Washington, Karan pursued various sports to try to break out of his shell and find his 'niche'. He soon realized sports were not going to be his calling in life, and his father, who had done theater in India, suggested that he try acting. After a few workshops and acting classes, Karan discovered he was far more talented and comfortable on stage than he was on the field. So, at the age of eight, he signed with an agent and quickly booked his first commercial.
Not long after, Karan's big break came when he landed the role of 'Chirag Gupta' in Twentieth Century Fox's hit trilogy based on the New York Times best-selling book series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." The films included: "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" [2010], "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" [2011] and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" [2012]. However, it is Karan's role as 'Ravi' on "Jessie" that truly put Karan on the map. In "Jessie," Ravi was a recent immigrant to the United States who was struggling to adapt to his new surroundings, while still trying to hold on to his Indian culture and religious beliefs. Since then, Ravi has adjusted and come into his own, bringing his considerate and sometimes naïve but hilarious personality to life in "Bunk'd."
With Karan's family originally being from Punjab, India, he understands the importance and responsibility of portraying the Disney Channel's first-ever series regular Indian character. Brar has helped the channel diversify culturally, while sharing his native Indian culture with its target audience of kids and families. On the other hand, as a first-generation Indian-American, Karan also feels strongly that it is his duty to show his fans and the entertainment industry that he is more than the cliché "Indian character," and he has something much greater to offer.
Karan has several other projects under his belt as well, including NBC's "The Night Shift" where he played a young Afghan drug dealer, the Disney Channel Original Movie, "Invisible Sister" and guest-star appearances on several Disney Channel shows. Brar also voiced the character of 'Mason' in Twentieth Century Fox's "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" and 'Prince Zandar' in Disney's "Sophia the First."
When he is not busy lighting up the big or small screens, Karan enjoys quality time with his friends doing anything that can get them outdoors, from beach trips to hiking and travel adventures. He also spends time working on his photography and videography techniques. Karan enjoys playing video games and discovering new music as well. His philanthropic efforts include lending his voice as a celebrity ambassador for Thirst Project, the world's largest youth water organization whose goal is to build a socially-conscious generation that will end the global water crisis. Brar also has a passion for helping those affected by or who have loved ones affected by mental illness. He hopes to help remove the stigma around the topic and let others know it is something that is okay to discuss. Karan currently resides in Los Angeles.- Producer
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Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.
He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil obstetrician and gynecologist, and Nelliate C. Shyamalan, a Malayali doctor. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, Steven Spielberg. His first film, Praying with Anger (1992), was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. Wide Awake (1998), his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended--even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.
Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's The Sixth Sense (1999), which was a commercial success and later nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Shyamalan team up again with Bruce Willis in the film Unbreakable (2000), released in 2000, which he also wrote and directed.
His major films include the science fiction thriller Signs (2002), the psychological thriller The Village (2004), the fantasy thriller Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), After Earth (2013), and the horror films The Visit (2015) and Split (2016).Generally a director but is known to make appearances in his movies.- Actor
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Kabir Bedi is one of India's most famous international actors, with a career that spans from Bollywood to Hollywood and Europe, in films, television, theatre, and radio.
Kabir's Italian series "SANDOKAN" made him a major star across all of Europe.
He starred in one of the world's most-watched TV series, "THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL"
He acted in the James Bond "OCTOPUSSY".
He has been a voting member of the "Oscars Academy" (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) since 1982.
In recent years, he has acted in 5 films in 5 languages: English, Italian, Hindi, Malayalam, and Telegu.
He is the Honorary Brand Ambassador for Sight Savers India, which performed over 5 million free eye operations across India.
He is the Honorary Brand Ambassador of Care & Share Italia, which educates children from kindergarten to university in the homes and centers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India.
To top it all, he has been Knighted by the Italian Republic with its highest civilian honour, "Cavaliere".- Actor
- Producer
Sunkrish Bala was born on 21 May 1984 in Bombay, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Castle (2009), The Walking Dead (2010) and Chee and T (2016).- Director
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Jay Chandrasekhar was born on 9 April 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and actor, known for Super Troopers (2001), Club Dread (2004) and Beerfest (2006). He has been married to Susan Clarke since 18 September 2005. They have three children.- Actor
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Aziz Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Fatima, a medical office worker, and Shoukath, a gastroenterologist. His family is from Tamil Nadu, India. He graduated from NYU as a business major in 2004. He graduated from the South Carolina Governor's School for Math and Science in Hartsville, SC. He previously attended Marlboro Academy, a private school in his home town of Bennettsville, SC.
Starting out in television like the hit comedy Parks and Recreation (2009), he later had bit parts in the films I Love You, Man (2009), Funny People (2009), and Get Him to the Greek (2010), among others, before co-starring in the comedy 30 Minutes or Less (2011).- Actress
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Summer Bishil was born in Pasadena, California. She and her family moved overseas when she was three. Summer attended British and American schools while her family lived overseas, She returned to her home town of Pasadena just shy of her 14th birthday. In love with the idea of becoming an actress since the age of five, Summer took her first acting class at 14. Nine months later she signed with an agent and manager and began to pursue her career full time. She attends college on her spare time, working towards her degree.Her father is a saudi of Indian heritage- Actor
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Parvesh Cheena was born in Naperville, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Barbershop (2002), Centaurworld (2021) and Transformers: Rescue Bots (2011).- Actor
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Raja Fenske was born on 25 September 1988 in Rockville, Maryland, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bubble Boy (2001), CSI: Miami (2002) and Peep World (2010).- Actress
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The Canadian-born Arizonan actress Tinsel Korey is best known for her role as "Emily" in The Twilight Saga.
