Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh (born 9 November 1981 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actress of Pakistani descent who has appeared in soap operas such as River City and Doctors. Her best known role is in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road starring as English teacher Jasmine Koreshi.
Biography
editShabana Akhtar Bakhsh made her acting debut in River City as Zara Malik, who moved to Aberdeen.[1] Her parents are of Pakistani origin. She went on to appear in Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss.[2][3] She then became a regular in Doctors as Tasha Verma.[4] She appeared in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, as newly qualified English teacher Jasmine Koreshi. She currently lives in Glasgow. In 2009 travelled around Scottish schools with TAG theatre company in the production "Yellow Moon", a play by David Greig, where she plays the character Silent Leila.
She has been an outspoken critic of the BBC, saying that they are afraid to write for ethnic minorities.[1] She has also campaigned for women's rights in the Asian community.[citation needed]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ae Fond Kiss... | Tahara Khan | |
| 2011 | Perfect Sense | Nurse | |
| 2014 | Honeycomb Lodge | Azra | |
| 2018 | Super November | Mona |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2003 | River City | Zara Malik | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | The Afternoon Play | Yasmeela Khan | 1 episode, "Glasgow Dreams" |
| 2004–2005 | Doctors | Tasha Verma | Series regular |
| 2005 | Taggart | Layla | 1 episode, "Cause to Kill" |
| 2007-2009 | Waterloo Road | Jasmine Koreshi | Series regular |
| 2017 | The Replacement | Interview Panel | 1 episode |
References
edit- ^ a b Taylor, Joanna (3 January 2004). "BBC attacked over Asian plotlines; River City soap star criticises Beeb scriptwriters". The Stage. p. 3.
- ^ Miller, Phil (21 November 2003). "BBC 'scared of Asian actors';Attack on attitudes to River City cast". The Herald.
- ^ Schofield, Kevin (16 November 2007). "Celebrities present the awards". The Herald.
- ^ "Class warfare leaves TV teacher Shabana Bakhsh in a fury". Daily Record. (Reach plc). 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
External links
edit- Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh at IMDb
- Article about Shabana on the Daily Record website
- Small extract on Ae Fond Kiss article
- Waterloo Road article about her and her character
- Article on Scotsman's website about Shabana
 | This article about a British television actor born in the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This article about a Scottish actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |