Soma Chhaya Bhatia (musically known Baby Brat) is a Canadian actress and musician, known for her roles such as Goldi Nahir in Degrassi: Next Class and Shauzia in the Oscar nominated film The Breadwinner.[1]
Soma Chhaya | |
|---|---|
| Born | Soma Chhaya Bhatia Canada |
| Other names | Baby Brat Soma Chhaya Soma Bhatia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
Biography
editSoma Chhaya became interested in singing at the age of ten, but held off on pursuing a career due to intense stage fright. "I grew up with stage fright, to the point where I’d run off the stage crying. So acting came a lot easier because I just had to stand there and talk, I didn’t even have to be myself."[1] She began to pursue acting "by accident" as a way of getting comfortable with being in front of people. She ultimately found the craft invigorating and credits it to helping her career.[2] Chhaya's career took off when she was cast as Goldi Nahir in Degrassi: Next Class. She found the character interesting in that it taught her about feminism. After her stint on the show, she continued to stay in contact with her co-stars. She joined the cast of the animated film The Breadwinner which connected with Chhaya due to her grandmother having gone through a similar situation as the main character of the film.[3] She is set to play the lead role of Selene in the new film Clan of the Vein which will begin filming mid 2020.
Chhaya decided to try her hand at music again in 2016 and joined Canada's Music Incubator.[2][3] She has since released 13 singles most of which she was involved with both writing and producing as well as directing videos for those singles.[4]
In 2021, she started using the name Baby Brat for her musical career. She approached her re-branding by having her new musical identity, Baby Brat, poison herself in her self produced single and music video titled The Death Of Soma Chhaya.[5] Her first single as Baby Brat debuted in October 2021.[6] She describes her Baby Brat music as a hard hitting hyper-pop sound with satirical, theatrical and brash lyrics.[5] She has since released 13 more singles, including XTC debuted at the top of the Spotify Hyperpop playlist in April 2022.[7]
However, post pandemic, Chhaya has stepped back into acting with productions finally opening up again landing 5 roles in 2022. Of which, she landed her first starring role in the UPTV Christmas movie Christmas on the Slopes. She stars as the main character Sophia Grewal, a celebrity chef who takes her first real Christmas vacation after a disappointing restaurant opening and an embarrassing break-up. She is mistaken for the sous chef by the head chef and finds herself falling in love with cooking again and the head chef.[8][9]
Soma Chhaya is also set to appear in the upcoming NBC TV show The Irrational as the character Jasmine. The pilot is scheduled to premier late 2023.[10][11][12]
Between filming both projects Soma Chhaya developed her own acting school, Actor Academy , in which she teaches classes for actors in audition technique, character development and career planning.[13][14]
Personal life
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2020) |
Chhaya attended John Fraser Secondary School in Mississauga, ON graduating in 2016.
Chhaya is an advocate for living a vegan lifestyle, having been a vegan since she was 14, and was raised as a vegetarian from birth.