Korey's career started after her passion for performing skits as a young child led her to pursue her dream to become a professional actress. As a teen she appeared in many commercials, and landed her first television role on the FOX series "Tru Calling" starring Eliza Dushku. While shooting Spielberg's TNT mini-series "Into the West", she composed a song of the same title that became an underground hit. Tinsel's films range from "The Lookout" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Bullet" an action/thriller feature starring Danny Trejo, to a multitude of SYFY hits such as "Hybrid" "Wyvern" & "Black Forest". Her television credits include shows such as "Longmire", "Z Nation", "The Detour", "Young and the Restless" and Paramounts hit show "Yellowstone"
In between acting roles, Tinsel is an accomplished singer-songwriter who plays piano and guitar mainly creating melodic folk music but also has been featured in rap and EDM tracks. Recently she has been focusing blending the genres of country, blues and Americana.
Korey also enjoys watching hockey, baseball, UFC and has a love affair with all things outdoors.
Tinsel now spends her time in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Arizona with her Border Collie "Lucky".Denies her heritage but is of Indian-origin- Actress
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Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. Gavankar is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Gavankar's roles include Papi, a lesbian lothario in The L Word; Leigh Turner, a police officer on The Gates; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft branded search engine who commented on the user's searches; Shiva, the namesake of the sought-after trophy on The League; shapeshifter Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood; McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow; and Meredith Bose on NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. She also played Diana Thomas on FOX's supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow.
Gavankar was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Peter Ganesh Gavankar, an engineer from Mumbai, who first traveled to the U.S. to pursue a master's degree, and Mohra Gavankar, from Pune, Maharashtra, who also emigrated to the U.S. from India. Her mother is half-Indian and half-Dutch.
Gavankar has acted in theatre, film, television, and online. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, canon Star Wars character, and protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II, shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, lesbian lothario Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League. She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts.
In 2006 she joined the cast of The L Word as a series regular, and shot all of the clips used for Ms. Dewey. In 2007, she landed a lead in CW pilot Dash 4 Cash. In 2008, Gavankar appeared in TV series Stargate Atlantis, Grey's Anatomy and NCIS, My Boys, and Factory. In 2009, she appeared in the TV shows The Cleaner, Dollhouse, Three Rivers, and The League, as well as indie movies Men, Interrupted, Indian Gangster, and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Gavankar played the voice of Nikki in Quantum Quest. She landed a lead role in The Gates, since cancelled, on ABC. She appears on CW's Arrow as a vice squad police officer and brief girlfriend to Oliver Queen.
Gavankar is an admitted gamer and has appeared on, as well as co-hosted, G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.
In 2011 Gavankar became a series regular in HBO's True Blood as a public school teacher and shapeshifter, Luna Garza, who gets romantically involved with one of the main characters of the series.
Her indie movie, Satellite of Love, premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2012, and her 2012 indie I'm Afraid of Virginia Wolf is in post-production. On December 20, 2012, Gavankar was the last person interviewed for the now cancelled Attack of the Show! which aired on G4 TV.
On August 3, 2013, Gavankar landed a role as a witch named Qetsiyah in the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries. She guest starred in the third season of Husbands.
In 2014, she starred as Amita in the video game, Far Cry 4. She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016.
She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game Star Wars Battlefront II.
In 2018, she has two films releasing. Blindspotting is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is being distributed by A24.
Gavankar returned to music with a cover of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown". Gavankar's former all female singing group, Endera, was signed to Cash Money Records Universal Records.
She collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. She has had songs licensed to movies and television, and has sung and played marimba on film scores. Gavankar was featured in Russian artist Ella Leya's music video for "Wish I Could", in the music video by San Francisco-based band Recliner for their single "Float Away", as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.
In August 2012, she released the single for her upcoming EP, entitled Waiting for Godot, and in November, Billboard premiered the official music video. It went on to win numerous film festival awards.
While in high school, Gavankar auditioned for the front ensemble of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford, Illinois. Before hearing whether she had made the corps, she was accepted for the Yale School of Drama's summer camp, and went there. "I fell in love with drum corps when I was 13 years old", Gavankar has stated, and remains a strong fan of the activity. When she heard the Martin Garrix/Usher collaboration, "Don't Look Down", she had the idea of performing it as marching music. With assistance from Drum Corps International, she contacted the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps and arranger Colin Bell. She went into the studios in New York with fifty members of Jersey Surf and recorded the music video "Don't Look Down- #JustAddDrumCorps Edition" that was released in April 2015.
On May 20, 2015, Gavankar performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall with Questlove for the Best Buddies charity benefit.She is of Norwegian-Indian decent ..- Sakina Jaffrey was born on 14 February 1962 in Manhattan, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Raising Helen (2004), Definitely, Maybe (2008) and The Truth About Charlie (2002). She has been married to Francis Wilkinson since 8 September 1990. They have two children.
