The dusky actress Ayesha Dharker shot to international fame as the suicide bomber in Santosh Sivan's highly acclaimed film, The Terrorist. The going has been quite strong since then. She falls in that category of 'greedy actresses' who need to justify the characters she plays. She needs to understand what makes them tick and only if convinced, will she go for that character. The kind of roles she does requires talent and talent this actress has in plenty.
Ayesha played the lead role of Malli in the international award-winning film The Terrorist. The role earned her a nomination as the Best Actress at the National Film Awards ceremony and the Cairo Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an actress. Her initiation into the reel world began with the French film, Manika -- The Girl Who Lived Twice. Ayesha was just nine then. The film made it to the Cannes Festival. Then came City of Joy with Patrick Swayze in. Her numerous television roles include the mini-series Arabian Nights. She also acted in Dev Benegal's Split Wide Open, where she played a paedophile's (Shivaji Satam) daughter. The 23-year-old is starring in the new Star Wars film, probably only the second Indian to feature in a sci-fi potboiler. And even though it's a small role, she says it's a fantasy come true.
Daughter of noted columnist Anil Dharker and poet mother, Ayesha showed an interest in acting from the time she was a baby. She took part in all school plays. She never showed any signs of stage fright. The plays, which were directed by Pearl Padamsee, proved a very strong grounding for Ayesha. In school, she won the best actress award for three years running.
