Ayesha Dharker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 March 1978 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | Robert Taylor (m. 2010) |
| Children | 1[1] |
Her other film roles include starring as a young woman brainwashed into contemplating becoming a suicide bomber in the Tamil film The Terrorist (1997), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival and nominated for a National Film Award for Best Actress.[citation needed]
She has also appeared in Outsourced and The Mistress of Spices, television series such as Arabian Nights, and the West End and Broadway musical Bombay Dreams.
Family
She is the daughter of Imtiaz Dharker, a poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and Anil Dharker, a columnist and an ex-editor of the Indian men’s magazine Debonair.[4][5] Her father is from India and her mother, born in Lahore, was also raised in the United Kingdom.[3][6]
In May 2010 she married Robert Taylor in St Giles Cripplegate, London.[7][8]
Career
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.
Dharker’s most internationally recognised role came in 2002 when she played Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo, in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. In the same year she appeared in the critically acclaimed Anita and Me. 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).
She has 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 ITV soap opera Coronation Street.[9]
In 2010, she played doctor’s wife Kamini Sharma opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar in the BBC’s comedy-drama series The Indian Doctor.
In 2017, Dharker began playing Nina Karnik in a returning role on the long-running BBC drama Holby City.
In 2020, she appeared as Dr Sarai in The Father, which was nominated for an Academy Award. On 16 January 2022, Dharker appeared in Vera in the episode “As the Crow Flies” in the role of Anika Naidu.
Audiobooks
Dharker was the narrator for the audiobook version of Brick Lane by Monica Ali (2003).
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Manika, une vie plus tard | Manika Kallatil | |
| 1992 | City of Joy | Amrita H. Pal | |
| 1997 | Saaz | Kuhu Vrundavan | |
| 1999 | Split Wide Open | Leela | |
| The Terrorist (Tamil: Theeviravaathi) | Malli | Cairo International Film Festival Award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress | |
| 2000 | The Mystic Masseur | Leela | |
| 2002 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Queen Jamillia | |
| 2002 | Anita and Me | Daljeet Kumar | |
| 2005 | The Mistress of Spices | Hameeda | |
| Colour Me Kubrick: A True…ish Story | Dr. Stukeley | ||
| 2006 | Outsourced | Asha Bhatawdekar | |
| 2007 | Loins of Punjab Presents | Opama Menon | |
| 2010 | Red Alert: The War Within | Radhakka | |
| 2020 | The Father | Dr. Sarai |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Misteri della giungla nera, I | Young girl | |
| 1995 | A Mouthful of Sky | ||
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Coral Lips | |
| 2001 | Doctors | Meena Chauhan | |
| 2002 | Cutting It | Sunni Khadir | |
| 2003 | Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee | Chila | |
| Doctors | Mina Patel | ||
| 2005 | Waking the Dead | Mary Sharman | “Subterraneans” S5:E5&6 |
| 2008 | Doctor Who | Solana Mercurio | Episode: “Planet of the Ood“ |
| 2008–09 | Coronation Street | Tara Mandal | |
| 2010-2013 | The Indian Doctor | Kamini Sharma | |
| 2015 | Waterloo Road | Yasmeen Khan | |
| 2017 | Holby City | Nina Karnik | Regular Role |
| 2021 | Finding Alice | Tanvi Lal |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Final Solutions | Daksha[10] | NCPA |
| 2001 | The Ramayana | Sita | Birmingham Rep/Royal National Theatre |
| 2002 | Bombay Dreams | Rani | Apollo |
| 2006 | Doctor Faustus | Mephistophilis | Bristol Old Vic |
| 2010 | Arabian Nights | Shaharazade | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2010 | Disconnect | Vidya | Royal Court |
| 2013 | The Djinns of Eidgah | Dr Wani[11] | Royal Court |
| 2015 | Othello | Emilia | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2015 | Anita and Me | Daljit | Birmingham Rep / Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation | Titania | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2016 | The Island Nation | Arcola | |
| 2017 | Hijabi Monologues | Bush Theatre | |
| 2018 | Pericles | Simonida | Olivier Theatre |
| 2019 | Richard II | Aumerle | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse |
| 2022 | The Book of Dust, La Belle Sauvage | Marisa Coulter | Bush Theatre |
References
- ^ “Actress Ayesha Dharker on motherhood and career regrets”. 21 October 2019.
- ^ “Ayesha Dharker”. Black Gold Cooperative Library System. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ a b Roy, Amit (15 May 2016). “The rise and rise of Ayesha Dharker”. The Telegraph (Kolkota). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ SAWNET: Who’s Who: Ayesha Dharker Archived 25 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ “Who Is Ayesha Dharker Husband Robert Taylor? Inside 12 Years Of Married Life Of Actress”. Thelocalreport.in. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ “The rise and rise of Ayesha Dharker”. www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ “Ayesha Dharker’s London Wedding”. 30 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
- ^ “Indo-Brit wedding for Ayesha”. The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Indian actress cast Archived 24 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine ITV
- ^ Challenging Religious Communalism With Theatre: Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions Pillai, Sohini,(2012). Honors Thesis Collection, Wellesley College. Retrieved 18 July 2019
- ^ The Djinns of Eidgah Royal Court Theatre, royalcourttheatre.com. Retrieved 18 July 2019
External links
- Ayesha Dharker at IMDb
- Ayesha Dharker and Manu Narayan – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org