- Reshma Shetty was born on November 2, 1977 in Manchester, England, UK to Hindu parents. She was raised in England and Richmond, Virginia in the United States. She is a graduate of the famed Opera department at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. On stage, Reshma received rave reviews in 2006 for her performance as Priya in A.R. Rahman's and Andrew Lloyd Webber's First National tour of "Bombay Dreams", as well as critical praise in 2008 for her Off-Broadway debut in Ayub Khan-Din's "Rafta Rafta" at the New Group in New York.
Her work on stage immediately parlayed into her next success as she burst on to the small screen in USA's flagship series Royal Pains (2009) as one of television's first female South Asian series leads. Additional television credits include Showtime's Happyish (2015), Bravo's Odd Mom Out (2015), 30 Rock (2006), and CSI: Miami (2002). Her feature film credits include Steam (2007), Delivering the Goods (2012), Allegiance (2012), and Hated (2012). Since "Royal Pains" ended its eight and final season, she has been starring in CBS's Pure Genius (2016) as Dr. Talaikha Channarayapatra.
She is one of the beautiful faces of Cindy Crawford's "Meaningful Beauty" line and and is a dedicated member of the USA Network's "Characters Unite" program: an award winning public service campaign meant to raise awareness and combat prejudice and discrimination. - Actress
- Casting Department
Sarayu Blue is a stage, film, and television actress. While perhaps more well-known for her sharp comedic timing, she has also shown her great range in dramas, as seen in the Amazon limited series, "Expats," starring opposite Nicole Kidman, and directed by Lulu Wang. Blue began her career stealing scenes in David E. Kelley's medical drama, "Monday Mornings." She continued to work as a series regular, playing Kareema on The CW's, "No Tomorrow," and co-starred in the "Children's Hospital" spin-off, "Medical Police." Her breakout moment came when she starred as Emet in the female-driven NBC comedy, "I Feel Bad," produced by Amy Poehler. Since then, she has been seen in Hulu's Happiest Season, the second and third installments of the hit Netflix franchise, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," the Apple+ TV series, "The Shrink Next Door," the Universal feature, "Blockers," and the Amazon feature, "A Million Miles Away."
Blue has also accumulated numerous guest roles on shows such as, "Grey's Anatomy (ABC)," "The Real O'Neals" (ABC), "Station 19" (ABC), "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS), "The Unicorn" (CBS), and "Veep" (HBO).
A classically trained theater actor, some of Blue's stage credits include Varya in, "The Cherry Orchard" (Yale Repertory Theatre), Belle in, "A Christmas Carol" (American Conservatory Theater), and Livia in, "The Tamer Tamed" (Shakespeare Santa Cruz).
Blue received her B.A. in Theater Arts from The University of Iowa, and her M.F.A. from The American Conservatory Theater, in San Francisco.- Actor
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Kunal Sharma was born on 12 December 1987 in Andover, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Prison Break (2005) and The Kids Are All Right (2010).- Actor
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Ravi Patel was born on 18 December 1978 in Freeport, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Transformers (2007), Meet the Patels (2014) and Master of None (2015). He has been married to Mahaley Patel since 8 November 2015. They have one child.- Actress
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Madhur Jaffrey was born on 13 August 1933 in Civil Lines, Delhi, British India. She is an actress and writer, known for Wolf (1994), Saagar (1985) and Shakespeare-Wallah (1965). She has been married to Sanford Allen since 1969. She was previously married to Saeed Jaffrey.- Actor
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Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Anita, a caregiver, and Raj Patel, who works in IT. His parents, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, are both of Gujarati Indian descent. His first role was in the UK TV series Skins (2007). His breakout role was in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In May 2012, he played Sonny Kapoor in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). In March 2015, he had a leading role in two major motion pictures released in the theaters at the same time: Chappie (2015) and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).- Actor
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For Amrish Puri, it was virtually the 'Summer of 42'. The actor's long simmering affair with acting found culmination when he reached his early 40s. And while his dream of playing the hero may have been thwarted, he went on to become the most loved villains of all time. He was also an artiste who redefined the dynamics for character actors. If he wowed the critics with his rough-edged portrayals in the art films of Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, he won over the masala movie buffs with his louder-than-life histrionics. Puri with his reverberating baritone, piercing glance and dramatized dialogue delivery was a formidable figure against the hero. His costumes were all about prolific imagination and his one-liners ranging from, 'Mogambo khush hua' to 'Dong kabhi wrong nahin hota' are now part of cinema glossary. Puri even went ahead and worked in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, only to return and endorse the diversity that is Bollywood.
But behind the tough facade was a genteel person. "Upright and a true karma-yogi," as son and marine navigator Rajeev Puri describes him. "People from all walks of life loved him - even the police and the politicians." Rajeev adds, "A decade after his demise, some film or the other of his is constantly playing on channels - out of the 350 he did, 200 were hits!" And when people till date come up to him requesting for a photograph because he's the famed Mogambo's (Puri's character in Mr India) son, Rajeev realizes that Mogambo truly is larger than life, in fact beyond it.
