Manrina Rekhi
- Actress
Manrina Rekhi is no stranger to success. Having forged ahead in the
career stakes, she has managed to carve herself a niche in her chosen
profession of cosmetic dentistry, and is today recognized as one of the
UK's leading cosmetic dentists. However, her true passion and ambition
to become an actress was put on the back burner until one day a chance
meeting reignited her lifelong desire to perform on the stage and
silver screen. On a trip to Mumbai, in 2012, a casual conversation led
to her taking steps towards her life calling - namely acting. The
people she met were actually film producers, and Manrina fit the
profile of a character they were looking to cast. Having impressed them
without auditioning, they offered her the role there and then. Being
scouted out of the blue was a positive sign to pursue her ambition, and
Manrina dived in with energy and determination at the first opportunity
and has spent the past six months living her lifelong dreams. Manrina
completed filming her scenes for her debut film in Punjabi called 'Love
you Soniye' in February 2013 and the film released in cinemas worldwide
on the 6th December 2013. Despite the film being in her second
language, Manrina relished the experience and became even more
determined to pursue a career in acting and so she set about making
connections and preparing the groundwork for more challenging roles.
Her second role was offered to her after the producer spotted her in
'Love You Soniye'. Manrina's role in 'Born To Be King' sees Manrina
playing the female lead's best friend. This was filmed around West
London this March and is due to release later this year. Manrina's next
role is in a new film that has been billed as the 'next Bend it Like
Beckham'. In March of this year she arranged a 'chance encounter' with
the director of the film 'Amar, Akbar & Tony'. She was delighted to be
called for the audition and successfully land a role in the film, which
is due for release in early 2014. The character of Nita is a role that
Manrina saw as a challenge. Changing from glamour girl to fiercely
protected daughter, Manrina's character is full of tongue in cheek
humour, and portraying her on- screen required Manrina to draw on a
range of emotions and personalities to bring the character to life. And
she did this with great success as will be seen on screen. Never one to
rest on her laurels, Manrina's ambition is to learn from her peers and
having experienced the way other actors work on set, Manrina is
embarking on her ambition to become recognized as a competent and
versatile actress. Despite her hectic schedule, Manrina always find
time to devote to charitable causes. In the spring of 2010, she went on
a self-funded mission to Cambodia, spending three weeks in a clinic
without specialist dental tools and treating 50 patients a day!
Overcoming extreme challenges Manrina used her expertise and skills to
help make a difference to under privileged children, spending her time
treating and advising disadvantaged youngsters with severe dental
problems. In recognition of her charitable work she was named 'Marie
Claire's 21st Century Woman' in 2010. Since 2011, she has held an
unpaid position as Chair of Charity for the British Academy of Cosmetic
Dentistry. She uses her free time to organize fund raisers for their
chosen charity Bridge2Aid. Between her profession and her charity
commitments Manrina enjoys extreme sport and fitness, squeezing in
sessions for boxing, Pilates and weight training which keep her in top
shape and physically challenged to cope with the demands of her new and
exciting career.