Sarita Choudhury

2021-08-07T23:23:15Z

2804:7F1:E782:7A2:D188:4575:9A:50DF: Homeland date

{{short description|British Indian actress}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sarita Choudhury
| image = Sarita Choudhury by David Shankbone.jpg
| caption = Choudhury at the 2010 [[Tribeca Film Festival]]
| birth_name = Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1966|8|18}}
| birth_place = [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], London, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1990–present
| children = 1<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 13, 2010 |title=Sarita Choudhury to shift her base to India |work=[[Gulf News]] |agency=[[Indo-Asian News Service|IANS]] |url=https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/sarita-choudhury-to-shift-her-base-to-india-1.681462 |access-date=9 September 2020}}</ref>
}}
'''Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury''' (born 18 August 1966) is an English actress, best known for her role in the [[Mira Nair]]-directed feature film ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'' (1992).<ref>{{Cite web |title=I only do nudity when I trust the director |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/apr/20sarita.htm |publisher=[[Rediff]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-15|title=Sarita Choudhury: 'My career has never been up and up'|url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//how-to-lounge/movies-tv/sarita-choudhury-my-career-has-never-been-up-and-up-111602737643609.html|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Mintlounge|language=en}}</ref> In the late 1990s, Choudhury added to her repertoire with supporting roles in the thriller ''[[A Perfect Murder]]'' (1998), ''[[3 A.M. (2001 film)|3 A.M.]]'' (2001), and the [[John Cassavetes]] remake ''[[Gloria (1999 American film)|Gloria]]'' (1999). In 2002, she starred in ''[[Just a Kiss (film)|Just a Kiss]]''. She played a lesbian virgin in [[Spike Lee]]'s ''[[She Hate Me]]'' (2004) and acted as Anna Ran in ''[[Lady in the Water]]'', a 2006 thriller by [[M. Night Shyamalan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willmore |first=Alison |date=19 November 2013 |title=Sarita Choudhury on Getting Involved in the Spy Side of 'Homeland' |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2013/11/sarita-choudhury-on-getting-involved-in-the-spy-side-of-homeland-32838/ |publisher=[[IndieWire]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarita Choudhury Talks Working with Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King: It Made My Parents 'Proud' |url=http://www.people.com/article/tom-hanks-sarita-choudhury-a-hologram-for-the-king |website=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> She also played Egeria in ''[[The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2]]'' (2015) and co-starred with [[Tom Hanks]] in the 2016 film ''[[A Hologram for the King (film)|A Hologram for the King]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sarita Choudhury: I feel like if I don't go to India once a year, I lose my sense of roots - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/hollywood/news/sarita-choudhury-i-feel-like-if-i-dont-go-to-india-once-a-year-i-lose-my-sense-of-roots/articleshow/45046995.cms|access-date=2021-06-14|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Choudhury was born in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], London, England, and is of half [[Indian people|Indian]] [[Bengali people|Bengali]] and half [[British people|British]] [[English People|English]] descent. Her parents, Julia Patricia (née Spring) of English descent, and Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist of Indian Bengali descent, married in 1964 in [[Lucea, Jamaica|Lucea]], [[Jamaica]]. She studied economics and film at [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]], Canada. She has one younger brother, Kumar Michael Choudhury, and one older brother, Chandra Paul Choudhury.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=From Queen's to Homeland |url=http://www.queensu.ca/alumnireview/queen-s-homeland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102120857/http://www.queensu.ca/alumnireview/queen-s-homeland |archive-date=2 January 2015 |access-date=2 January 2015 |publisher=Queen's University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarita Choudhury |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002004/}}</ref>

== Career ==
Choudhury starred opposite [[Denzel Washington]] in the 1990 film ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'', for which she received her [[Screen Actors Guild]] (SAG) card.<ref name="TVGuide">"How Did You Get Your SAG-AFTRA Card?" ''[[TV Guide]]''. 13 January 2014. p. 10.</ref> She was still working as a waitress in [[Manhattan's East Village]] to make ends meet while the film was in theatres.<ref name="TVGuide" /> After her debut film ''Mississippi Masala'' became an art house hit, Sarita Choudhury acted as a Pakistani country-western singer in ''Wild West'' (1992), a Chilean maid who is raped in Bille August's adaptation of ''[[The House of the Spirits (film)|The House of the Spirits]]'', and a lesbian mother in ''[[Fresh Kill]]''.

Choudhury appeared on ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'' for five episodes during the 1998–99 season as Dr. Kalyani, a medical examiner. Choudhury played the role of the King's mistress, Helen Pardis, in the NBC drama ''[[Kings (U.S. TV series)|Kings]]''. The series was based upon the Biblical story of [[David|King David]] but set in modern times. Her character's Biblical counterpart was [[Rizpah]], a concubine of [[Saul|King Saul]].

