Connecting over 25 millions NRIs worldwide
Most trusted Name in the NRI media
NRI PEOPLE- OUR NETWORK
 
Puja Mohindra: An Actress on the rise “Puja Mohindra”

 

What a Switch?
Journalism to Acting

Los Angeles, April 25, 2009
Swaran Dabgotra/Gary Singh
NRIpress.com

A young beautiful slim and tall 5’6”, long black hair with brown eyes Puja Mohindra is on the rise to become a super star in on the small & big screen in Hollywood. She looks very bright, confident and full of energy.

She was studying journalism but 3 months before graduating she appeared in a drama in college and all of a sudden took a turn and Swiched to acting. She is a recent graduate of the FMA Acting program at American Conservatory Theatre. She has been actively participating in plays, dancing and many other activities during her school and college times.

She is multitalented as follows:- African dance, biking, Bollywood dance, fluent in Spanish, hip hop dance, human tricks, Indian Classical dance, jazz dance, proficient in Hindi, rollerblading, yoga, Aerobics, Badminton, Cheerleading, Cycling, Jump Rope, Mountain Biking, Ping Pong, Pogo Stick, Roller Skating, Rollerblading, Running - General, Running - Sprint, Soccer, Softball, Stage Combat, Swimming - ability - general, Swimming - backstroke, Swimming - breast stroke, Swimming - butterfly, Swimming - freestyle, Tennis, Trampoline, Volleyball, Yoga, Dance Ballet, Dance Ballroom, Dance Belly, Dance Hip Hop, Dance Jazz, Dance Swing, Dancer, Host, Improvisation, Modeling, Piano, Singer, Teleprompter, Vocal Range: Alto, Vocal Range: Mezzo Soprano, Vocal Style: Belt, Vocal Style: Legit, Voiceover, British - BBC English Accent, Cockney Accent, East Indian Accent, Italian Accent, Mid-East Accent, Midwest Accent, New York Accent, Puerto Rican Accent, Southern Accent, Spanish Accent, Fluent Hindi, Fluent Spanish.

She is an achiever and look what she has earned in the acting world.
-----------

Not One, Not Two, but Three CBS Shows
for Actress Puja Mohindra

Indian-American Actress Appearing in “Ghost Whisperer,” “CSI: Miami,”
and new Bruckheimer pilot “Miami Trauma”

Los Angeles (April 20, 2009)
Tammy Lynn

Actress Puja Mohindra hasn’t stopped working since arriving in Hollywood, the latest being appearances on CBS drama’s “Ghost Whisperer” and “CSI: Miami” in May and a role in the new Jerry Bruckheimer pilot “Miami Trauma.”

Mohindra literally serves up a dose of friendly-but-flustered service to series regulars Jennifer Love Hewitt and David Conrad in the upcoming “Ghost Whisperer” episode titled “Cursed,” airing on Friday, May 1st. Jim (Conrad) is forced to admit to Melinda (Hewitt) he is actually the spirit of her long lost love, when their confused waitress (Mohindra) notices the strange signature on their check.

Then on Monday, May 4th, Mohindra jumps on the scene as a savvy EMT worker in the “CSI:Miami” episode titled “Collateral Damage.” When an explosion occurs at an upscale Miami restaurant that kills a family, Mohindra lends a hand to the wounded as the CSI's figure out who wanted a family enjoying their dinner dead.

Next, Mohindra stays in Miami for the new CBS drama pilot “Miami Trauma,” from Bruckheimer TV and Warner Bros Television, which centers on a team of trauma surgeons saving critically injured patients. The surgeons may not understand the Indian language Hindi, but they completely comprehend the emotional moment when Mohindra is forced to say goodbye to her dying fiancée.

Mohindra explains, “In the scene, I sing the famous Bollywood song, Jaanu meri jaan, as a sort of ‘goodbye’ lullaby. The entire scene is in Hindi, but anyone watching can understand and relate to the love and loss that makes the scene so emotional and moving.”

For this Chicago native, Indian culture was a huge part of Mohindra’s upbringing. From the food, to the language, to Bollywood movies, to the study of the theatrical Indian classical dance, Bharata Natyam, her heritage helped shape her values and her identity. Growing up, Mohindra performed as a company dancer with Natya Dance Theater in Chicago, touring across the U.S. & India.

She did theater in high school and college, winning awards for her spot-on comedic instincts. But, it never occurred to her to make a career out of it. In fact, she had planned on being a journalist. Three months before graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she was cast as the lead in a college production of Tom Robbins "Jiterrbug Perfume," completely changing the course of her career. After graduating, Mohindra moved to New York where she studied acting, taught Indian classical dance, and performed with the South Asian theater company, SALAAM Theater, and the Asian American Sketch Comedy group, Peeling.

Following in the footsteps of actors such as Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, & Elizabeth Banks, she moved to San Francisco where she studied and earned an MFA from the renowned American Conservatory Theater (ACT), before moving to Los Angeles to pursue TV & film opportunities.

Mohindra’s leap into acting was not one she or her parents anticipated. Mohindra adds, “Initially, my parents saw acting as an unexpected, alternative career choice because when I was growing up you didn’t see people like Naveen Andrews (Lost), Mindy Kaling (The Office), and Parminder Nagra (ER) on hit primetime television shows. It’s so empowering to see the growth in diversity on television today."

 

 

 

  • Appearances on CBS drama’s “Ghost Whisperer” and “CSI: Miami” in May and a role in the new Jerry Bruckheimer pilot “Miami Trauma.”
  • “Ghost Whisperer” is scheduled to air on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 8:00pm on CBS
    “CSI: Miami” is scheduled to air on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 10:00pm on CBS