Shaheen Khan (British actress)

Film and television

Khan is best known for her role as Mrs Bhamra in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham.^[2] Other films in which she has performed include Bhaji on the Beach (1993)^[4] and It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010).^[5] On television, she has had a recurring role in Casualty^[1] and a guest role in the Doctor Who episode Demons of the Punjab.^[6]

Theatre

As a playwright, Khan has written several performances for BBC Radio 4 with Sudha Bhuchar, the most successful of which was Girlies (1997).^[1] Also with Bhuchar, she wrote the stage play Balti Kings, which debuted in 1999 and was produced by Tamasha Theatre Company.^[7] Balti Kings was also rewritten by both for its appearance in Sydney, Australia, where it was renamed to The Curry Kings of Parrammatta.^[8] Another production involving Tamasha and Bhuchar was A Tainted Dawn, which covered sketches relaying real accounts of the 1947 Partition of India and its impact on communities, which Khan starred in for two separate sketches.^[9] A co-written screenplay with Bhuchar, The House across the Street, was created as a part of a new writer's initiative at the BBC and aired on BBC4.^[10] In 2015 she played Lady Macbeth in a contemporary Asian production of Macbeth produced by multicultural theatre production company Tara Arts.^[11][12]

For her role in Bend It Like Beckham, Khan earned a 2003 nomination for a Satellite Award for best Supporting Actress.^[13] As a British Indian, she has been recognized for her contributions to the arts with an Asian Women of Achievement Award.^[2]