Hey folks, in this episode of ‘Blab with Sandy’, we have a very special person who captured the hearts of millions as the face of the iconic 2000s music video Leja Leja Re. Starting her modeling and acting career at a very young age, she became an overnight sensation. Today, she’s a successful corporate leader, content strategist, and founder. Please welcome the amazingly talented and famously known as the ‘Leja Leja Re’ girl – Nina Sarkar!
Sandy: Hello, Nina! It’s such a pleasure to have you here. I hope you’ve been doing well!
Nina: Hi, Sandy! Thank you so much. I’m doing great, and I hope everything is wonderful with you too! It’s definitely a special time with Leja Leja Re marking its 20th anniversary, I’m thrilled to step back into the limelight and celebrate this milestone with everyone.
Sandy: Could you tell us a bit about your family background?
Nina: I was born in Mumbai in 1988 into a very simple, traditional, and educated Bengali family with a deep patriotic history. On my maternal side, we have a connection to Satyendra Nath Bose.
On my paternal side were a mix of Indian government officials and freedom fighters. My great-grandfather, during his tenure as district magistrate of Shantiniketan, had to be present during meetings between Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi. My grandfather was a real rebel though, fighting on-ground against the British. But let’s keep this short and skip forward.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War, most of my family’s ancestral branch in Bangladesh had to flee due to religious persecution. The survivors made it to West Bengal, mainly Kolkata. So our roots are a mix of native Kolkata, parts of West Bengal and refugees from Bangladesh.
My father was an accountant, and my mother studied English Literature. Though my mother worked in advertising for a time, she always wanted to be a homemaker once she had kids. We eventually moved to Bangalore, where I attended Mount Carmel College.
Sandy: How did a 17-year-old student from an education-oriented background end up starring in the iconic 2006 music video Leja Leja Re?
Nina: When I was in the 12th standard, I was studying Mass Communication at Mount Carmel College. We have a Pre-university system where I chose ARTS from 11th grade onwards, since I’m so bad at maths! A model scout asked many of us to audition. When the audition for Leja Leja Re came up, around 3,000 girls auditioned. I always dreamt of being a dancer or performing on stage, like in ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ rather than being an actress. To my surprise, directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru selected me out of everyone!
The shoot happened in the summer holidays just after my 12th. By the time it released, I was studying my first year degree of Mass Communication at Mount Carmel college. When the video released, it became a massive success overnight. My family realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.
Sandy: What do you remember most about shooting Leja Leja Re and working with Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru?
Nina: It was an incredible experience. The song was original, and the concept was so unique. I remember asking about specific directorial directions, like the gesture for the line “Ni Muiye”, which means “Oh innocent girl” but the directors wanted me to portray it in a kind of “throwing away your sanity or acting like a very sad, broken pagli (mad girl).
For the look, they wanted a short top and low-waist jeans to highlight my movements during the dance sequences. My mom was right there on set with me, not interfering with the styling at all. She left it all to my comfort levels. There was a specific instruction for the dance steps: because the character was sad and didn’t want to be there, the steps had to be somewhat loose and “not so perfect” (dheela), rather than overly enthusiastic.
The rain sequence felt like living out my childhood dream of the movie “Singin’ in the Rain.” The directors actually called me the hardest working girl they had ever met. It was my ultimate dream come true. You can ask them now too!
Sandy: ‘Leja Leja Re’ became a massive cult classic. What was it like handling that sudden level of fame?
Nina: The strange thing is, my day-to-day life didn’t change much because I was an introvert and didn’t go out to party. On top of that, I was managed by a model management agency, and the people surrounding me at the time were quite negative and controlling. They constantly tried to keep me grounded in a toxic way, telling me things like, “Don’t think you did such a great job.” Because of that environment, and since I was only 17-18 and mentally unprepared. I had no idea how famous I actually was. It’s only now, 20 years later, as the video circulates again, and with the existence of social media, that I am finally experiencing and enjoying the euphoria of that success. It’s both quite sad and incredible at the same time.
Sandy: You mentioned your career was badly mismanaged. What happened behind the scenes after Leja Leja Re?
Nina: Coming from a non-media background, I relied entirely on my management agency. What I didn’t know at the time was that my agency was actively mismanaging me. Clients and corporate brands like Sunsilk, Sony, and Blackberry who paid a lot would put me in these huge ad campaigns both in India and abroad, but big movie houses were specifically requesting to work with me, but my agency kept telling them I wasn’t available.
I was getting passed over for major Bollywood casting calls – which I will not name – without even knowing I was being considered. When I ran into industry people later, they would ask, “Why didn’t you call back?” And I had no idea they even knew who I was!
Agents and casting people would give me conflicting, and quite mean feedback, saying I was “too skinny,” then “too curvy,” or that I “didn’t have sex appeal yet” because I was only maybe 19 by this point. Because I listened blindly to my agency, I felt like nobody in the industry liked me or wanted me to be a part of their projects.
Sandy: How did you break away from that situation, and what happened when you went independent?
