Balinder Johal is an

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term ''East Indian'' is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a furthe ...

actress."Monster-in-law, India style; Vancouver's Balinder Johal finds a well of astonishing villainy as a controlling matriarch in Deepa Mehta's Heaven on Earth". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', 31 October 2008. She is best known for her roles in the films of

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 15 September 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2 ...

, including '' Heaven on Earth'', for which she was a

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

nominee for Best Supporting Actress in 2009, and ''

Beeba Boys ''Beeba Boys'' is a 2015 Canadian crime thriller film written and directed by Deepa Mehta. It stars Randeep Hooda as Jeet Johar, a loving single father, a dutiful son, a proud, observant Sikh and a ruthless gangster managing a team of stylish, c ...

'', for which she garnered a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the

4th Canadian Screen Awards The 4th Canadian Screen Awards was held on March 13, 2016, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2015. Nominations were announced on January 19, 2016. Throughout the week before the main ceremony, aw ...

in 2016. Originally from

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Johal was educated in India before moving to Canada to pursue a master's degree in education at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. As a stage actress, her most noted performances included ''Here and Now'', a

forum theatre Forum theatre is a type of theatre created by Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal. It is one of the techniques under the umbrella term of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). This relates to the engagement of spectators influencing and engaging wit ...

play about urban gang violence in Vancouver, and

Anosh Irani Anosh Irani (born 1974) is an Indo-Canadian novelist and playwright, born and raised in Mumbai. Education From 1998, Irani attended the University of British Columbia and received his bachelor's degree in creative writing in 2002. He has sin ...

's play ''My Granny the Goldfish''."Gaggle of giggles keeps new comedy afloat". ''

'', 23 April 2010. She has also performed in guest appearances in the television series ''

The Chris Isaak Show ''The Chris Isaak Show'' is an American sitcom that follows a fictionalized version of the life of American rock musician Chris Isaak. The show portrays Isaak and his band members as everyday people with everyday problems. The series was produced ...

'', ''

Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian crime drama television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven se ...

'', '' 49th & Main'', ''

Aliens in America ''Aliens in America'' is an American sitcom created by David Guarascio and Moses Port that aired on The CW for one season from October 1, 2007, to May 18, 2008. Guarascio and Port also served as executive producers of the show alongside Tim Doy ...

'', ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'' and ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

'', and minor roles in the films ''

Freddy Got Fingered ''Freddy Got Fingered'' is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Bickel and Derek Harvie. The film stars Green alongside Rip Torn, Marisa Coughlan, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Julie Ha ...

'', ''

Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) is a fictional girl group rock band created by Dan DeCarlo for Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic boo ...

'', ''

No Men Beyond This Point ''No Men Beyond This Point'' is a 2015 Canadian comedy film directed by Mark Sawers. It was shown in the Vanguard section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and acquired for distribution by Samuel Goldwyn Films (worldwide rights exc ...

'' and ''

Donkeyhead ''Donkeyhead'' is a 2021 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Agam Darshi in her directorial debut. The plot follows Mona Ghuman, a woman tasked with taking care of her father with the help of her three siblings after he is diagno ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian stage actresses Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian stage actresses Indian emigrants to Canada Actresses from Punjab, India Actresses from Vancouver University of British Columbia alumni Living people 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-screen-actor-stub