Puri graduated from the BM College in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Puri was a leader of the RSS youth wing there and that explains why he remained a stickler for discipline and punctuality. In the '50s, he moved to Mumbai and found a job with the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). There he met my mother Urmila, a Konkani, and married her. His elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri were also actors. In fact, we lived with Madanji at Kings Circle for a few years before we shifted to our Santacruz home. Puri passion was acting. He worked during the day and in the evening did amateur theatre with Ebrahim Alkazi, Satyadev Dubey, Vijay Tendulkar and Girish Karnad among others. In fact, Satyadev Dubey and he began Hindi theatre in Mumbai with plays like Hayavadana and Yugati winning him much applause. He became well known as a stage character actor, which led to him doing ads and finally films in the early '70s.
Believe it or not, Amrish Puri wanted to become a Bollywood movie star, but failed a screen test in 1953. And what a failure it was! Mr. Puri, went on to become one of the most renowned and credible villains in the history of Indian cinema. His most memorable and often quoted role is the character of 'Mogambo' (with the catchphrase "Mogambo Khush Hua"). It is still remembered fondly from Mr. India (1987).
On the silver screen, the very first time we felt that times were changing was when dad went to Jaisalmer to shoot Reshma Aur Shera (1971). It was an Ajanta Arts film directed by Sunil Dutt. A lot of new actors were being featured - Raakhee, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranjeet. Puri brought home pictures of the shoot. Puri's son must have been around 12 then and was excited watching them.
Another film, which was to change his life was Girish Karnad's Kannada film Kaadu (1973) where he played the villainous village headman. Girish Karnad handed his Filmfare Best Director trophy to Amrish as a gesture of appreciation. He was then noticed by Shyam Benegal, who featured him in his films Manthan, Nishant and Bhumika through the '70s. He also became part of Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed films Party, Vijeta, Aakrosh and Ardh Satya. Dad had a flair for roles that betrayed authority and rode the crest of new wave cinema with his earthiness.
In 1980, director Bapu roped in dad to play Duryodhana in Boney Kapoor's Hum Paanch. Soon other filmmakers started offering him villainous roles in commercial films too. After Feroz Khan's Qurbani (1980) there was no looking back.
One film that took him to the acme of his career was Mr India (1987). As the part menacing part comical Mogambo, he won fans across audiences. Mogambo was a favorite with kids because he was a comic-strip like character. At every function he attended, dad was asked to say the Mogambo dialogue. First Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh in Sholay (1975) and later dad as Mogambo gave villainy a new status. He went on to become the highest paid villain. Earlier character actors were paid paltry sums as compared to the hero.
Puri's career spanned three decades and around 300 films. Among these his favorites remained Koyla, Vidhaata, Pardes, Chachi 420, Ghatak, Ghayal, Damini, Meri Jung and Saza-E-Kala Pani.
Off camera, his children remember their father as someone who was larger than life, someone who was strict but never unreasonable. Someone who urged us to speak the truth. He urged us to follow the three Ps - patience, perseverance and persistence.
Puri was realistic and that's why he insisted that his children seek a secure profession. He once told his son, "See, acting is my first love. I've been polishing my act for years. It took me long to establish myself. There's no need for you to be awed by the profession. You needn't risk your future. You must complete your education." That's why, I joined the Merchant Navy in 1978. I sailed for 11 years. It used to be fun watching his films on the ship.
As an actor he had a great ability to switch on and off. He was not fond of smoking, drinking or parties. His idols were Dilip Kumar, Motilal, Balraj Sahni and Amitabh Bachchan. He worked with Raj Kumar, Dilip saab, Amitji... he was like a student in front of them and had absolutely no ego. Also, a lot of youngsters began their careers with him like Ajay Devgan in Phool Aur Kaante and Shah Rukh Khan in Deewana. He was easy to work with except that he had no patience with people who didn't respect time.
Puri was particular about having nutritious food. He was largely vegetarian but enjoyed fish. He practiced yoga and was an early riser. He was one of the first members of Talwalkars gym in Mumbai. Also, he preserved his vocal chords. He stayed away from fried stuff. He'd just have a piece of sev puri when we insisted. Once he happened to shave off his hair for a Rakesh Kumar film. He was told his personality looked better that way. The bald look appealed to Steven Spielberg, who then offered him Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, where he played Mola Ram. Puri realized that with a shaved head, he could try different get ups. He was well-versed with the art of make-up and wigs. He knew the concentration of hair that a hairpiece for a 50-year-old character or a 60-year-old character would require. He also spent time with the tailors - in fact, directors often asked him to work on his costumes. He'd pick his own ties, bows, shirts for a role. He enjoyed observing people as he drove in his car. He'd keenly watch the hawaldar, the fit of his shirt, how worn out his shoes were which helped him play one in Gardish.
Puri loved watches. He owned all the possible brands. He was intrigued by its technology and the way each piece was assembled. Each time he'd go abroad, he'd visit a showroom and call me up excitedly, "Tikoo (my pet name) I've bought such a handsome looking watch!" Another fascination he had was for Mercedez Benz cars. He'd keep buying the latest editions. His family maintained his 1983 model in showroom condition.
Known for frequently portraying menacing, sadistic villains, Puri received a huge fan mail of around 50 to 60 letters a day. Some fans would constantly sit on the footpath outside our home to catch a glimpse of him. Women also wrote to him. Many were crazy about him. But he was not a young actor. By the time he got recognition he was 45. My mom did feel possessive with all the attention being showered on him. But she understood. He was at an age where he knew what to absorb and what to keep away from. He was cautious. He did have shades of romance in his role opposite Farida Jalal in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. That subtle equation suited his age. His female co-stars liked him because he was protective about them. He'd check with the production guys whether they were comfortable or not. While he was being pampered, he wanted them to enjoy those facilities too. He was like a father figure to junior artistes too. He'd call up the producers who defaulted on their payments.
