birth_place birth_date yearsactive birthname article_title name occupation
camden , london , england 08 august 1979 2001 -- present pooja ashwin shah pooja shah
 pooja shah actress
pooja shah

pooja ashwin shah -lrb- born 8 august 1979 in london , england -rrb- is a british asian actress and model of kenyan-asian descent .
her grandparents migrated to kenya from gujarat in western india and so her ancestral roots are there .
shah has trained as an indian classical dancer .
she attended the university of brighton , graduating in 2001 with a ba hons degree in theatre with visual practice .
she began her acting career in the theatre and went on to play the lead role of mary magdalene in a small budget film named `` jesus the curry king '' .
the film was produced by the aylesbury film company and was one of the first digital films to be shown in cinemas in the uk .
in 2002 shah played meena in the film `` bend it like beckham '' and later that year she played one of the lead roles , sinjata , in the sky one series `` is harry on the boat ? ''
based on the best selling book and film .
the story is about holiday reps in ibiza and was filmed in almunecar in andalusia , spain .
other credits include roles in the bbc hospital drama `` holby city '' -lrb- 2002 -rrb- , and the american series `` adventure inc. '' -lrb- 2003 -rrb- .
in 2003 shah was cast in her most notable role to date .
she played kareena ferreira in the bbc soap opera `` eastenders '' .
the ferreira family were not well received by critics or viewers and were dismissed as unrealistic by the asian community in the uk .
in 2004 the new executive producer , kathleen hutchison , made the decision to axe the entire family in a bid to improve the show , which had suffered from a vast ratings decline .
shah subsequently left the show in 2005 .
after leaving `` eastenders '' shah has appeared in a short film entitled `` crybaby '' , was a celebrity sponsor on the show `` strictly dance fever '' and in september 2005 she acted in a feature film called `` weekend lovers '' .
in 2005 she played the lead role , sona virdi , in the play `` deranged marriage '' , which toured the uk .
in 2006 , she took on a lead role in the britflick `` cash and curry '' .
in 2007 she played the role of reshna dewan in the itv police drama `` the bill '' .
she appeared in the film `` cash and curry '' , which was released in 2008 .
the film also stars ameet chana , the actor who played her on-screen brother adi ferreira in `` eastenders '' .
shah was a supporting actress in the 2009 and 2010 bbc drama `` missing '' with lead , pauline quirke .
shah starred alongside brendan carr in the modern life ?
feature film `` ten dead men '' produced by phil hobden and directed by ross boyask .
in 2010 , shah filmed eight episodes of `` coronation street '' , playing dc moore , a police officer investigating an attack on tracy barlow .
the first episode aired on 3 january 2011 .
shah won an award for best actress at the rob knox film festival for the lead part in the short film `` no honour no choice '' .
as of 2015 , shah appears in challenge idents for wink bingo .
