Nisha Ganatra
Birthdate: Jun 25, 1974
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nisha Ganatra is a much in demand director and producer in episodic television as well as feature films, launching her career with her indie feature filmmaking debut as director/co-writer/producer/lead actor, Chutney Popcorn (1999), co-starring Jill Hennessy, Sakina Jaffrey and Madhur Jaffrey, and premiering at the Los Angeles Outfest Festival, where it won the audience award for best feature. Ganatra returned to her native Canada to direct her second feature comedy-drama, Fast Food High (2003), starring Alison Pill, Sarah Gadon, and Joe Dinicol, produced by Accent Entertainment Corp./CCI Entertainment/CTV Network.
Ganatra directed the Canadian-produced rom-com confection, Cake (2005), co-starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines, and Taye Diggs, and released to middling reception by distributor Lionsgate. Ganatra was absent as a director for the big screen for fourteen years until she partnered as director with star/writer/producer Mindy Kaling for the American-produced comedy-drama set in the late-night TV world, Late Night (2019), starring Emma Thompson, Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Denis O’Hare, Reid Scott and Amy Ryan, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival where the movie landed a news-grabbing $13 million sales deal off of good reviews with distributor Amazon Studios, but which then lost the studio $40 million (including marketing costs) in its subsequent theatrical and streaming release, grossing only $22.4 million.
Ganatra next directed another showbiz-set comedy-drama, the Working Title Films-backed The High Note (2020), starring Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Zoe Chao, Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard, and Ice Cube, and released in limited theatrical and video-on-demand by Focus Features for a small $2.5 million return. Ganatra was then hired to direct producer-distributor Disney’s sequel, Freakier Friday (2025), starring and produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, reunited with co-star Lindsay Lohan, with Julia Butters, Sophie Hammons, Manny Jacinto, and Mark Harmon.
Personal life
Nisha Ganatra was born and raised by her parents in Vancouver, Canada. Ganatra began her filmmaking studies at the film and television school at UCLA and then transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a B.A. in directing.
Known For
Nisha Ganatra Movies
director
Previous (3)
- 2025 |
Freakier Friday
22 years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might strike twice.
- 2020 |
The High Note
A superstar singer and her overworked personal assistant are presented with a choice that could alter the course of their respective careers.
- 2019 |
actor
Previous (4)
Facts About Nisha Ganatra
Drummer: Nisha Ganatra played drums in a key Brooklyn-based band, The Flying Guacamoles.
Identity: Ganatra identifies as lesbian.
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