Ayesha Dharker

Ayesha Dharker is a British actress born in Mumbai. She made her screen debut in Manika, une vie plus tard, a 1989 film directed by François Villiers. She went on to work in Indian, French and American films and in British television series such as Cutting It and Arabian Nights. For her lead role as Malli in the Tamil film The Terrorist, she received a National Film Award for Best Actress nomination in India and the Cairo International Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress. In 2002 she played Queen Jamillia in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, and later appeared on stage in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams in London's West End and on Broadway. Her film credits also include The Mistress of Spices (2005), Outsourced (2006) and The Father (2020), an Academy Award nominee. On television she has appeared in Doctor Who, Coronation Street and Holby City.