Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and Func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, The Stage. She hosted four seasons of the music-Docu series The Dewarists that was nominated for a Cannes Lion. She also worked on the Viceland Emmy nominated series Woman produced by Gloria Steinem.
Early life Monica Dogra is the daughter of Dogra Hindu immigrants from Jammu. Her maternal uncle is Dogri folk music singer Prakash Sharma. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Oakleigh Elementary School, Montessori and Dulaney High School. She attended New York University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in musical theatre.
Career
In 2005, she formed the electronic rock group "Shaa'ir+Func", along with guitarist Randolph Correia. In 2007, they released their first album New Day: The Love Album, followed by Light Tribe in 2008 and Mantis in 2010. She also sang a song "Dooriyan Bhi Hai Zaroori" with Vishal Dadlani in the film Break Ke Baad and the theme song in English (with Shahid Mallya) for the film Inkaar.
She made her acting debut with a guest appearance in Rock On!!. In 2008, she was approached by Kiran Rao for the lead role in Rao's directorial debut film Dhobi Ghat - a role Dogra initially turned down, but eventually accepted. In December 2011, she served as a judge for Rolling Stone'''s Never Hide Sounds musical talent contest. She is the host of The Dewarists, a musical collaborative show on STAR World India. In 2013, she performed with award-winning violinist Scott Tixier, for a series of shows sponsored by Dos Equis around the US.
In March 2014, she was featured on the cover page of FHM Magazine. In March 2013 and May 2015, she was featured on the cover and had a pictorial in Maxim India Magazine.
In 2020 she was one of the judges for the show The Stage alongside Vishal Dadlani.
Monica Dogra acted in the web series The Married Woman'', directed by Sahir Raza. The cast also includes Ridhi Dogra in lead role and Nadira Babbar.
Filmography Year Title RoleNotes 2008 Rock On!! Shaair Singer 2011 Dhobi Ghat Shai 2013 David Noor 2014 Fireflies Michelle 2015 The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim Sabrina Jiwan 2016 Teraa Surroor Elle Jordan, Tara Wadia's lawyer Relapse Herself Short film2020What Are the OddsHerselfNetflix
Television series
+YearTitleRoleOther notes2021The Married WomanPeeplika KhanALTBalajiCartelMayaALTBalaji and MX Player2023Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo DJ NainaDisney+ Hotstar
Music video appearances Year Title ArtistRef. 2016 "Lay You Down" DJ Nanok
Discography Year Title Band/Solo 2006 New Day: The Love AlbumShaair and Func 2008 Light Tribe2010 Mantis "Dooriyan" For Bollywood movie Break Ke Baad composed by Vishal–Shekhar2011"Lover"Bandish Projekt2012Changing WorldRajasthan Roots and Shri2013"Inkaar Theme (English Version)"Inkaar by Shamir Tandon2014 Re:cover Shaair and Func Alignhttps://soundcloud.com/shaairandfunc/sets/align-12016Spithttps://web.archive.org/web/20160403183449/https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/spit/id1076299900?app=music&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Television Year Show Role Result2015The StageJudge 2017 Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 Contestant Finalist (4th Place)
References
External links
Monica Dogra on Instagram Monica Dogra on Twitter Monica Dogra on Facebook Monica Dogra on YouTube Shaa'ir and Func on Soundcloud