Ayesha Dharker
Encyclopedia
Ayesha Dharker is a British
-India
n actress. She is known for her performance in the Tamil Indian film
, The Terrorist (1999), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival
and nominated for a Chlotrudis Award
and National Film Award for Best Actress
. She has also appeared in Hollywood films such as Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
and The Mistress of Spices
, television series such as Arabian Nights
, and the West End
and Broadway
musical Bombay Dreams
.
, a noted poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and Anil Dharker
, a columnist and an ex-editor of Debonair. Her father is from India and her mother, born in Lahore, was brought up in Scotland.
In May 2010, she married her British boyfriend Robert Taylor at quaint old medieval church, St Giles Cripplegate.
film, Manika: Une vie plus tard. Dharker subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many television
roles in the UK, particularly in Cutting It
and Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
, in which she co-starred with Meera Syal
.
Her most internationally recognised role was when she acted as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo
, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
(2002). Dharker starred in the Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical Bombay Dreams
, both in London
's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in The Mistress of Spices
(2005).
In the international award-winning film The Terrorist (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the National Film Award for Best Actress
in India and the Cairo Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress.
She is currently a recurring cast member of the BBC Asian Network
radio serial Silver Street
, playing the role of "Ambika"; she has also appeared in the episode "Planet of the Ood
" of the long-running BBC
sci-fi television series, Doctor Who
as Solana Mercurio.
In 2006 she played the role of Asha in the film Outsourced.
In 2008 she played the role of Tara Mandal
in the British soap opera
Coronation Street
.
In 2010 she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar
in the BBC's comedy drama series The Indian Doctor
.
'Arabian Nights'
Shahrazad
Dir: Dominic Cooke
Royal Shakespeare Company
2010
'Disconnect'
Vidya
Dir: Indhu Rubasingham
Royal Court
'Bombay Dreams'
Rani (Original Cast)
Dir: Stephen Pimlott
Broadway Theatre (New York)
Apollo Theatre (West End, London)
'The Ramayana'
Sita
Dir: Indhu Rubasingham
Royal National Theatre
Birmingham Rep
'Dr. Faustus'
Mephastophilis
Dir: David Fielding
Bristol old Vic
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n actress. She is known for her performance in the Tamil Indian film
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
, The Terrorist (1999), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival
The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world...
and nominated for a Chlotrudis Award
Chlotrudis Awards 2001
The 7th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in 2001 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Honoring the best of the past year's independent, documentary and international film, the awards ceremony took place at the Berklee College of Music's David Friend Recital Hall...
and National Film Award for Best Actress
National Film Award for Best Actress
The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
. She has also appeared in Hollywood films such as Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
and The Mistress of Spices
The Mistress of Spices (film)
The Mistress of Spices is a film by Paul Mayeda Berges, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishwarya Rai...
, television series such as Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights (TV miniseries)
Arabian Nights is a two-part 2000 American/British miniseries, adapted by Peter Barnes from Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of the medieval epic One Thousand and One Nights. Mili Avital and Dougray Scott stars as Scheherazade and Shahryar respectively...
, and the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
.
Family
Ayesha Dharker is the daughter of Imtiaz DharkerImtiaz Dharker
Imtiaz Dharker is a Scottish Muslim, poet, artist and documentary film-maker.- Family and background:She was born in Lahore to Pakistani parents. She was brought up in Glasgow where her family moved when she was less than a year old...
, a noted poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and Anil Dharker
Anil Dharker
Anil Dharker is an Indian columnist. His articles appear in several Indian newspapers such as the Times of India, Mid-Day, The Hindu, Gulf News, and other similar publications. He has been editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, The Independent, MidDay, Sunday MidDay...
, a columnist and an ex-editor of Debonair. Her father is from India and her mother, born in Lahore, was brought up in Scotland.
In May 2010, she married her British boyfriend Robert Taylor at quaint old medieval church, St Giles Cripplegate.
Career
Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989 François VilliersFrançois Villiers
The filmmaker François Villiers , Chevalier of the Legion of Honor was a French film director. He was responsible for several films, from Hans le marin in 1949, to Manika, une vie plus tard, in 1989 which won the Prix du Public at Cannes.As a film director and television producer of quality dramas,...
film, Manika: Une vie plus tard. Dharker subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
roles in the UK, particularly in Cutting It
Cutting It
Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.- Series 1 :...
and Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is a 1999 novel by Meera Syal that was later adapted into a three-part BBC television miniseries in 2005. Childhood friends Tania , Sunita and Chila are now in their 30s and at a crossroads in life...
, in which she co-starred with Meera Syal
Meera Syal
Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
.
Her most internationally recognised role was when she acted as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo
Naboo
Naboo is a fictitious planet in the fictional Star Wars universe with a mostly green terrain and which is the homeworld of two societies: the Gungans who dwell in underwater cities and the humans who live in colonies on the surface...
, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
(2002). Dharker starred in the Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
musical Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
, both in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in The Mistress of Spices
The Mistress of Spices (film)
The Mistress of Spices is a film by Paul Mayeda Berges, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishwarya Rai...
(2005).
In the international award-winning film The Terrorist (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the National Film Award for Best Actress
National Film Award for Best Actress
The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
in India and the Cairo Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress.
She is currently a recurring cast member of the BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
radio serial Silver Street
Silver Street
Silver Street was a radio soap opera, the first such to be aimed at the British South Asian community, and was broadcast on the BBC Asian Network. It was introduced in 2004 as part of the Sonia Deol show, which was replaced from 24 April 2006 by the Anita Rani show, and until 12 May 2006 each...
