Pooja Shah
Encyclopedia
Pooja Shah is a British Asian
actress and model
Pooja Shah Modelling of Kenyan-Asian descent. Her grandparents migrated to Kenya
from Gujarat in Western India and so her ancestral roots are there.
Shah has trained as an Indian classical dancer. She attended the University of Brighton
, graduating in 2001 with a BA
Hons Degree
in Theatre with Visual Practice.
She began her acting career in the theatre and went on to play the lead role of Mary Magdalene
in a small budget film named Jesus The Curry King. The film was produced by the Aylesbury Film Company and was one of the first digital films to be shown in cinemas in the UK.
In 2002 Shah played Meena in the film Bend It Like Beckham
and later that year she played one of the lead roles, Sinjata, in the Sky One
series Is Harry On The Boat?
based on the best selling book and film. The story is about holiday reps in Ibiza
and was filmed in Almunecar
in Southern Spain.
Other credits include roles in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
(2002), and the American series Adventure Inc.
(2003).
In 2003 Shah was cast in her most notable role to date. She played Kareena Ferreira in the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
. The Ferreira family were not well received by critics or viewers and were dismissed as unrealistic by the Asian community in the UK. In 2004 the new executive producer, Kathleen Hutchison
, made the decision to axe the entire family in a bid to improve the show, which had suffered from a vast ratings decline. Shah subsequently left the show in 2005.
After leaving EastEnders Shah has appeared in a short film entitled CryBaby, was a celebrity sponsor on the show Strictly Dance Fever
and in September 2005 she acted in a feature film called Weekend Lovers.
In 2005 she played the lead role, Sona Virdi, in the play Deranged Marriage, which toured the UK.
In 2006, she took on a lead role in the Britflick Cash and Curry
.
In 2007 she played the role of Reshna Dewan in the ITV
police drama The Bill
. She appeared in the film Cash and Curry, which was released in 2008. The film also stars Ameet Chana
, the actor who played her on-screen brother Adi Ferreira in EastEnders.
Shah was a supporting actress in the 2009 and 2010 BBC drama Missing
with lead, Pauline Quirke
.
Shah starred alongside Brendan Carr
in the Modern Life?
feature film Ten Dead Men
produced by Phil Hobden
and directed by Ross Boyask.
In 2010, Shah filmed eight episodes of Coronation Street
, playing DC Moore, a police officer investigating an attack on Tracy Barlow
. The first episode will air on 3 January 2011. Shah won an award for best actress at The Rob Knox Film Festival for the lead part in the short film No Honour No Choice.
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
actress and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
Pooja Shah Modelling of Kenyan-Asian descent. Her grandparents migrated to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
from Gujarat in Western India and so her ancestral roots are there.
Shah has trained as an Indian classical dancer. She attended the University of Brighton
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is an English university of the United Kingdom, with a community of over 23,000 students and 2,600 staff based on campuses in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. It has one of the best teaching quality ratings in the UK and a strong research record, factors which...
, graduating in 2001 with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Hons Degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in Theatre with Visual Practice.
She began her acting career in the theatre and went on to play the lead role of Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
in a small budget film named Jesus The Curry King. The film was produced by the Aylesbury Film Company and was one of the first digital films to be shown in cinemas in the UK.
In 2002 Shah played Meena in the film Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha...
and later that year she played one of the lead roles, Sinjata, in the Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
series Is Harry On The Boat?
Is Harry on the Boat?
Is Harry on the Boat? was a 2001 British made for TV film, based on the lives of holiday reps in Ibiza. A television drama series then followed, airing on Sky One from 2002 to 2003.-Background:It's based on the book of the same name by Colin Butts...
based on the best selling book and film. The story is about holiday reps in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
and was filmed in Almunecar
Almuñécar
Almuñécar is a municipality in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Andalusia on the Costa Tropical between Nerja and Motril . It has a subtropical climate...
in Southern Spain.
Other credits include roles in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
(2002), and the American series Adventure Inc.
Adventure Inc.
