Kiwi actress Anya CONQUERS HOLLYWOOD

When she talks to Woman's Day, Anya Banerjee is still buzzing over an unforgettable Saturday night. After a week of filming medical drama Doc in Toronto, the Kiwi-Indian actress glammed it up for the premiere of Baz Luhrmann's new Elvis Presley documentary.

- Leena Tailor

When she talks to Woman's Day, Anya Banerjee is still buzzing over an unforgettable Saturday night. After a week of filming medical drama Doc in Toronto, the Kiwi-Indian actress glammed it up for the premiere of Baz Luhrmann's new Elvis Presley documentary.

Back in high school, it was the Aussie director's films that "shifted molecules" and helped Anya find her calling.

She recalls, "I would watch Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom on repeat.

It was amazing to tell him about this little girl watching his movies in New Zealand and going, 'I want to do that.' He was so sweet." But Anya, 32, didn't just meet Baz - they ended up "throwing it down" on the after-party's dancefloor.

"That man can move," she laughs. "At one point, we were both squatting in the middle of a dance circle. It was insane!" Such moments are a world away from the life her parents led when they moved to the US from Kolkata, India. Anya's dad studied his PhD in Wisconsin, where she was born, but months later, he landed a job in Auckland, where she and her sister were raised.

Anya loved growing up with both Kiwi and Bengali culture, but she often wondered where she fit in. She'd spend hours making up stories and creating worlds where she felt she belonged. She also began doing Bengali cultural performances, ballet, school productions and Shakespeare competitions.