Former Indian actress joins race for Canadian PM's office

A former Bollywood actor is running for the Canadian prime minister’s office. 

According to the Indian media reports, Ruby Dhalla, an Indian-origin leader of Canada's Liberal Party, recently announced her bid to participate in the party's leadership race as Justin Trudeau's successor. 

Born in Canada to an immigrant family from Punjab, Dhalla was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 - shortly after the release of her first and only film Kyon? Kis Liye? (2003) in which she starred as a police officer. Directed by Vinod Talwar, the offering drew inspiration from the murder trial of [Canadian port city] Hamilton serial killer, Sukhwinder Dhillon.

The Indian-origin politician tried to block the DVD release of Kyon? Kis Liye? She argued that her images in the film's promotional materials were doctored. However, producer Charanjit Sihra refuted her claims and added, "She came to Hamilton and she always wanted to be a Bollywood star. I gave her a chance in the film."

Dhalla's acting career proved short-lived. The year after the release of Kyon? Kis Liye? she was elected to the House of Commons in Canada as a Member of Parliament for Brampton, Springdale. She held the position until 2011. To date, Dhalla remains among the very few women of Indian origin in the Canadian parliament. Should she succeed in her current bid to succeed Trudeau's position as head of Canada's Liberal Party, she will be Canada's first prime minister of colour.

In addition to acting and pursuing politics, Dhalla has also dabbled in modelling and worked as a hotelier. According to Indian media, the potential future Canadian PM took part in the Miss India Canada pageant in 1993 and came just shy of winning, finishing as runner-up. Whether Dhalla's political ambitions take the same trajectory remains to be seen.