Melinda Shankar

 Melinda Leanna Shankar, a Guyanese-Canadian actress, is best recognized for her role as Alli Bhandari in the Season eight of Degrassi: The Next Generation. She also appears as Indira "Indie," Mehta on YTV's "How To Be Indie. Melinda was the main character in the 8th Season of Degrassi in 2008 as Alli Bhandari. She is a confident high school student who Melinda continues to perform. She was co-starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie, 'Harriet the Spy' as Janie Gibbs, along with Aislinn Paul, who plays Clare Edwards on Degrassi and Disney Channel's Jennifer Stone. She played the main character, Reshma, in a 2011 indie-film, entitled "Festival of Lights.". Melinda is a black belt in karate, and she likes hockey. Melinda is a good friend to everyone of her Degrassi co-stars. Melinda has confirmed that she'll be away from Degrassi for filming 'How To Be Indie', but she'll be back sometime in the near future. She has stated that she is extremely close with all of her cast members, but is most close with Scott Paterson and Samantha Munro, Luke Bilyk and Munro Chambers.