, playing the role of "Ambika"; she has also appeared in the episode "Planet of the Ood
Planet of the Ood
"Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008. It features the return of the Ood, who appeared in the second series episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit".The episode...
" of the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sci-fi television series, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
as Solana Mercurio.
In 2006 she played the role of Asha in the film Outsourced.
In 2008 she played the role of Tara Mandal
Tara Mandal
Tara Mandal, is a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street portrayed by Ayesha Dharker.-Creation:Her creation and casting were first announced on 22 August 2008, one month after Coronation Street was lambasted in a report by chairman of the Equality and Human Rights...
in the British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
In 2010 she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
in the BBC's comedy drama series The Indian Doctor
The Indian Doctor
The Indian Doctor is a British television drama set in the summer of 1963. Produced by Rondo Media and Avatar Productions, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2010. A second series has been commissioned.-Setting:...
.
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Manika, une vie plus tard | Manika Kallatil | |
| 1992 | City of Joy City of Joy City of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre and a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé.-Plot:The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of a young Polish priest, Stephan Kovalski, the hardships endured by a rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal in Calcutta , India and the experiences of... |
Amrita H. Pal | |
| 1997 | Saaz Saaz (film) Saaz is a Hindi movie produced and directed by Sai Paranjpye and released in 1998, starring Aruna Irani and Shabana Azmi in lead roles. The plot is allegedly based on the life of legendary singing sisters of Bollywood, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle . In an interview after the release of the film... |
Kuhu Vrundavan | |
| 1999 | Split Wide Open Split Wide Open Split Wide Open is a 1999 Indian film and is Dev Benegal's second feature film after English, August. The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, and also looks at the subversive sexuality in modern India and how the notions of morality are challenged... |
Leela | |
| The Terrorist | Malli | Cairo International Film Festival Award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world... Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actress or actresses whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and... Nominated — National Film Award for Best Actress National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry... |
|
| 2000 | The Mystic Masseur The Mystic Masseur The Mystic Masseur is a Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same title by V. S. Naipaul.It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership.... |
Leela | |
| 2001 | Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones | Queen Jamillia | |
| 2002 | Anita and Me Anita and Me Anita and Me is Meera Syal's debut novel, and was first published in 1996. It is a semi-autobiographical novel which won the Betty Trask Award.... |
Daljeet Kumar | |
| 2005 | The Mistress of Spices The Mistress of Spices (film) The Mistress of Spices is a film by Paul Mayeda Berges, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishwarya Rai... |
Hameeda | |
| Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story | Dr. Stukeley | ||
| 2006 | Outsourced | Asha Bhatawdekar | |
| 2007 | Loins of Punjab Presents Loins of Punjab Presents Loins of Punjab Presents is a 2007 Indian film directed by Manish Acharya. It stars Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker and Ajay Naidu. The film marked Manish Acharya's first feature film as a director.-Cast:*Shabana Azmi .... Rrita Kapoor... |
Opama Menon | |
| 2010 | Red Alert | Radhakka |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Misteri della giungla nera, I | Young girl | |
| 1995 | A Mouthful of Sky A Mouthful of Sky A Mouthful of Sky was the first serial in English to be produced in India. Aired on the state-owned Doordarshan TV channel and based on the script by Ashok Banker, the serial deals with the lives, loves, ideals and aspirations of the post-independence generation of Indians, people in their... |
||
| 2000 | Arabian Nights Arabian Nights (TV miniseries) Arabian Nights is a two-part 2000 American/British miniseries, adapted by Peter Barnes from Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of the medieval epic One Thousand and One Nights. Mili Avital and Dougray Scott stars as Scheherazade and Shahryar respectively... |
Coral Lips | |
| 2001 | Doctors Doctors (BBC Soap Opera) Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on... |
Meena Chauhan | |
| 2002 | Cutting It Cutting It Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.- Series 1 :... |
Sunni Khadir | |
| 2003 | Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is a 1999 novel by Meera Syal that was later adapted into a three-part BBC television miniseries in 2005. Childhood friends Tania , Sunita and Chila are now in their 30s and at a crossroads in life... |
Chila | |
| Doctors Doctors (BBC Soap Opera) Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on... |
Mina Patel | ||
| 2005 | Waking the Dead Waking the Dead (TV series) Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series... |
Mary Sharman | |
| 2004 | Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
Solana Mercurio | Episode: "Planet of the Ood Planet of the Ood "Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008. It features the return of the Ood, who appeared in the second series episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit".The episode... " |
| 2008–2009 | Coronation Street Coronation Street Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960... |
Tara Mandal | |
| 2010 | The Indian Doctor The Indian Doctor The Indian Doctor is a British television drama set in the summer of 1963. Produced by Rondo Media and Avatar Productions, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2010. A second series has been commissioned.-Setting:... |
Kamini Sharma |
Theatre
2009'Arabian Nights'
Shahrazad
Dir: Dominic Cooke
Royal Shakespeare Company
2010
'Disconnect'
Vidya
Dir: Indhu Rubasingham
Royal Court
'Bombay Dreams'
Rani (Original Cast)
Dir: Stephen Pimlott
Broadway Theatre (New York)
Apollo Theatre (West End, London)
'The Ramayana'
Sita
Dir: Indhu Rubasingham
Royal National Theatre
Birmingham Rep
'Dr. Faustus'
Mephastophilis
Dir: David Fielding
Bristol old Vic
External links
- Ayesha Dharker and Manu Narayan - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...