Pooja Batra Shah (born 27 October 1975) is an Indian-American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She primarily works in
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
Batra was born on 27 October 1975 to Ravi Batra, a
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
, and Neelam Batra, a Miss India (1971) participant. She has two brothers. She is related to Second Lieutenant
Arun Khetarpal
Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal Param Vir Chakra, PVC (14 October 1950 – 16 December 1971) was an Indian army officer and a Tank commander, who is recognized as the Indian tank List of aces of aces, ace of aces, credited with 10 confirmed ta ...
, a martyr decorated with India's highest military honour, the
Param Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...
.
Batra lived in
Ludhiana
Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224
http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF
Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...
with her extended family while she was young. While in school, she was an athlete and competed in the 200 and 400-meter dash. She graduated in Economics from Fergusson College,
Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
and holds an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
in marketing from
Symbiosis
Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...
, Pune. She participated at the Miss International beauty pageant in 1993.
Career
At a young age, she started modelling as a part-time job. She was best known for her Liril soap commercial. She was the first Indian face to launch and be a spokesperson for
Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders (H&S) is an American brand of anti- dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo produced by parent company Procter & Gamble.
The active anti-fungal ingredient in Head & Shoulders is piroctone olamine or zinc pyrithione, with some "cl ...
in India. She has participated in over 250 modelling events and ad campaigns. She shot to fame when she was crowned Miss India International in 1993. She went on to become one of the top models in India. She walked the ramp for over 250 fashion shows in India and overseas. She is an ambassador for Parag Sarees.
Batra turned down many offers to complete her education before signing a contract with the Virasat Film Studio. The first film she signed was '' Virasat'' in 1997 followed by another film '' Bhai''. She went on to work in over 20 films including '' Haseena Maan Jayegi'', '' Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya'' and '' Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye''. One of her films, '' Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story'', a historical epic, was shown at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
Noida
Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...
.
Batra has also appeared in South Indian films, including three
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
films and two
Tamil film
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...
s, including a cameo in the 1995 film ''
Aasai
''Aasai'' () () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film, written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Suvaluxmi and Prakash Raj, with Rohini, Poornam Viswanathan, Nizhalgal Ravi ...
''.
In 2021, she appeared as Nandini Rajput in ''
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...
''.
Personal life
Batra married orthopaedic surgeon Sonu S. Ahluwalia on 9 February 2003 in
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
and moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In January 2011, she filed for divorce in a US court, citing irreconcilable differences.
Batra revealed her relationship with actor Nawab Shah in June 2019. They got married on 4 July 2019 in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
according to
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...
traditions.
Philanthropy
Batra has volunteered time and money to charitable causes including AIDS (Mukti Foundation), homeless children, the Bombay Police Department and injured soldiers in the
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
war.
She did pro bono work in the film ''My Little Devil'' (''Bas Yari Rakho''), subtitled in Hindi, English, and French, to raise funds for the poor children in India. The film was co-produced by NFDC-La Fete (
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
) and directed by Gopi Desai. It was screened at the 24th Annual
Philadelphia Film Festival
The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area.
Overview
The annual ...
of World Cinema, 2001; and the Indian Films Festival in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...