Jamila Massey

Jamila Massey is an actress and writer of Indian origin. She has earned fame for herself through her extensive work on UK television and radio. She is well-known for her roles in Mind Your Language as Jamila Ranjha, The Archers as Auntie Satya, and EastEnders as Neelam, the mother of Sanjay Kapoor Sanjay Kapoor is a Bollywood actor. He had acted a >> Read More... . Jmila was born on January 7, 1934, in Shimla, India. Massey's father served in the Second World War and relocated to the UK with his family in 1946. He eventually became a producer for the BBC. Massey began her acting career as a child, performing in radio children's programs for the BBC. She studied Urdu, Latin, and English at King's College London, with the goal of pursuing an acting career. However,

her mother disapproved of this career path and prohibited her from attending drama school after her father's death, causing Massey to resort to covert means to pursue her passion for acting. Jamila Massey initially started her career as an extra and had her first film role in Sink the Bismarck! (1960), in which she played the role of a translator for the Urdu news section that covered the event of sinking of the British battleship HMS Hood. Her radio work was extensive and spanned multiple languages including Hindi, English, Urdu, and Punjabi, as well as for the German service of the BBC. Despite the scarcity of roles for Asian actors during her early career, Massey managed to secure parts in various series such as The Next Man, Crossroads, and The Jewel in the Crown.

In the middle of the 1990s, Massey achieved a lifelong dream by portraying the recurring role of Auntie Satya in The Archers, a daily agricultural soap opera on Radio 4. Jamila has also made appearances in various other TV shows, films, and theatre productions. Apart from acting, Massey has co-authored books with her husband Reginald Massey, and has a deep interest and involvement in Indian music, having introduced several Indian musicians and dancers to Western audiences. Massey and her husband reside in Llanidloes, Wales.