She worked with independent film director Sona Jain in ''[[For Real (film)|For Real]]''. In an interview with ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' she said, "After ''Mississippi Masala'' and ''Kama Sutra'' I started getting offers in New York... doing theatres... I just went with the flow. One fine day, I thought that I haven't been back to [[India]], haven't shot there and that's something I wanted to. There were [[Bollywood]] offers but it was not until Sona's script that made me look at India."<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2010 |title=People want escapism by Mathures Paul |url=http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=341640&catid=47 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130060512/http://thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=341640&catid=47 |archive-date=30 November 2010 |website=The Statesman}}</ref> The film had a commercial release in September 2010.

She appears as character [[Saul Berenson]]'s wife, Mira in the TV series ''[[Homeland (TV series)|Homeland]]''.
In 2011, she appeared in the joint British/French TV series ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]''. Choudhury also had a brief cameo the 2013 comedy ''[[Admission (film)|Admission]]''. She appeared in the films ''[[The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1]]'' (2014) and ''[[The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2]]'' (2015), as President Snow's assistant, Egeria. In 2015, she appears as the Deputy White House Political Director Sophia Varma in the American crime drama ''[[Blindspot (TV series)|Blindspot]]''.

== Filmography ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film roles
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1991
|''[[Mississippi Masala]]''
|Meena
|
|-
|1992
|''[[Wild West (film)|Wild West]]''
|Rifat
|
|-
|1993
|''[[The House of the Spirits (film)|The House of the Spirits]]''
|Pancha Garcia
|
|-
|1994
|''[[Fresh Kill]]''
|Shareen Lightfoot
|
|-
|1995
|''[[The Perez Family]]''
|Josette
|
|-
|1996
|''[[Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love]]''
|Tara, the Queen
|
|-
|1997
|''Dinner Party''
|Rosie
|Short film
|-
|1997
|''Story of the Red Rose''
|Infanta
|Short film
|-
|1998
|''[[High Art]]''
|Joan
|Uncredited
|-
|1998
|''[[A Perfect Murder]]''
|Raquel Martinez
|
|-
|1998
|''[[Restless (1998 film)|Restless]]''
|Jane Talwani
|
|-
|1999
|''[[Gloria (1999 American film)|Gloria]]''
|Angela
|
|-
|2000
|''Come On''
|Sarita
|
|-
|2001
|''[[3 A.M. (2001 film)|3 A.M.]]''
|Box
|
|-
|2001
|''Trigger Happy''
|Alison
|
|-
|2002
|''[[Just a Kiss (film)|Just a Kiss]]''
|Colleen
|
|-
|2002
|''Refuge''
|Girl
|
|-
|2003
|''Rhythm of the Saints''
|Mariela
|
|-
|2003
|''[[It Runs in the Family (2003 film)|It Runs in the Family]]''
|Suzie
|
|-
|2004
|''Exactly''
|Lily
|Short film
|-
|2004
|''Marmalade''
|Angela
|
|-
|2004
|''[[She Hate Me]]''
|Song
|
|-
|2004
|''The Breakup Artist''
|Mona
|
|-
|2004
|''Indocumentados''
|Mrs. Guerrero
|
|-
|2005
|''[[The War Within (film)|The War Within]]''
|Farida S. Choudhury
|
|-
|2005
|''L'est de la brúixola''
|Dabashree
|
|-
|2006
|''[[Lady in the Water]]''
|Anna Ran
|
|-
|2006
|''Lady in a Box''
|Ms. Pullman
|Short film
|-
|2008
|''Woman in Burka''
|Sarita
|Short film
|-
|2008
|''[[The Accidental Husband]]''
|Sunny
|
|-
|2009
|''[[Entre nos]]''
|Preet
|
|-
|2009
|''For Real''
|Priya
|
|-
|2009
|''Coup de Grâce''
|
|Short film
|-
|2011
|''[[Aazaan]]''
|Menon
|
|-
|2012
|''[[Gayby]]''
|Ushma
|
|-
|2012
|''[[Generation Um...]]''
|Lily
|
|-
|2012
|''[[Midnight's Children (film)|Midnight's Children]]''
|Prime Minister
|
|-
|2012
|''BMW: Bombay's Most Wanted''
|
|
|-
|2012
|''Monarchs and Men''
|Nadzia
|Short film
|-
|2013
|''[[Admission (film)|Admission]]''
|Rachel
|
|-
|2013
|''[[Innocence (2013 film)|Innocence]]''
|Dr. Vera Kent
|
|-
|2013
|''Give Into the Night''
|Veena
|Short film
|-
|2014
|''The Disinherited''
|Anna
|
|-
|2014
|''[[Learning to Drive (film)|Learning To Drive]]''
|Jasleen
|
|-
|2014
|''[[The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1]]''
|Egeria
|
|-
|2014
|''Roman Buildings''
|Sarita
|
|-
|2015
|''Love Comes Later''
|
|Short film
|-
|2015
|''[[The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2]]''
|Egeria
|
|-
|2015
|''Sweets''
|Sweets
|
|-
|2016
|''[[A Hologram for the King (film)|A Hologram for the King]]''
|Zahra
|
|-
|2016
|''Wake O Wake''
|Lila
|Short film
|-
|2017
|''[[The Last Photograph]]''
|Hannah
|
|-
|2017
|''After Louie''
|Maggie
|
|-
|2019
|''Human Terrain''
|Adelah Nasser
|Short film
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Evil Eye (2020 film)|Evil Eye]]''
| Usha Kharti
|
|-
| 2020
| ''[[It Snows in Benidorm]]''
|Alex
|
|-
|2021
|''[[After Yang]]''
|Cleo
|
|-
| 2021
| ''[[The Green Knight (film)|The Green Knight]]''
| Morgan le Fey
|
|-
|}