Nina: I became friends with some great, grounded people in the industry who are extremely successful stars. They support others without pulling them down and — in fact — are used to being pulled down by others. They gave me a lot of advice. However, I think I connected with them a bit late in life. I realized I needed to stop blindly trusting my agents, so I decided not to renew my contract with my agency and started freelancing.
I immediately landed very lucrative deals with international channels as TV show host and Anchor and started earning very well.
As soon as I went independent, I received a flood of calls from top casting directors. They asked me, “Who told you that we didn’t want to work with you? You were the one who said no!”
I started auditioning mainly for TV commercials and would shoot a big ad every couple of months, which is actually very good consistency. However, I didn’t have any passion for Bollywood films. I experienced a lot of casting couch whenever I did show up for auditions, plus the industry was changing. Onscreen kissing and showing more skin were new and becoming standard. My father asked me not to do very bold, graphic scenes, and out of respect and fear, I agreed. While I had no issues wearing a crop top like in Leja Leja or really even skin show, I didn’t like the vibes of some of the people who approached me — especially after bad casting couch experiences.
Sandy: You’ve hinted at a dark side of the industry that ultimately pushed you away. What led to your decision to leave Bollywood?
Nina: That was the main reason I walked away. After Leja Leja Re, my contact details somehow leaked to high-profile, dangerous individuals, some shady people claiming to be film financiers, and people who were involved in money laundering and underworld figures.
Because my father was an accountant and my mother was a homemaker, we had zero protection against this world. Fake casting calls were set up just to try to fly me out to remote places. I was living in constant fear.
After those terrifying experience, I filed multiple police complaints against these individuals. After years of working as an anchor and the harassment got so bad that these mafia types would even show up to shoots, I decided I had enough. I told my dad I was ready to leave Mumbai. My father told me straight out, “You should leave the country for a while. You’ve been working since you were 17 so you need a break anyway!”
Sandy: Where did you go after leaving India, and how did you rebuild your life?
Nina: I went to New York to detox from the trauma. I stayed with a friend in Manhattan, helped her write scripts, and spent time reflecting.
Eventually, I returned to India and moved back to Bangalore. I needed to see goodness in the world again, so I completed my Montessori teacher training. I started teaching LKG (Lower Kindergarten) at an elementary school. Nobody there recognized me as the Leja Leja girl. Over a year and a half, I was promoted to Centre Head and Principal, managing 119 students.
However, seeing the flaws in the education system made me realize I needed to view work as a career rather than an emotional refuge. But that’s a whole other story.
Sandy: How did you transition into the corporate, digital media, and broadcasting spaces?
Nina: Around 2010, I was approached by CJ ENM, a massive South Korean conglomerate behind major media and entertainment ventures. They wanted an Indian face for their luxury home-shopping broadcast partnership with Star India.
They flew me to Seoul, South Korea, where I underwent intense, K-Pop-level broadcasting training. I became an internationally accredited broadcast anchor, learning the precise science of on-screen product positioning, live broadcasting, and luxury sales. I was earning very well, hosting luxury sales for brands like Satya Paul and D’damas.
Later, I transitioned to B4U International, hosting English-language shows broadcast exclusively to NRI audiences in the US, UK, and Middle East. I interviewed top stars like Preity Zinta, Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Dhanush, and many more. I even had my own solo TV shows as well as co-hosted shows alongside co-hosts like Salil Acharya. Because these shows didn’t air in India, the Indian public thought I had completely vanished, even though NRIs abroad watched me regularly.
Sandy: What are you working on today?
Nina: After my time in broadcasting, I built a career in corporate communications and digital marketing. I worked as a Senior Writer, wrote ad campaigns, and eventually became the Head of Content and Client Servicing at prominent agencies like Tiramisu and Team Pumpkin, handling major accounts for brands under ITC, TATA, among others.
During the pandemic, after facing pay cuts and corporate friction, I decided to venture out on my own. I launched my own boutique digital marketing and content agency, Quillixir Content Solutions Private Limited. It turned profitable within three years, and I now manage a strong network of brand clients and freelancers.
Parallelly, I am upskilling myself. I applied and got into Manipal University to pursue a degree in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. I am currently collaborating with industrial designers to develop, patent, and launch a unique physical product.
Sandy: Do you have any regrets about your time in the spotlight, and would you ever return to screen acting?
Nina: My only real regret is that during the peak of my fame, people knew the Leja Leja girl, but no one never let people know my name – Nina Sarkar.
As for returning to the screen: my answer is not an absolute “no.” However, my priorities have shifted. If I ever decide to step back into the entertainment industry or take up an on-screen project, my primary agenda would be to leverage it to fund and scale my business and product ventures. I am fully focused on my journey as an entrepreneur today.
Editor’s note: Collaborating on this feature with Nina Sarkar has been an absolute delight. Iwant to extend my warmest wishes to Nina for continued success, creativity, and joy in all her upcoming projects and personal endeavors.
Follow Nina @ninasarkar
Follow Sandy @blabwithsandy