Anisha Nagarajan

Anisha Nagarajan (born May 21, 1983) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the Andrew Lloyd Webber theater musical, Bombay Dreams,[2][3] and as Madhuri on the 2010 NBC television series, Outsourced.[4]

Anisha Nagarajan
Born
Anisha Nagarajan

(1983-05-21) May 21, 1983
Evanston, Illinois, US[1]
OccupationActress
Known forBombay Dreams, Outsourced
SpouseAalok Mehta (m. 2005)

Early life

Nagarajan's parents are emigrants from India.[4] Her mother, Geetha Nagarajan, is a former developmental specialist at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic.[4] Her father, Nandu Nagarajan, is a professor at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.[4]

Anisha was born in Evanston, Illinois, and was raised in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before moving with her family to the suburb of Fox Chapel.[4] Anisha grew up performing piano under the tutelage of Natasha Snitkovsky. She performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of ten. She also studied Carnatic Classical music. When she was fifteen years old, Nagarajan spent a year at a boarding school in India, where she choreographed their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.[5]

She was also a member of the Fox Chapel Area High School choir.[6] In 2001, Nagarajan was one of ten Pennsylvania students chosen to audition for the Multicultural National Honor Choir in San Antonio, Texas. She was a high school senior at the time.[7]

She graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School in 2002, where she starred in musical productions alongside famous playwright and composer, Michael Mitnick.[4] She studied acting at New York University (NYU) after high school at the Tisch School of Arts Drama department. She was cast as the female lead in the Broadway musical Bombay Dreams as Priya during her second year at NYU. She married actor Aalok Mehta, who co-starred in the musical.[4]

Career

Nagarajan appeared in a number of regional theater productions following Bombay Dreams, including the Hangar Theater production of Rent in Ithaca, New York and The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California.[4] In 2006, she performed in A.R. Rahman's "Bollywood Night" at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.[8]

She returned to NYU and finished her bachelor's degree at New York University.[4]

Nagarajan was cast as Madhuri, a shy, soft-spoken call center employee in the NBC series, Outsourced.[4] She has also Guest starred on Grey's Anatomy, Code Black, Scandal and Ugly Betty.[4] She created the role of Alice in Mira Nair's Musical adaptation of Monsoon Wedding premiering at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Nagarajan is currently performing in Stephen Sondheim's Company on Broadway[9] in the ensemble and understudying for the characters of Joanne and Susan.[10]

Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
2004 Bombay Dreams
2006 Hope and a Little Sugar
2007 The Trident Arjun's wife Short
2009 Ugly Betty
2010 Outsourced Madhuri
2012 Squad 85
2013 Rita NoraN
2014 Grey's Anatomy Rita Chaudhury
2015 Jane Wants a Boyfriend Cynthia
2016 Code Black Serana
2019 Gen:Lock Dr. Fatima Jha

References
  1. "Ben Rappaport and Anisha Nagarajan Talk 'Outsourced'". September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  2. Rawson, Christopher: "A 'dream' duo: Two Pittsburgh actors star in musical about Bombay films" and "'Bombay' Dreams' bubbles with energy." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 4, 2004, p.B1 (subscription required).
  3. Cox. Gordon. "A Bollywood of Bubblegum." New York, New York: Newsday, April 30, 2004, p. B6 (subscription required).
  4. Owen, Rob (September 22, 2010). "Anisha Nagarajan, gets 'Outsourced'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  5. Randall, Reese (March 8, 2011). "Anisha Nagarajan". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. Ganster, Kathleen. "Retiring choral director gets his own musical send-off." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 27, 2013, p. N-2 (subscription required).
  7. "Student News." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2001, p. 80 (subscription required).
  8. Heckman, Don. "It's Bollywood, no doubt about it." Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2006, p. E2 (subscription required).
  9. Gordon, David (February 28, 2020). "Full Cast Announced for Broadway's Company, Starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone". TheaterMania. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  10. "Anisha Nagarajan". Playbill. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
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