Jamila Massey

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Jamila Massey
Born (1934-01-07) 7 January 1934 (age 90)
Shimla, India
Occupation(s)Actress, writer

Jamila Massey (born 7 January 1934) is a British

Neelam in EastEnders
.

Early life

Massey came to

Second World War but remained in the UK and became a producer for the BBC.[1]

As a child, Massey acted for the BBC in radio children's programmes. She attended King's College London and graduated in Latin, Urdu and English. She had aspirations to train as an actress; however, her mother frowned upon such a career. Massey's mother refused to allow her to attend drama school after the death of her father, so she was forced to use subterfuge to fulfil her acting ambitions.[1]

Career

She began her career as an

extra. Her first film role was in Sink the Bismarck! (1960), where she was used to translate and report a news section from the film into Urdu — announcing the sinking of the British battleship HMS Hood.[1]

She continued to work extensively on radio in English, Urdu,

Brookside (1989) playing Manju Batra and Pie in the Sky
(1994).

In the mid-1990s she was cast as the recurring character Auntie Satya in Radio 4's daily agricultural soap opera, The Archers, fulfilling one of her life's ambitions.[1] Massey was the second actress to play the role. She had initially been asked to audition for the part, but was forced to turn it down due to work commitments. A year later she was offered the same part when the role was recast. Her character makes occasional appearances to visit her niece, Usha Gupta (Souad Faress).[1]

In 1997 she was cast in the popular BBC soap opera

Neelam Kapoor, the domineering mother of market-trader Sanjay (Deepak Verma
) until 1998.

Other acting credits include

Arabian Nights (2000); Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (2001); Perfect World (2001); Doctors (2002); All About Me
(2003); Chicken Tikka Masala (2005).

Massey's theatre work includes The Great Celestial Cow (

Jewish Community of Kolkata.[2]

As well as acting, Massey has also co-authored several books with her husband, writer Reginald Massey. One was a novel, The Immigrants, based on field research among first-generation

Asians in Britain. The other books were The Music of India, for which Ravi Shankar provided a foreword, and The Dances of India. Massey is deeply interested and involved in music; she has introduced several Indian musicians and dancers to audiences in the West.[3]

Massey appeared in Coronation Street in February 2010 as one of Sunita's aunts.

Personal life

Massey and her husband, the author and poet Reginald Massey, live in Llanidloes, Wales.[1]

Writings

  • The Music of India. London: Kahn & Averill. 1993.
    ISBN 1-871-08250-1
    .

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Archer's Actor - Jamila Massey", BBC. URL last accessed on 2007-03-31.
  2. ^ "Metro Plus Delhi", The Hindu Archive. URL last accessed on 2019-06-31.
  3. ^ "From India to Llani", BBC. URL last accessed on 2007-03-31.

External links

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