Akbar Kurtha

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, 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. He is of Indian descent and his parents were first generation immigrants.

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. In 1997, he appeared in the film My Son the Fanatic as Farid.

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. 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.

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

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:

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: