- Shreela Ghosh
Infobox actor
imagesize = 150px
name = Shreela Ghosh
birthdate = birth date and age|1962|09|25
location = flagicon|IndiaShillong ,Assam ,India
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notable role =Naima Jeffery in "EastEnders "Shreela Ghosh (born on
25 September 1962 inAssam ,India ), a former dancer, actress andreporter , became publicly known in theUnited Kingdom when she was cast asNaima Jeffery in 1985, one of the original characters inBBC 's hit soap, "EastEnders ". She has since given up performing to work as an arts executive. She was the first programme director for Arts and Heritage at the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and went on to become the Deputy Director for the Institute of International Visual Arts (InIVA).Career
Ghosh began her working life as a performer, a classical (
Bharatanatyam andKathak ) Indian dancer and singer. At the age of seventeen — after acquiring an agent and an equity card — she worked extensively intheatre , which included work with leading organisations such asMax Stafford-Clark ’sJoint Stock Theatre Company where she was also working as Marketing & Publicity Officer. Television work followed with roles in "Play For Today " productions "The Garland" in 1981," [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/570182/index.html The Garland: Play for Today] ", "BFI". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .] and "Moving on the Edge" in 1984. She also had roles in the BBC nursing drama "Angels" (1982)" [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/656341?view=cast Angels December 1982 cast list] ", "BFI". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .] and played Minnie in the successful televisedITV mini-series, "The Jewel in the Crown", in 1984. Although Ghosh had not been trained as an actor in any conventional sense, her coaching in voice and the dramatic techniques she had learnt from Indian dance came into play for many of her roles.Ghosh continued her television career in 1985 when she was cast as
Naima Jeffery , one of the original characters in theBBC soap opera , "EastEnders ". Naima and her husband Saeed (Andrew Johnson) were the first Asian characters to appear in the programme, an ethnic minority that had previously been under-represented in British soap. Their inclusion was also a well-intentioned attempt to reflect the cross-section of multi-cultural society that existed in theEast End of London . Ghosh remained in the series til 1987.cite book |last=Smith|first= Julia|authorlink= Julia Smith|coauthors=Holland, Tony|title= EastEnders - The Inside Story |year=1987|publisher=Book Club Associates|id=ISBN 0-563-20601-2]After leaving "EastEnders", Ghosh grew disillusioned with acting, partly due to the frustration of being typecast in stereotypical Asian roles. She re-trained as a reporter through a successful application to an action scheme run by the BBC News and Current Affairs department in
Pebble Mill ,Birmingham . Throughout 1990 and 1991 she reported on programmes such as "Midlands Today ", "Newsroom South East " and "South Today ", and she then went on to make documentaries." [http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/contributor/7356 Shreela Ghosh BBC credits] ", "BBC ". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .] " [http://www.hlf.org.uk/English/AboutUs/Decision-makersandmanagers/CountryAndRegionalCommitteesAndManagers/CommitteeforLondon.htm Committee for London] ", "Heritage Lottery fund". URL last accessed on2008-01-23 .]Two years later she became the director of a national dance agency named Aditi (then the national organisation for South Asian dance), which was based in
Yorkshire , before moving from arts management to arts funding by joining the Arts Council of England when the Capital Programme was rolled out in 1994.Five years on Ghosh was appointed Head of Arts for the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets . She then moved to the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, which is one of the largest independent grantmaking foundations in the UK. Ghosh became the foundation's first programme director for Arts and Heritage." [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/03/09/bachristian0.xml&sSheet=/arts/2005/03/09/ixartright.html Arts Column] ", "The Telegraph". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .] From 2003-2005 she served on the Fellowship Committee atNESTA (National Endowment of Science Technology & Arts), [" [http://www.nesta.org.uk/assets/pdf/NESTA_annual_report_0405.pdf Arts Column Routes to innovation] ", "Nesta". URL last accessed on2008-01-23 .] and she also took a position as a Trustee of the European Cultural Foundation. [" [http://www.efc.be/webready/EURO002.html European Cultural Foundation] ", "efc". URL last accessed on2008-01-23 .]In October 2006 Ghosh worked on the launch exhibition for the Louise T Blouin Institute in
West London — which boasts 35,000 square feet of galleries, studios and space for community projects and held an inaugural exhibition by renowned contemporary artist,James Turrell . She also became a board member on the Cultural Leadership Programme — a two year £12 million initiative to promote excellence in management and leadership within the cultural sector — launched by Chancellor of the Exchequer,Gordon Brown , in June 2006 and chaired by theM&C Saatchi founding director, David Kershaw." [http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewnews/?92937 David Kershaw to chair Cultural Leadership] ", "creativematch.co.uk". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .]As of 2007, Ghosh is a Deputy Director for the Institute of International Visual Arts (InIVA). The organisation focuses on introducing the public to artists from culturally diverse backgrounds, by way of exhibitions, publications, multimedia, education and research projects. [" [http://www.insideout2007.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=10 Shreela Ghosh] ", "Insideout". URL last accessed on
2008-01-23 .]Personal life
Although born in
South Asia , Ghosh leftBengal when she was eleven and moved toEngland , where she has lived ever since." [http://www.allwayslearning.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Diverse_Voices_Personal_Journeys.pdf Diverse Voices] ", "allwayslearning.org". URL last accessed on2007-02-17 .] She is married with several children and has admitted to being a sufferer ofpost-natal depression . One of her children was born in 1985 and her character, Naima, was written out of "EastEnders" for a few months in order for her to have the baby. In the on-screen story, Naima walked out on Saeed after she learnt a few unsavoury things abut his character.While she was working as a Liaison Officer at the Arts Council she undertook an MA in European Cultural Policy & Administration at the
University of Warwick on a part-time basis and in 2005 she began a course inHistory of Art at Birkbeck University.Filmography
*"
EastEnders " (1985-1987) Naima Jeffery
*"The Jewel in the Crown" (1984) Minnie
*"Play For Today " - "Moving on the Edge" (1984)
*"Angels" (1982) Yasmin
*"Play For Today " - "The Garland" (1981) AminaReferences
External links
*imdb name|id=0315924|name=Shreela Ghosh
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