Akbar Kurtha

Akbar Kurtha
Born
Mohamed Akbar Kurtha

(1970-08-30) 30 August 1970 (age 54)
St Pancras, London, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1993–present
TelevisionDoctors

Mohamed Akbar Kurtha (born 30 August 1970) is a British actor and producer, known for his role as Dr. Rana Mistry in the BBC soap opera Doctors (2000–2001). In a career spanning over thirty years, he has also appeared in various films including Bhaji on the Beach (1993), My Son the Fanatic (1997), Esther Kahn (2000), Syriana (2005) and Košnice (2012).

Life and career

Mohamed Akbar Kurtha was born on 30 August 1970 in St. Pancras, London.[1][2][3] He is of Indian descent and his parents were first generation immigrants.[3] Kurtha's passion for acting began at a young age and he would impersonate people he saw on television and members of his family before joining a drama school.[4]

Kurtha made his acting debut in the 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach, in which he played the role of Manjit. In 1995, he embarked on his first television acting roles, appearing in episodes of The Tomorrow People and One for the Road. The following year, Kurtha appeared in the ITV crime drama Thief Takers.[5] In 1997, he appeared in the film My Son the Fanatic as Farid.[6][7][8][9]

In 2000, Kurtha portrayed Samuel Kahn in the film Esther Kahn, before joining the original cast of the BBC medical soap opera Doctors as Dr. Rana Mistry.[10] After leaving Doctors in its second series, he went on to appear in Lloyd & Hill, Casualty, Keen Eddie, EastEnders and Waking the Dead. In 2005, Kurtha appeared in the film Syriana as Prince Meshal Al-Subaai and as Mak Dabb in an episode of Holby City.[11]

Kurtha has since maintained a steady acting career, appearing in drama series including Liar and Mars.[12] He has also appeared in several radio plays including Mary Something Takes the Veil and Primo Levi's The Periodic Table[13][14] and worked as a production assistant on films including Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, The Midnight Sky and F9.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Bhaji on the Beach Manjit
1997 My Son the Fanatic Farid
2000 Esther Kahn Samuel Kahn
2000 Command Approved Ships Officer
2002 Front Line Radio Producer Short film
2005 Syriana Prince Meshal Al-Subaai
2009 The End of the Line Short film
2010 Absolution Alex Short film
2011 The Great Ghost Rescue Doctor
2012 Maniac Pharmacist
2012 Košnice Ahmad
2014 The Disappearance of Lenka Wood Yianni
2014 White Collar Hooligan 3 Dimitri
2016 A Street Cat Named Bob Pharmacist
2018 The Collector Joel
2018 Wasteland Khalid
2018 Somebody's Daughter Rahul
Sources: [15][11]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995 The Tomorrow People Hotel Receptionist Episode: "The Rameses Connection: Part 3"
1995 One for the Road Mike Episode: "Overdraft"
1996 Thief Takers Mr. Gordon Episode: "Remember Me"
1997 Wing and a Prayer Yusuf Khan Episode: "A Sense of Belonging"
1997 Mr. White Goes to Westminster TV Reporter Television film
1998 Heat of the Sun Aziz Ali Episode: "Private Lives"
1999 The Bill Jez Hall Episode: "Security"
2000 Daylight Robbery Doctor 1 episode
2000 Second Sight: Parasomnia DC Chad Television film
2000 Second Sight: Kingdom of the Blind DC Chad Television film
2000–2001 Doctors Rana Mistry Regular role
2001 Lloyd & Hill DC Bob Sandwell Television film
2002 Casualty Brad Matthews Episode: "Broken Hearts"
2003 Keen Eddie Kent Episode: "Horse Heir"
2004 EastEnders Dr. Shah 1 episode
2004 Waking the Dead Nick Foster Episode: "Shadowplay: Part 1"
2004 Animated Tales of the World Young Jackall (voice) Episode: "The Multi-Colored Jackal"
2005 Holby City Mak Dabb Episode: "Awakenings"
2005 Beneath the Skin Shakil Television film
2006 Judge John Deed Pyrian De Mel Episode: "Hard Gating"
2007 The Last Detective Mohammed Al-Jabar Episode: "The Man from Montevideo"
2007 Forgiven Norman Television film
2008 Bonekickers Hisham Episode: "Army of God"
2008 House of Saddam Kamel Hanna 1 episode
2010 24 Farhad Hassan Recurring role
2015 Killing Jesus Asher Television film
2017 Bump Professor Main role
2017 Liar Birav Suri Main role
2018 Mars Jay Johar Main role
2019 Victoria Ambassador for the King of Oudh Episode: "Foreign Bodies"
2019 Casualty Sunny Ghali 1 episode
2019 Departure Ariel Levitan Recurring role
2020 Breeders Dr Jahangir Episode: "No Cure: Part 1"
2020 Small Axe Dr Chadee Episode: "Mangrove"
2022 Holby City Jonathan Latif 1 episode
Sources: [15][11]

References

  1. ^ "Mohamed Akbar Kurtha". freeBMD. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Akbar KURTHA". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Akbar Kurtha". Akbar Kurtha. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Screen Acting – Akbar Kurtha". Akbar Kurtha. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Akbar Kurtha at British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  6. ^ "My Son the Fanatic – BBC Two". BBC. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  7. ^ "My Son the Fanatic – Review". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Akbar Kurtha – Filmography". Plex Inc. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  9. ^ "My Beautiful London". The New York Times. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Doctors go on call". BBC News. 23 March 2000. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "Akbar Kurtha – TV guide". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Mars' Season 2: Esai Morales, Roxy Sternberg, Five More Round Out Cast As Production Begins". Deadline. 24 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Mary Something Takes the Veil". BBC Media Centre. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Primo Levi's The Periodic Table". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  15. ^ a b c "Akbar Kurtha – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.