Once they were shooting at Amritsar railway station for Gadar - Ek Prem Katha. Huge crowds had gathered and there was so much noise that the shooting couldn't proceed. Sunny Deol wanted to leave. Dad took over and in his baritone said, "Allow us to do our work. I want pin drop silence!" There was a hush and the shooting resumed.
Shyam Benegal cast him in movies such as Nishant (1975), Bhumika (1977), and Manthan (1976). Yash Chopra cast him in Mashaal (1984), the same year that Steven Spielberg cast him in his best-known role outside of India, as Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). His elder brother is none other than Bollywood actor Madan Puri.
Guddu Dhanoa's Jaal The Trap for (2003) was shot in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately, Puri met with an accident there. He suffered serious injuries on his face and eye. He lost a lot of blood and consequently had to undergo blood transfusion. Something went wrong there because in the coming years, he developed a blood disorder (myelodysplastic syndrome). It began with weakness and reduced appetite. When he came to know about the fatality of his illness he was shaken. But he had an iron will. He wanted to project a strong side to the world. Puri knew that at age 72 there was little that he could repair and that he was ailing. Jo hona hai woh hoga - that was his stance.
Puri was keen to complete the projects on hand, even though he was in pain. His terminal illness was detected in September 2003 and by December 15, 2004, he had finished all his films - Kachchi Sadak, Mujhse Shaadi Kaoroge, Hulchul, Ksna and Aitraaz despite looking emaciated, pale, frail . He was at home for a brief period. But he didn't want to remain bedridden. When asked how he was feeling he'd just say, "Kal se behtar hoon." Then one day he had a fall at home and suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. He passed away in Mumbai on January 12, 2005 due to a brain hemorrhage
Puri had served as the President of Cine and TV Artistes Association for six years before his demise. As a mark of respect the industry remained shut for two days. The whole road from our house in Juhu to the electric crematorium at Shivaji Park was full with people. There were onlookers perched on trees and buildings.
As a tribute to him the Times Of India carried a piece, which was titled, "No guns only roses." People recall his famous dialogue in Pardes, "What's the bottom line?" Well, for me it would be never doing anything that would disappoint him.- Actor
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Rupak Ginn is a Los Angeles based, New York raised actor who has appeared off-Broadway as well as in numerous TV shows and films. Selected highlights include seven seasons on USA's "Royal Pains," Universal's "The High Note," and "The Stone Witch" off-Broadway. He is also the host of the upcoming food and travel show "Dhabas" for ITVS.- Shelly Desai was born on 3 December 1935 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. He is an actor, known for Escape from L.A. (1996), Here Comes the Boom (2012) and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015).usually plays mexican characters..
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Born in Chingford Essex United Kingdom, and not India as published, the actor is English of Parsi ancestry not an Indian citizen. She subsequently moved at age 9 . The family later returned to the UK where she completed her education.with her parents to Hong Kong while it was still under British control- Actor
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Sacha Dhawan was born in Bramhall, Stockport to Hindu parents though he attended a Roman Catholic secondary school, Thomas Aquinas College, in nearby Stockport. There one of the authors he studied for his final exams was Alan Bennett, by whom he was very impressed. He began as a child actor at the age of 12 and attended the Laine-Johnson School of Acting in Manchester. He is also an accomplished tap-dancer. His enthusiasm for Bennett was such that when auditioning for his play 'The History Boys' on the London stage, Sacha impressed the author not just with his acting but by reciting a poem he had composed about the play and its author. He has appeared in stage versions of 'The History Boys' around the world as well as in the 2006 film adaptation. On television he appeared in two high profile series 'In the Club' as an expectant father and 'Last Tango in Halifax' as a toy boy.- Actor
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A classically trained actor, Anil Kumar was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in Kent Ohio. He holds a BA in Psychology from Kent State University and earned an MFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at Rutgers University under the tutelage of William Esper, Maggie Flanningan, Leonard Petit, Pierre Lefevre, and Lloyd Williamson. Kumar has numerous television credits including leading, recurring and guest starring roles on The Cape as Ruvi the Mesmerist, Life, Nip/Tuck, K-Ville, E-ring, Inconceivable, Six Feet Under, 24 as the sinister Khalil Hasan, JAG, ER, Miss Match, The Agency, Traffic, Law & Order: SVU and Oz. Film credits include The 5 written and directed by Ravi Kapoor, The Ode written by Ghalib Dhalla and produced by Bharat Shah, Pride and Glory written and directed by Gavin O'Connor, The Two Faces of Janus, Westbank Brooklyn, Marmalade, Story of a Bad Boy, The Karaoke King and the cult hit American Desi. Anil