Sandia Furtado

Sandia Furtado is a very exceptional celebrity since her fame and popularity rose only because of the part that she played in a single film. The film was ‘Chak de India!’ the legendary film that spoke of the struggles that hockey, as a sport, faces in the field of international sport. She attributes her success entirely to luck since she had no knack for acting and she had not even dreamt that she would ever get the chance to feature in a movie. Sandia was a Nationals player in hockey at the time when Shimit Amin, the director of ‘Chak de India!’ was in search of female hockey players to cast in the film.

Her Nationals coach suggested her for the role and after an audition session in which her attractive appearance gave her an edge over many other shortlisted competitors, she was selected for the role. In that movie, she played the role of Nethra Reddy, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh. After the release of the movie, she gained immediate recognition from the audience for a single dialogue that said how people from Andhra or any other south Indian state were not different from other Indians. This dialogue came at a time when most South Indians faced discrimination from people belonging to the northern states of India.

She recollects her experience on the sets with the ace actor Shah Rukh Khan, who constantly encouraged the amateur actresses in their performance. Sandia also went through a bonding session of three months with other players cast in the film in the pre-production part of the film. The film was an all time box office hit, and it also gained many national and international awards. Sandia currently works as a PR professional, and she also pursues her career in hockey on the side.

The Furtado Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)