Meghna Kothari

Meghna Kothari is an actress by profession and a dancer by training. She has worked with filmmakers of the caliber of Shyam Benegal, Feroz Khan and Gurinder Chaddha, in roles across genres. In theater, she has worked with the legendary Ebrahim Alkazi. But her core training--and her first love--is dance. She learned Kathak for years under the tutelage of the peerless Pandit Birju Maharaj. The arts are in Meghna's genes. Her father, the late Keshav Kothari, was a percussionist and dancer in his own right, but is better known for his pioneering work as secretary of the Sangeet Natak Academy. Indian culture became one of the nation's best exports under him. Her mother, Padmashree Rita Ganguly, was Begum Akhtar's favorite disciple. She is one of India's finest living exponents of the ghazal, and works tirelessly to keep Begum Akhtar's legacy alive. Before she became a singer, Ritaji was one of India's top classical dancers. Meghna's exposure to the finest in the fields of art and culture led to an enviable range of work. She has played 'Puck' in Shakespeare's A midsummer night's dream; starred opposite Fardeen Khan in Firoz Khan's Prem Aggan; and brought her classical training and instinctive comic timing together to produce a delightful performance in Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice. Meghna was a student of psychology at Delhi's Lady Shriram College. She lives in Kaladham, Greater Noida.