I was Born in Chandigarh and brought up in Kolkata where I began acting in theatre during my time in school. An actress since childhood, I acted professionally in almost 30 theatre plays with eminent directors, including celebrated Indian theatre director, Arvind Gaur. I also did a short acting course at the Anupam Kher Acting School and I have since worked in Hindi, Malyalam, Bengali, and English-language films.

I made my feature film debut in The Train directed by National Award winning director Jayaraj opposite the south superstar Mammootty. Next I shot 2 films with National Film Award Winner Buddhadeb Dasgupta named “Mukti” and “Patralekha” based on Rabindranath Tagore’s Poems. I went on to do interesting roles in independent films such as, Justice, Krishnogohobor and Words . My leading role in the international film - Ant Story, had a world Premiere at the Dubai Film Festival and was selected for the Shanghai Film Festival, where I was nominated as Best Actress, alongside Kiera Knightley and Kate Beckinsale and the film was featured on Netflix till last year.

I spent eight months in Hollywood in the last two and a half years and it's been completely eye-opening. I did intensive acting classes in Hollywood, under some world-renowned coaches, I studied acting at The Acting Center, one of the best acting schools in Los Angeles and it turned my life upside down and inside out - I really learned to get inside the skin of my character - to most importantly understand my motives and purposes and to be absolutely in the moment while performing. It changed my life because my art has become so much richer and more fulfilling since these classes, and the reactions I've received about my performances indicate it's working for the audience too. The film I shot there for Taron Lexton, a science fiction love story, was filmed across 7 continents and 25 countries. It was a pleasure to be part of because of the professionalism, the care for the artists and this particular team's sense of adventure. I don't too much want to compare Hollywood to Bollywood, because wherever you are in the world making films, you are with artists, who are the people I admire most and in both places it is just a pleasure to work with truly creative people. I can say that while there may be more money and rules in LA, they don't have as much spice as we do!

My responsibilities are led by our goal - a world where human rights are a reality, not an idealistic dream. One of the senior targets we have is for human rights education to be mandatory in all schools, and that's a project I concentrate on a lot - I go to schools and universities and speak on human rights and I have an international team who offer free human rights education curriculum to schools and universities. I take it pretty seriously actually! Last month I communicated the message of human rights education to around 50 million people and a few months ago I was given the Human Rights Hero Award at the United Nations in New York because of my previous work that resulted in over 20 universities implementing human rights curriculums. I urge people to visit humanrights.com, learn their rights and spread the word - if you know your rights, it's harder for them to be violated.

I play a Working girl Puja, a woman who is told to be beware of the Uber driver who regularly collects her from her office and she is told he’s dangerous, but comes to discover he knows a secret about her boyfriend which might change her life if she has the courage to hear it. The film was shot in London. I’m very excited to be at Film Bazaar this November and for the film to be showcased there.

It's exciting times because the stories now being told are rich and deep and have an actual meaning to our society - I love it! I love the fact that cinema is taking on important subjects which concern so many of us - that's the whole point of art - the whole Bollywood system has turned on its head and I couldn't be happier for it. The last film I did, called Justice, was a role that really personally touched me - something I had to pull from deep with me - that's the kind of role I live for and want to do more of - that's why I sometimes still do theatre, to stir within me and communicate to the audience the kind of real issues, emotions and conflicts that are the reason to be an actor at all. It's definitely not easy for a newcomer to make his mark, in fact it's harder doing so than becoming a brain surgeon! But the rewards are greater too - so it's worth the effort and persistence.

I think parts that challenge me. Our women are changing the game. Films and shows are now being made around women. I would love the opportunity to play such strong character where 'she' is the main lead and hero of the story. There is a long way to go. We need more stories about women for women and from women.

She was definitely layered, conflicted and was in a huge moral conundrum - my director, Mustafa Sarwar Farooki, led me across every emotion and mental state. I really agree that cinema is a director's medium, so I am very happy to let myself be molded into the vision of the person who is crafting the whole story, improvising at the same time and this story led me to places within myself I didn't know existed!

Ever since I started working with United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights, education for me is a really big deal especially for girl child and girl rights in India, so I took that on about nine years ago, and in the last couple of years, I strongly believe education of rights is key - you have the right to no discrimination, no slavery, no torture and to education. You are innocent until proven guilty and have freedom of thought and expression. We need to teach this to girls and boys from a young age and have them brought up not only knowing these rights but being expected to live them. Human rights are a kind of moral code and one that, if accepted and followed, naturally bring about female empowerment. Only once people are educated on their rights do we have any hope that they will start respecting them.

For women all over the world, especially South Asian women here – it’s very important for us to find our voice and make sure that we execute it. Demand what you want. Don’t just expect someone to give it to you. Find your power, your inner confidence, your inner ‘Shakti’. And go out there and get and achieve your dreams. Sometimes you won’t achieve a dream. Find another dream. But having a purpose and ambition is extremely important for women. And we are always told ambition is a bad thing. But it’s not. Purpose is what drives you; purpose is what gives you a reason to live. I feel like every woman out there needs to find that.