Chhaya moved to Los Angeles in January 2019 to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for Marketing.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Spin The Barrel | Courtney | Short film |
| 2014 | Monkey in the Middle | Mara Cruz | Also known as It's a Zoo in Here |
| 2015 | Poltergeist | Lauren | |
| 2017 | The Breadwinner | Shauzia (voice) | |
| 2018 | We Three Queens | Charlotte | Short film |
| 2019 | An Assortment of Christmas Tales in No Particular Order | Charlotte | |
| 2019 | Queen of the Morning Calm | CeeCee | completed |
| 2022 | Christmas on the Slopes | Sophia Grewal | |
| 2022 | The Ex Obsession | Alma | |
| 2022 | Mal de Amores | Noel | |
| 2022 | Aves | Jasmine | |
| 2023 | Zoey 102 | Danielle |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Cheerleader Death Squad | Indonesian Girl | TV movie |
| 2016 | Holiday Joy | Brie | |
| 2016-2017 | Degrassi: Next Class | Goldi Nahir | Main cast |
| 2017 | Saving Hope | Falak Ali | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | A Very Country Christmas | Monica | TV movie |
| 2017 | Teenagers | Vesper | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Kim's Convenience | Divya | Season 3 Ep. 9 |
| 2019 | Private Eyes | Priya Joshi | Season 3 Ep. 3 |
| 2022 | The Irrational | Jasmine |
Singles
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Fire in Our Blood[15] |
| 2017 | Forever Boy[16] |
| 2018 | Honey Blonde Flower[17] |
| 2018 | 15![18] |
| 2019 | Love. Drugs.[19] |
| 2020 | Don't fear the snake[20] |
| 2020 | BORED[21] |
| 2020 | Cancer[22] |
| 2020 | Parasite[23] |
| 2021 | Virtual love <3[24] |
| 2021 | Nebula[25] |
| 2021 | South[26] |
| 2021 | The Death Of Soma Chhaya (feat. Baby Brat)[27] |
| 2021 | Christmas Bitch[28] |
| 2021 | Christmas Bitch (Remixes)[29] |
| 2021 | Cherry Bomb[30] |
| 2022 | Jalebi[31] |
| 2022 | Miss you on my phone[32] |
| 2022 | Cool in the Pool[33] |
| 2022 | Maneater[34] |
| 2022 | Oh, Christ! give me Diamonds[35] |
| 2022 | XTC[7] |
| 2022 | Hot n' Popular[36] |
| 2022 | Rolex & Tiffanys[37] |
| 2022 | Give me Head in the Backseat[38] |
References
edit- ^ a b Harlton, Kat (1 March 2018). "Exclusive: An Interview With Soma Chhaya". Harlton Empire. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ a b Bhella, Sharon (28 February 2018). "Interview: Soma Chhaya". Best Fan. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ a b "The Permanent Rain Press interview with Soma Chhaya". The Permanent Rain Press. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ McElheran, Taryn (17 February 2018). "Interview – Soma Chhaya". Canadian Beats. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Meet Baby Brat: Musician". SHOUTOUT LA. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Actress and Musician SomaChhaya Drops New Track "The Death Of Soma Chhaya feat. Baby Brat"". Mundane. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b xtc, 8 April 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Deufemia, Marco (13 December 2022), Christmas on the Slopes (Romance), Brain Power Studio, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ "Christmas on the Slopes". UPtv. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ Berman, Marc. "NBC Orders Drama 'The Irrational' Starring Jesse L. Martin". Forbes. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ The Irrational (Drama, Thriller), Universal Television, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Bell, BreAnna (27 December 2022). "NBC Orders 'Predictably Irrational' Adaptation Starring Jesse L. Martin to Series". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ Chhaya, Soma. "Academy Actor". www.actoracademy.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "Home". Soma's Acting Studio. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ Soma Chhaya. "Fire in Our Blood - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ Soma Chhaya. "Forever Boy - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ Honey Blonde Flower, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ 15!, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ Love. Drugs., retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ Don't Fear the Snake, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ BORED., retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ Cancer, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ Parasite, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ Picard, Rosalind W. (2015), "virtual love", Science, 349 (6245): 243, Bibcode:2015Sci...349..243P, doi:10.1126/science.aac7899, S2CID 51607398, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ nebula, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ South, retrieved 16 August 2021
- ^ "Actress and Musician SomaChhaya Drops New Track "The Death Of Soma Chhaya feat. Baby Brat"". Mundane. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Christmas Bitch, 5 November 2021, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Christmas Bitch (Remixes), 17 December 2021, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Cherry Bomb, 15 October 2021, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Jalebi, 3 November 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ miss u on my phone, 11 October 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Cool In The Pool, 24 June 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Maneater, 13 May 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Oh, Christ! Give Me Diamonds, 29 April 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Hot n' Popular, 31 March 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Rolex & Tiffany's, 25 February 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023
- ^ Give Me Head In The Backseat, 28 January 2022, retrieved 28 January 2023