sonnychatrath

In a career spanning 30 years, and 6 jobs, acting as the last thing Sonny ever imagined getting into. Born to an Air force officer and a hotel executive in his native India, Sonny came to this country to pursue a college degree but ended up working in the travel industry instead. It was not until 2007 that he discovered that he could face the camera while working in a TV commercial for his own company, when one of the actors no-showed, forcing Sonny to take his place, and the rest is history.

ΓÇ£I take on things that scare me head-on because I donΓÇÖt want to live a life of regret knowing that I did not give it my best shot.ΓÇ¥

SonnyΓÇÖs acting career took off on a positive note, he got cast in the lead role in the first feature film he auditioned for in Maryland in 2010, followed by a supporting role in another feature film. Sonny was a part of the Bollywood Film ΓÇ£Welcome to New YorkΓÇ¥ in 2018, as well as the Hindi feature film ΓÇ£Mirror GameΓÇ¥ which is available on Netflix.

Sonny can also be seen in the Netflix Series ΓÇ£Brown NationΓÇ¥, as well as an episode of ΓÇ£UnraveledΓÇ¥ on NBC called ΓÇ£Dead DrunkΓÇ¥ where he played the lead role of Dr. Chevru, the Indian doctor who was murdered in Upstate New York. HeΓÇÖs been nominated twice for best actor. He also got a few very lucrative TV commercials, namely, Zee TV, Tea India, Oxford Healthcare, Novo Nordisk, and Desi Dahi, just to name a few. Sonny has also produced a few short films, and a web series under the ΓÇ£Rhea FilmsΓÇ¥ banner.

The only thing that used to bother Sonny was the absence of any South Asian actors in a lead role in mainstream films, the numbers were even lower among people who came to this country at an older age and had stable jobs which kept them from pursuing their dreams. ThatΓÇÖs when Sonny founded a Facebook group called ΓÇ£South Asian Actors in the US and CanadaΓÇ¥ in 2013 with 20 of his closest friends from the industry. Over the years the group has grown to 2200 members. The group has been covered by the media frequently, and many casting directors seek South Asian Actors from within this group. Sonny regularly invites prominent filmmakers and actors from India as well as the US as guests for their virtual meets, in fact they recently had Suniel Shetty as a guest on their zoom call. In addition to the group, Sonny also created other social media profiles for the group, where he regularly features group members. What started as a simple group is now turning into an institution. Sonny has big dreams for the group, and ΓÇ£South Asian ArtistsΓÇ¥ in general, but there are roadblocks at every step. The group is funded by Sonny, and he hopes to keep it that way for as long as he possibly can.

Sonny hopes that his initiative can provide a voice for all Artists of South Asian origin in North America, as well as the whole world.