Issue 67 / From Nickelodeon To Bollywood - Shruthi Mathur's Living Her Acting Dream!

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

From Nickelodeon To Bollywood – Shruthi Mathur’s Living Her Acting Dream!

Dec 12, 2016

The bright and multi-talented South Asian beauty, Shruthi Mathur, has made a profound impact in every field that she has set her sights on. Her success should come as no surprise as the Virginia native, who comes from a family of talented writers, musicians, dreamers and doers, was voted “Most Likely To Succeed” during her high school days.

But, who is Shruthi Mathur?

That’s easy: Mathur blossomed from a humble beginning. She is the product of the proverbial tale of two immigrants that came to America to provide a better future for their children. She describes her parents as tireless, “never-off-the-clock, American entrepreneurs,” who worked almost seven days a week. With role models like that, it is not hard to pinpoint where Mathur found her “fearless” and steadfast work ethic. Her parents also ignited her passion for culture and arts as they shared an interest in music and film with a young Mathur who went on to host her own TV show, Darshan, at the ripe age of 15.

In retrospect, this was just the beginning for the burgeoning star.

The next chapter of her adventure was her enrollment at John Hopkins University, where she “stud[ied] acting under the legendary John Astin,” while she wasn’t spending her time “work[ing] at the National Geographic Traveler, and co-found[ing] a charity [on] campus, Vision Xchange.”

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Shruthi reports live during her time as a TV reporter. Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

Following her studious time at John Hopkins, her diligent efforts paid off and she seized the fortunate chance that she was given to be a “bonafide on-air international news correspondent for TV channels based out of the Middle East, Asia and Africa.” After that, doors seemed to be opening up for the fearless journalist and she has since worked at many different outlets such as ABC News, the Voice of America, Saudi TV and Sahara One. During her time as a well-respected journalist, she has reported from the UN, the White House, the top of the Empire State Building and the World Cup where she interviewed politicians, academics, news makers, and the biggest stars in Hollywood and Bollywood.

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Mathur makes being so talented look easy as she indulges in one of her many pastimes.

Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

In her spare time, Mathur has also written for The Baltimore Sun. She performed shows at the Smithsonian Museum, and she has served as a regional ambassador for the National Youth Council for the American Red Cross, which allowed her to travel the country in order to raise awareness for international causes like the Measles Initiative.

Yet, this impressive resume was not enough for Mathur!

The latest episode of her life features her crossover into Bollywood and Hollywood as an actress and a writer, respectively.

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Nargis Fakhri and Shruthi Mathur on the set of Banjo. Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

The journalist-turned-actress has most recently been featured in the Bollywood flick Banjo, in which she stars as a “hip New York music student Mira, who’s the bubbly best friend to Nargis Fakhri’s lead character, Chris.” She describes the movie as being “a heartwarming and hilarious story about street musicians trying to go global.”

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On the set of her Bollywood film, Banjo. Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

This could not have been a more fitting step for the South Asian entrepreneur. Starring in a Bollywood movie allowed her to reminisce and appreciate the good old days when she cuddled up with her grandparents “in their bed on lazy summer nights watching Bollywood films.” It was a very special experience for her to actually participate in the type of film that allowed her to form bonds with her family. As well, this movie embodied another deep connection that made it easy for Mathur to relate to, as in the film, her character, Mira, is “the catalyst for motivating Chris to chase her musical dreams from Manhattan to Mumbai.” For Mathur, in her own life, she maintains she is a personal cheerleader for her “little brother Shomin, [who] is an actual NY music student at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch,” which was as a result of her “encouraging him to pursue singing, songwriting and producing beats professionally.”

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Mathur poses at Nickelodeon, reinforcing their exciting and new relationship! Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

She is just as swiftly making her mark on the world of Hollywood. Most recently, the innovative writer has written and sold an original screenplay to Nickelodeon. And so, it is natural that she has been selected for the 2016 NBCU Talent Lab at 30 Rock.

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Mathur gets her photo-op! Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

She is a phenomenal and multi-talented entrepreneur who seems to eat challenges and boundaries for breakfast! She says she is “excited to be part of a new generation of creative [and] diverse artists that are spearheading this change, both on screen and behind the scenes in the heart of Hollywood.” Mathur understands that being able to dabble in Hollywood and Bollywood puts her in a rare position. In particular, she is aware of the diversity she brings to the world of film, in multiple forms, which “is a personal subject rooted in pain that literally touches everyone around the globe, because the truth is, what we see on screen shapes how we view the world around us.”

One thing is for certain: Shruthi Mathur is a force to be reckoned with, and she is just getting started!

Main Image Photo Credit: www.meraticket.com

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Author

Devika (@goberdhan.devika) is an MA graduate who specialized in Political Science at York University. Her passion and research throughout her graduate studies pushed her to learn about and unpack hot button issues. Thus, since starting at ANOKHI in 2016, she has written extensively about many challe...