is currently guest starring this season of Revenge for ABC. Kumar has performed on stage in almost every major city in the United States. His NYC stage debut was alongside Alec Baldwin, Angela Basset and Liev Schreiber in the Public Theater's production of Macbeth directed by George C. Wolfe. While in New York he collaborated with the likes of Terrance McNally, Joseph Chaikin, Joe Mantello and Lynne Meadow. Anil originated the role of Mohamed and enjoyed an over two-and-a-half year run in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Charles Busch's smash Broadway hit The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, alongside Valerie Harper, Linda Lavin, Michele Lee and Tony Roberts. Anil also originated the role of Vincent in the world premiere of Harry Kondolean's Saved or Destroyed at the Cleveland Public. He co-starred in the US premiere of Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink at ACT in San Francisco directed by Carey Perloff. Anil originated leading roles and produced several critically acclaimed world premier plays in NYC and LA as a founding member of East 4th Street Productions: Backseats and Bathroom Stalls (Love Sucks), What's Wrong with Getting Laid?, as well as co-creating and writing The Dairy Farm: Land of Milk and Hunnies. In 2011 Love Sucks enjoyed an over 16 week run playing to sold out houses at The Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood. Anil is currently working on his first solo play: Rise and Shine: a semi-autobiographical cautionary tale. It will soon premiere in Los Angeles directed by Reena Dutt with musical direction by Samrat Chakrabarti. Anil also serves on the Board of Directors for the elementary school dance program Ballroom Madness. An organization that implements a dynamic dance program that develops creative potential, sets a foundation of respect, teamwork, confidence, and a sense of accomplishment for every student one step at a time, Ballroom Madness teaches thousands of students every year throughout Los Angeles. He has written three children's books (My Dog Fred, I Had a Dog Named Mac and The Grateful DOODS) with his sister-in-law, illustrator and collaborator Heather Valenzuela. Anil is also an avid snowboarder, a Pisces and plays the guitar very poorly.- Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Nora Downey and Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon. She has an older and a younger brother. Her father is of Bengali Indian and English descent, and her mother is Irish. In 1984, when Mitra was eight, her parents divorced, and she was sent to boarding school. She spent several years at two different schools, including Roedean, but Mitra claims she was eventually expelled from both of them.
Mitra's first main role came as Scott Wolf's illicit love interest on Party of Five (1994). In 2000, Mitra had a small, key role in the film Hollow Man (2000), as the rape victim of Kevin Bacon, an incident that drives his character insane. She had a main role in the medical drama Gideon's Crossing (2000), as "Dr. Alejandra Ollie Klein". Mitra then had roles in Ali G Indahouse (2002); Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Stuck on You (2003), and leading roles in Highwaymen (2004) and Spartacus (2004). Mitra appeared in the final season of The Practice (1997) as "Tara Wilson", and continued that role into its spin-off Boston Legal (2004), but left not long into the second season. In 2005, Mitra played the role of "Kit McGraw" during Season 3 of Nip/Tuck (2003). Mitra then went on to appear in Skinwalkers (2006), The Number 23 (2007) and Shooter (2007). In 2008, Mitra starred in the lead role of the science fiction/action film Doomsday (2008) as "Major Eden Sinclair", and, in 2009, went on to star in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) as "Sonja", the daughter of the powerful vampire elder, "Viktor" (played by Bill Nighy).
Mitra appeared as the live action model for "Lara Croft", the lead character in Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider video game series. She was ranked #46 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001. - Actor
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I.S. Johar was born on 16 February 1920 in Tollagannj, British India [now in Pakistan]. He was an actor and writer, known for Death on the Nile (1978), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Johny Mera Naam (1970). He died on 10 March 1984 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.- Actor
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Gulshan Grover was born, raised and educated in Delhi, India. After receiving his master's degree in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, he decided to pursue his passion and made a lifelong commitment to entertainment industry. He honed his acting skills in theatre, and after many stage productions with the well-known "Little Theatre Group" he moved to Bombay to pursue a career in movies. Once there, he began his formal acting training at prestigious Actor's Studio, with batch mates like actor Anil Kapoor. Gulshan Grover eventually became an acting teacher at the same acting school; in fact, some of today's leading Indian stars were once his students.
Gulshan Grover is not only an actor, a producer and an entrepreneur. He is truly a link between Indian Entertainment Industry, Hollywood and International Entertainment Industry. He has successfully synergized various entertainment businesses between India and West.