Adventure Inc. is a dramatised adventure television series produced primarily in Canada which aired from September 30, 2002 to May 12, 2003. It was a co-production of Fireworks Entertainment , Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment , M6 , Amy International , and Tele München...
(2003).
In 2003 Shah was cast in her most notable role to date. She played Kareena Ferreira in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. The Ferreira family were not well received by critics or viewers and were dismissed as unrealistic by the Asian community in the UK. In 2004 the new executive producer, Kathleen Hutchison
Kathleen Hutchison
Kathleen Hutchison is a British television producer, whose credits include Playing the Field, Holby City and Casualty @ Holby City.-EastEnders:...
, made the decision to axe the entire family in a bid to improve the show, which had suffered from a vast ratings decline. Shah subsequently left the show in 2005.
After leaving EastEnders Shah has appeared in a short film entitled CryBaby, was a celebrity sponsor on the show Strictly Dance Fever
Strictly Dance Fever
Strictly Dance Fever is a British television programme, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday evenings. It was an amateur dance talent competition, hosted by Graham Norton, which ran during Spring 2005 and Spring 2006. It was, in many ways, similar to the BBC's popular Strictly Come Dancing, a celebrity...
and in September 2005 she acted in a feature film called Weekend Lovers.
In 2005 she played the lead role, Sona Virdi, in the play Deranged Marriage, which toured the UK.
In 2006, she took on a lead role in the Britflick Cash and Curry
Cash and Curry (film)
Cash and Curry is an independent British movie directed by Sarjit Bains and written by Christine Edwards and Manish Patel. It was filmed in 2008 on location in Harrow, Barnet and Wembley. The film has been premiered at the Portobello Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and the Tongues on Fire Film...
.
In 2007 she played the role of Reshna Dewan in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
police drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. She appeared in the film Cash and Curry, which was released in 2008. The film also stars Ameet Chana
Ameet Chana
Ameet Chana is a British Indian actor. His most notable role is Adi Ferreira in EastEnders....
, the actor who played her on-screen brother Adi Ferreira in EastEnders.
Shah was a supporting actress in the 2009 and 2010 BBC drama Missing
Missing (2009 TV series)
Missing is a British daytime television drama series starring Pauline Quirke and Mark Wingett. The series is set in a busy, under-resourced missing persons unit, and follows the team led by DS Mary Jane "MJ" Croft . The first series of five episodes aired on BBC One in 2009, with a second series of...
with lead, Pauline Quirke
Pauline Quirke
Pauline Perpetua Quirke is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Sharon in the comedy series Birds of a Feather, alongside her lifelong friend and frequent acting partner Linda Robson...
.
Shah starred alongside Brendan Carr
Brendan Carr (actor)
Brendan Carr in is a British actor and film producer.-Life:Born in Great Yarmouth, England, Carr trained at Stagecoach School of Performing Arts while attending regular school at The Grange in his home town of Aylesbury....
in the Modern Life?
Modern life?
Modern Life? is a British film production company. Founded by Phil Hobden and Ross Boyask, Modern Life? has produced such films as Left for Dead and Ten Dead Men.-Background:...
feature film Ten Dead Men
Ten dead men
Ten Dead Men is the follow-up to the cult independent action film Left for Dead. Produced by the same company, Ten Dead Men features many of the same actors as its predecessor. Ten Dead Men was directed by Ross Boyask and produced by Phil Hobden...
produced by Phil Hobden
Phil Hobden
Phil Hobden is a filmmaker based in the South of England. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer, journalist and media campaigner...
and directed by Ross Boyask.
In 2010, Shah filmed eight episodes of Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, playing DC Moore, a police officer investigating an attack on Tracy Barlow
Tracy Barlow
Tracy Lynette Barlow is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street. She is currently portrayed, since 2002, by Kate Ford, the latest in a series of actresses who have played Tracy at various ages...
. The first episode will air on 3 January 2011. Shah won an award for best actress at The Rob Knox Film Festival for the lead part in the short film No Honour No Choice.