# 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 (1993), 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's passion for acting began at a young age and he would impersonate people he saw on television and members of his family before joining a drama school.
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: ||||