Anjli Mohindra nearly quit acting after she failed to land a part on ‘Coronation Street’.
The 28-year-old actress – who recently starred as Nadiya in BBC One drama ‘Bodyguard’ – thought her career was finished when she was turned down for a role on the ITV soap, but she later landed the part of stroppy teenager Shareen on the show in 2006 and her career has gone from strength to strength.
She said: "I went in for a different part and had three or four stages of gruelling auditions … well, they weren’t gruelling, they were really brilliant.
"But the wait in between … and I got down to the last two and I didn’t get it. I thought, ‘That is it, I’m hanging up my actor boots. That’s me, my career is over.’
"I then got offered a smaller part in it and had such an amazing time."
Anjli had to pinch herself on the cobbles because she couldn’t believe she had landed a role in the long-running soap.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’, she added: "That was the most pinch me experience being in something like ‘Corrie’, because it’s something you grow up on, and your family love, and it’s on every day. It’s a real treat."
Since ‘Corrie’, Anjli has gone on to appear in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’, ‘Holby City’, ‘Casualty’, and ‘Bancroft’ before a starring role in BBC drama ‘Bodyguard’ as terrorist Nadiya alongside Richard Madden, but she almost turned down the part because she didn’t want to "perpetuate the seemingly Islamophobic narrative".
She recently wrote: "When I was first invited to audition for Nadia in Bodyguard, my response was simple: "I can’t do it". I know I shouldn’t judge – I’m an actor and that involves breathing life into and humanising a character on the page – but I didn’t want to perpetuate the seemingly Islamophobic narrative (something which, when the first episode aired, viewers accused the show of doing).
"However, as my agent pointed out to me, you never know what’s coming with a Jed Mecurio show. Once I clocked the end game, I thought to myself ‘this feels closer to the truth’.
"These terror groups are funded, organised, even – however inadvertently – radicalised by people of power in the West. Being constantly excluded, alienated and persecuted can push people to extremes. Anyone (Muslim or otherwise) can be driven to inhumane actions if they’re constantly vilified and dehumanised.
"And THAT’s what made me sign for the part. This character felt real – she wasn’t a plot device. I was able to give her a personal backstory which I then felt compelled to bring to life. The role wasn’t black or white (or even brown) – it was multi-layered and complex. Just like life. (sic)"
Anjli Mohindra nearly quit acting after Coronation Street rejection