In over 400 films to date over a 25 year career, Gulshan has proven himself to be a versatile professional with a passion for his chosen craft. He has acted in many of India's most successful films, received numerous accolades and awards, and is a prominent figure in the Indian film community. His recent film 'I Am Kalam' earned him nomination for National Awards of India 'Best Supporting Actor'. Gulshan Grover also won the Best Actor International at New York City Film Festival & Houston Film Festival, for his performance as Indian Hollyman, Spiritualman, Dada Bhagwan for film 'Desperate Endeavours'.- Actress
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She appeared in several international films. With her unique looks and mass appeal, she has found herself in much demand. Now she's well on her way to write, produce and star in many up-scale projects. She has secured herself motion pictures on a global platform. Hazel D'Jan surely has something special to offer her high spirit and universal charms, are a welcomed treat.- Actress
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Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress, best known for her performance in Sarah Gavron's Brick Lane (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane along with actresses like Judi Dench and Anne Hathaway. Her notable roles include Masha in Academy Award-winning German director Florian Gallenberger's film, Shadows of Time which is also known as Schatten der Zeit in German, the film Bibar for which she won the best actress in 2006 Osian Film Festival and the 2007 BFJA awards. Tannishtha is also a successful recording artist, trained in Indian classical vocals. She is working both with Indian and international directors and lives between her homes in London and Mumbai.- Actress
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Jessica Clark was born in 1985 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Pocket Listing (2015), True Blood (2008) and Chemistry (2011). She was previously married to Lacey Stone.Is of English, Irish, Indian and Nigerian descent.- Actress
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Meaghan Rath was born on 18 June 1986 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Hawaii Five-0 (2010), New Girl (2011) and Schitt's Creek (2015). She has been married to Jack Cutmore-Scott since 16 May 2020. They have two children.- Actor
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Russell Peters was born on 29 September 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Source Code (2011), New Year's Eve (2011) and Chef (2014).- Actor
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Sunil Malhotra is an actor and writer, known for Fair Game (2010), Halo: Reach (2010) and Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).a very good "voice-actor"- Actress
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Persis Khambatta was born on October 2, 1948 in Bombay, India. When aged 16, as Femina Miss India, she entered Miss Universe 1965, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. Khambatta became a model for companies such as Revlon. Her biggest acting break was getting the role of Lieutenant Ilia, the bald Deltan alien in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982) and Warrior of the Lost World (1983). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams. Khambatta became the first citizen of India to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her Star Trek role. Khambatta also made guest appearances in many popular American television series. In the early 1980s, she was seriously injured in a car crash in Germany and had to have heart bypass surgery.
A year before her death, she wrote and published a coffee table book titled "Pride of India" which featured former Miss Indias; it was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. On August 17, 1998, Persis Khambatta was taken to the Marine Hospital in South Mumbai, complaining of chest pains. She died of a heart attack on August 18, 1998 at the age of 49; her funeral was held in Mumbai.- Actor
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Jesse Rath was born on 11 February 1989 in Montreal, Québec, Canada. He is an actor, known for Supergirl (2015), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) and No Tomorrow (2016). He is married to Holly Deveaux.Brother of Meaghan Rath- Actress
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Annet Mahendru is an Afghan-American actress of Indian-Russian origin. She was born in Kabul to an Indian father (a journalist and professor) and a Russian mother (a businesswoman and artist). Annet spent her early years learning six languages while living in Afghanistan, Russia, and Europe. She put her curious mind to use playing competitive chess and earning a brown belt in Karate, sweeping a free sparring championship. At age 11, Annet choreographed a performance that gained her an appearance on German TV as a graceful Russian snow maiden that turns into a playful Indian dancer. Sad that her parents never signed her up for ballet classes as a little girl, she joined a local Rock 'n' Roll dance group, and later, began to study classical Indian dance, Bharatanatyam.
Annet finished high school in New York and received a Bachelor of Arts in English at St. John's University. After school, drawn by her passion for acting, she took classes at the HB studio, performed in plays, and Indie films. But it was in the course of pursuing a Master's degree in Global Affairs at NYU that Annet reached a crossroad in her life. She decided to drop out of NYU and escaped to the West Coast in search for yet another degree that would enable her to affect the kind of change she really wished for. This one was in Storytelling. Always being a big fan of Improvisation, she began studies at the Groundlings School and took on several comedy projects thereafter. Annet has also studied at the Imagined Life in Hollywood because she finds trans-formative experience and expression of the empathetic imagination to be the foundation of her work.
Everything, from growing up among a big Indian family on a healthy diet of Bollywood films to experiencing St. Petersburg's famous ballet, art and theatre scene, prepared Annet for her life as an ambassador of change through storytelling. Becoming an actress synthesized her many curiosities with her passion and mission.
Annet is best known for her starring role in the 2013 TV series The Americans, where she plays the role "Nina," the beautiful and mysterious spy opposite FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich). "Annet Mahendru has been a revelation as Nina, bringing the character to life with a rich and subtle depth that keeps you guessing as to what's really percolating under the surface," said Executive Producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields. Other credits include 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Big Time Rush, The Blacklist, The X Files and feature films Escape From Tomorrow and Love Gloria.Her father is Indian and mother is Russian, she was born in Afghanistan.- Actress
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Amrita Acharia is of Nepalese-Ukrainian heritage. She grew up in Ukraine, Kathmandu and England before moving with her family to Norway aged 13. After completing high school in Tromsø, Amrita moved to England to pursue her acting career. Since then she has worked in Norway, London and the US. She speaks Ukrainian, Norwegian and English.- Poorna Jagannathan is an actress and producer. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO miniseries "The Night Of" as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series "Never Have I Ever" by Mindy Kaling.
She also initiated, produced and acted in the play "Nirbhaya," written and directed by Yaël Farber, which dealt with breaking the silences around sexual violence, including her own. "Nirbhaya" won the prestigious 2013 Amnesty International Award and was called by The Telegraph as the "One of the most powerful pieces of theater you'll ever see". The play is considered one of the most impactful moments in India's history of women's empowerment.
Jagannathan was previously a series regular in the Netflix psychological thriller series Gypsy, a recurring in the Apple TV+ crime drama miniseries Defending Jacob, and part of the ensemble cast for HBO's anthology series, Room 104.[4] She also starred in the cult Bollywood comedy, Delhi Belly as well as the movie Share, which was directed by Pippa Bianco, produced by A24, and released on HBO in 2019.