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television roles
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1995
|''[[Down Came a Blackbird]]''
|Myrna
|TV Movie
|-
|1997
|''[[Subway Stories]]''
|Humera
|TV Movie; Segment: "Honey-Getter"
|-
|1998–1999
|''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''
|Dr. Kalyani
|Recurring
|-
|2000–2001
|''Deadline''
|Sahira Ondaatje
|3 episodes
|-
|2001–2002
|''[[100 Centre Street]]''
|Julia Brooks
|Recurring
|-
|2004
|''[[Law & Order]]''
|Nadira Harrington
|Episode: "Paradigm"
|-
|2004
|''PBS Hollywood Presents''
|Charmaine
|Episode: "Cop Shop"
|-
|2007
|''[[Damages (TV series)|Damages]]''
|Sleep Therapist
|Episode: "She Spat at Me"
|-
|2009
|''[[Kings (U.S. TV series)|Kings]]''
|Helen Pardis
|Recurring
|-
|2009
|''[[The Philanthropist (TV series)|The Philanthropist]]''
|Rhada Shivpuri
|Episode: "Kashmir"
|-
|2009
|''Possible Side Effects''
|Callie
|TV Movie
|-
|2010
|''[[Mercy (TV series)|Mercy]]''
|Dr. Carrozzi
|Episode: "Wake Up, Bill"
|-
|2010
|''[[The Good Wife]]''
|Simran Verma
|Episode: "Mock"
|-
|2010
|''[[Bored to Death]]''
|Lakshmi
|Episode: "Forty-Two Down!"
|-
|2011
|''[[Bar Karma]]''
|Sarita
|Episode: "Man Walks Out of a Bar"
|-
|2011
|''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]''
|Avita
|Episode: "Music of Murder"
|-
|2011–2017
|''[[Homeland (TV series)|Homeland]]''
|Mira Berenson
|Recurring
|-
|2015–2016
|''[[Blindspot (TV series)|Blindspot]]''
|Sofia Varma
|Recurring
|-
|2016
|''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]''
|Gira Pal
|Episode: "A Study in Charlotte"
|-
|2016
|''[[Divorce (TV series)|Divorce]]''
|Courtney
|Episode: "Church"
|-
|2016
|''Recon''
|Farrah
|TV Pilot
|-
|2016–2017
|''[[Madam Secretary (TV series)|Madam Secretary]]''
|Prime Minister Jaya Verma
|2 episodes
|-
|2018
|''[[The Path (TV series)|The Path]]''
|Lilith
|Main cast (Season 3)
|-
|2018
|''[[Instinct (U.S. TV series)|Instinct]]''
|Mayor Myers
|2 episodes
|-
|2018
|''[[Strangers (2018 TV series)|Strangers]]''
|
|3 episodes
|-
|2019
|''[[Jessica Jones (TV series)|Jessica Jones]]''
|Kith Lyonne
|Main cast ([[Jessica Jones (season 3)|Season 3]])
|-
|2020
|''Mira, Royal Detective''
|Great-Aunt Rupa (voice)
|
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Little Fires Everywhere (miniseries)|Little Fires Everywhere]]''
| Anita Rees
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2021
| ''[[Law and Order: Special Victims Unit]]''
| Vanessa Blake
| Episode "In the Year We All Fell Down" (Season 22, Episode 12) <ref>http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20210405nbc12/</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0002004|Sarita Choudhury}}
* [http://in.rediff.com/movies/2004/apr/20sarita.htm Rediff nterview]
* [http://heyokamagazine.com/HEYOKA.4.CELL.SARITA.htm Heyoka Magazine nterview] with John LeKay

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Sarita}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:English people of Bengali descent]]
[[Category:American people of Bengali descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Blackheath, London]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century English actresses]]
[[Category:American actresses of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Anglo-Indian descent]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kent]]
[[Category:Queen's University at Kingston alumni]]

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Sarita Choudhury