Indian American actress Emily Shah continues making a name for herself!

BritFlix Buzz, Film, Interviews, TV

Emily Shah, a 24-year-old Indian American actress and daughter of famed Bollywood producer Prashant Shah is making a name for herself as an actress and dancer internationally. Next up, Emily is set to star in and executive produce the Indian film “Jungle Cry” which has a theatrical release internationally to the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa in April, with a wide-release in India as well. Based on a true story, the film follows a young team of rugby players who grow up in the slums of India and made worldwide history after winning the 2007 Rugby Nations Cup in England. Emily plays the team’s physiotherapist and is also an Executive Producer on the film. The world premiere of “Jungle Cry” will be on March 10 at the Ffwrnes Theatre Llanelli in WALES and is hosted by the government of Wales.

“Jungle Cry” follows the journey of 12 underprivileged children, playing sports bare foot, who went on to win the prestigious U14 Rugby World Cup in England. The team came from the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Orissa, India, which has more than 30,000 children from tribal, underprivileged and orphaned backgrounds, and strives to eradicate poverty through education and sports. During the pre-production of “Jungle Cry,” which is produced Bollywood Hollywood Productions, Emily read through the script and noticed a lack of female roles, so had the role of ‘Roshni Thakkar’ written in, ultimately deciding to take on the part herself.

In preparation, Emily extensively researched rugby and shadowed a rugby physiotherapist for nearly three months in order to have a full understanding of the of what her character’s job and significance to a rugby team entailed. Emily and the production team also went to the original Orissa school to select boys for the film who play rugby already. On top of the highly anticipated film premiere, she plans to create a global catalogue with diverse stories once she takes over her father’s company. The film is directed by Sagar Ballary (Bheja Fry”), and also features Abhay Deol (“Hero,” “Line of Decent”), and Atul Kumar (“Manto”), Stewart Wright (“Doc Martin, “Doctor Who”) and Julian Lewis Jones (“Invictus,” “Justice League”).

As a teenager, Emily started working in local pageants, commercials, and print work for Indian American brands until she got a job on the set of “Jersey Boys” as an assistant to Clint Eastwood and later assisted in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Monster Trucks,” and “Fast & Furious 7.” Emily graduated with a degree in Entertainment Media Management from California State University and went on to grow her career in acting by working on national campaigns for Proactive, Sephora, Motorola, and T3.

Next up for the multi-faceted actress is a starring role in an upcoming feature film with Andy Armstrong (“Thor,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”) attached to direct. Details about the film are still being kept under wraps, and the film is scheduled to begin production in 2020.  Her first film, “Fortune Defies Death” premiered in 2018 in which she played one of the lead roles, ‘Mona’. Emily is also recognized for her role in Mickey Singh’s music video for his hit song “Phone” which has nearly 30 MILLION views.
As an actress fluent in Gujarati, English, and Hindi, Emily is building her career in both Bollywood and Hollywood alike. When she is not on-set, you can find her watching her favorite sports teams: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bulls. Emily grew up playing soccer every day, so her passion for sports has only grown. She now exercises five to six days a week doing Pilates, kickboxing, and cycling to name a few.