Jagannathan was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians by Gold House for 2021, as well as being named among the top 50 most powerful women in India in 2014. She was featured among the top 10 in Femina Magazine's "India's 50 most beautiful women" in 2012, in addition to Vogue naming her as one of 8 Indian women changing the face of beauty in India. - Actor
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Vancouver native, Avan Jogia landed his first acting role as Danny Araujo on the award-winning TV movie drama A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006), directed by Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland. Jogia followed up with a recurring role on the SyFy Channel hit series Caprica (2009) as well as becoming series regular role the CW's Aliens in America (2007). Recently receiving notice amongst a wide audience with his lead role as Beck on Nickelodeon's Emmy nominated series Victorious (2010), Avan can now be seen as Danny Desai on ABC Family's Twisted (2013).
Having a special interest in youth human rights and equality, Avan lends his support to many charitable organizations: as a Peace First Ambassador for Peacefirst.org, host of the PBS series "Reel Works," and founder of the national charitable organization Straight But Not Narrow.He is Scottish/Indian- Actor
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Kumail Nanjiani was born on 2 May 1978 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. He is an actor and writer, known for The Big Sick (2017), Life as We Know It (2010) and Stuber (2019). He has been married to Emily V. Gordon since 14 July 2007.- Actor
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Karan Soni was born in New Delhi, India. He made his film debut as Kemal in Yusuf Sumer's short comedy film Kaka Nirvana (2010), in which he co-starred with Rachel Quinn. In 2016, Soni rose to international prominence for his role as Dopinder in Tim Miller's action film Deadpool (2016), a role he later reprised in David Leitch's sequel Deadpool 2 (2018).- Actor
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Manish Dayal was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. Manish is an actor and director, known for The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), Viceroy's House (2017) and Halt and Catch Fire (2014). Manish is married to Snehal Patel.- Actress
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Purva Bedi was born in India. Purva is an actor and producer, known for One Of Us Is Lying (2021), Sully (2016) and Gossip Girl (2007). Purva has been married to David Andrew Stoler since 3 October 2010.- Actress
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Rebecca is best known for her appearance on NBC's flagship comedy 'The Good Place' as Kamilah Al-Jamil, the enigmatic sister and nemesis of Tahani Al-Jamil. Previous work includes roles on iconic shows 'Lost', 'ER' and Grey's Anatomy'. But her first major recognition in the US was for the role of 'Asha', one of the lead ensemble cast for NBC's primetime cult comedy 'Outsourced', for which Variety listed her as a "breakout performer", describing her presence on the show as "superb". Rebecca got her first TV break after being scouted to model on the BBC's iconic fashion show, 'The Clothes Show', whilst truanting from school. She studied Theatre and English at the exclusive King Edwards VI College in Stourbridge, whose alumni include Robert Plant and J.R.R. Tolkien. She graduated with a high class honours degree in English Literature from Bretton Hall, where she formed a theatre company and took a play to The Edinburgh Festival. Rebecca's film career began when she was cast as Mina in the Film4 feature 'Dog Eat Dog' alongside David Oyelowo and Ricky Gervais. She gained recognition and a cult following in the UK for her role as Arun Parmar in psycho drama 'Bad Girls', one of the first transsexual characters to ever feature on a primetime UK television series. Other early roles include appearances in crime series 'Second Sight' and 'Liverpool One', alongside Clive Owen and Stephen Graham. She worked with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle on 'Meeting Helen.' Rebecca trained for 6 years with Scott Williams, under direct lineage from Sanford Meisner, combining TV and film work with weekend theatre classes. On moving to LA she trained with Philip Seymour Hoffman's coach Tony Greco. Recent credits include feature 'Lost Transmissions' alongside Simon Pegg and HBO's 'Room 104'.- Actor
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Samrat Chakrabarti was born on 22 August 1975 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Little Voice (2020), The Sinner (2017) and Mr. Robot (2015).- Actor
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Raised in rural Newfoundland, this Gemini award-winning actor/comedian started performing as a teenager and has been at it ever since. His work has taken him through the world of theatre, stand-up comedy, improv and more recently to his role as Andrew Palmer on NBC/Global Television's The Firm, starring Josh Lucas and Juliette Lewis. In 2010 starred as Detective Vik Mahajan in the critically acclaimed crime drama Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC.
HBO's "Every Word is Absolutely True" which follows Shaun as he embarks on his first national stand-up tour, garnered critical praise for its candid look beyond the public persona to reveal his more intimate and complex side in this feature length documentary.
In January 2013, Shaun's documentary series called Majumder Manor debuted on the W Network in Canada, about his dream to transform his rural hometown of Burlington, Newfoundland into a high end, sustainable tourist destination. The successful series continues with season two airing in May 2014.
Shaun's television career has included starring in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Unhitched, as well as roles on 24 and Cedric the Entertainer Presents on Fox, Robson Arms on CTV, and Da Kink in My Hair on Global. In addition to his multiple appearances on 22 Minutes, Shaun has appeared in Hatching, Matching and Dispatching and Republic of Doyle for CBC Television. Shaun's Comedy Central Presents special also debuted on Comedy Central in 2008.
His film credits include Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, The Ladies Man, Pushing Tin, Purpose, and Bob Funk alongside Rachel Leigh Cook and Olympia Dukakis. Shaun is also a favorite of Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, having hosted the TV series for three seasons. He resides in Los Angeles.