Natasha Rastogi

Natasha Rastogi (born Natasha Khanna; 14 May 1962) is an Indian actress and director. She started her acting career by debuting in Monsoon Wedding as Sona Verma, directed by Mira Nair, that won the Golden Lion award and received a Golden Globe Award nomination. She has played many roles on screen and on stage. She was awarded the Best Actress Award in Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards 2007 for Nati Binodini, directed by Amal Allana. She appeared in Do Dooni Chaar as Salma in 2010. She has acted in the TV series Gulaal as Panbaa. Early life Natasha was born in a Hindu family to Rachna Khanna and Dr. Triloki Nath Khanna, a Professor of Hindi in Zakir Husain College, Delhi. She skipped the clichéd course in drama/acting and broadened her artistic vision by doing a Bachelor's in Art from the College of Art, Delhi. Career Natasha started her career as a drama teacher in Modern School (New Delhi) in 1992. As a part of her job, she was assigned the responsibility of directing and choreographing plays including the signature event, valedictory function. She choreographed musical ballets involving 280 students for 12 years. Some of these plays were namely Nav Prabhat, Spring –The Reawakening, Swarnim Vriksh, Amrit Manthan, Sunderland Mein Alice, Ek Aur Panchtantra, Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, Sunoh Kahani, Wings of Desire and Dhun ka Jadoogar. Working with everyone involved in the play, from costume designer to script writer, from makeup artist to music director, she honed her skills as an artist.