Tarina Patel

Tarina Patel
Occupation	Actress, model, film producer
Years active	2006-Present
Spouse(s)	Iqbal Sharma (m. 2009)

Tarina Patel is a South African actress, film producer and model. Born in Cape Town and raised in The Bluff, Durban.

Early life

Tarina Patel was raised in a suburb called The Bluff, Durban situated in the KwaZulu Natal province. She is the only daughter of Raman Patel, a doctor specialising in family and emergency medicine, and Veena Patel a teacher of English and History. Patel was raised as a Hindu and credits her paternal grandmother with instilling faith and strength in her. She attended Durban Girl's College, and exclusive private school for girls. She studied English, Afrikaans, French and Latin. The Patel family is known for their academic brilliance and when she finished school at the age of 16, she went to India to study medicine. She then returned to South Africa to complete her studies psychology at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. She graduated with an honours degree, summa cum laude.

Career

Acting and film

Patel travelled to India after competing her degree in psychology and learned Hindi - a prerequisite for an actor in the Indian medium film industry. She made her film debut in 2006 with the film One Night With The King alongside Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole . She followed it up with the Bollywood film Just Married which was released on March 16, 2007. Her performance in the film attracted the attention of respected film critics and the film fraternity at large. Later she had a special appearance in Dhol. After, she was she performed in the movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa ^[1] which was a huge box office success and the highest grossing motion picture of year. She had the supporting role of Nandini Upadhyay in Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Her last film released in 2007 was Dus Kahaniyaan which feature many of the biggest stars in India. In 2008, Patel had a small role in Karzzzz as Julie. In addition, she starred in Khallbali-Fun Unlimited which was released on November 28, 2008. In 2010, Patel starred in Chase as the leading lady, love interest. She has always portrayed a diverse range of characters, which have always been strong women.^[2]

She was signed to one of the Top 5 agencies in Hollywood, Paradigm during 2010 where she spent her time auditioning for movie roles during the highly competitive and challenging pilot season. She is also represented in the UK by Independent, who represent some of the best talent in the industry.^[3]

Currently she has her energies fully vested in continuing to build her film credentials and is working on a film entitled Mandela’s Gun – as the executive producer. She is working with the legendary John Irvin as the director and well on her way to producing an international docu-drama based on the Marakov pistol Nelson Mandela buried when he was a young freedom fighter. The movie has the full support of the National Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa.

Modelling

She has appeared on numerous magazine covers including Elle, Dossier, FHM, Cosmopolitan and Glamour. She was one of the few South African women to feature on an Elle cover and was also chosen to feature in Chopard's "Some Of The World's Most Beautiful Women Wear Chopard" campaign. She featured in Burberry's trench coat campaign in India. In 2010 she walked the ramp as the show stopper for Gitanjali Jewels during their show for India International Jewellery Week. She has also appeared in advertisements for the exclusive jewellery line. She has endorsed products for Cremebelle Ice Cream, Hyundai, ICICI Bank, Polo Mints, Cadbury's Chocolate, Kingfisher, VIP Suiting, Fair & Lovely, Maruti Car, Mentor Sportswear, TBZ Jewellery, Blue Film airconditioning and Airtel. Products endorsed by Patel have to date reached record sales figures. She has featured in many music videos.

She has said that when she started modelling, she never lost sight of the fact that it was a stepping to acting. Today she is emphatic that acting and film are her passion and continues to be her primary focus.

Appearances

Her work in film and fashion takes her straight to the front row at all the most exclusive fashion shows including Paris, Milan and New York Fashion Week and her status as a formidable actress has seen her make regular appearances on the red carpet at the Oscars as well as Cannes, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.

As a South African pioneering a movement in the acting industry, she is considered a role model to other women and girls. As strong female leader she is often asked to lend her voice to women’s issues, presenting seminars and speeches during local Women’s Month celebrations. She is seen as the perfect example of achievement to expose other aspiring women to in hopes of inspiring them to unlock their own potential for excellence.

She was chosen to be a judge at the Miss India Universe pageant, held in Durban in 2010.

On January 9, 2011 she hosted the celebration of "The 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in South Africa". It was one of the biggest events in the country, held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Amongst the 100, 000 people in attendance was President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma and various ministers. The event was broadcast worldwide. In the same year she also performed a dance routine as the opening to the Top 4 installment of popular talent search show, Idols.

In 2012 she made appearances at the South African Film and Television Awards and The South African Sports Awards, where she presented the Best Actor and Sportsman of the Year awards respectively.

Philanthropy

She uses her influence to raise money for the Smile Foundation’s work in providing free reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities. She documents missions in an endeavour to increase awareness of the cause. In her own words, her job is to “inspire, encourage and reward” the children she works with through her visits to rural schools where she reads and gives inspirational talks to the learners. She is fervently passionate about advocating education as a means to uplift the youth of Africa.

She is closely aligned to the custodians of the Clinton Foundation and has great belief in what they advocate. The organization works to strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. The Foundation focuses on four critical areas: health security; economic empowerment; leadership development and citizen service; and racial, ethnic and religious reconciliation. It works principally through partnerships with like-minded individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments, often serving as an incubator for new policies and programs. As a contributor to this cause Tarina was most instrumental in organizing and coordinating the African reception of the Clinton Global Initiative on its visit to Africa in 2010.

She is also involved with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital trust and is constantly raising awareness to bring investment to the cause for building a state-of-the-art specialist paediatric tertiary and academic referral hospital. She has arranged a number of charity benefits and auctions to raise funds for the cause.

In August 2013 she allowed herself to be immortalized by arguably South Africa’s best artists, Lionel Smit, for charity. The Glamour Aid Charity and Art Auction raised a phenomenal amount of money for charity by auctioning paintings of South African celebrities including one of Nelson Mandela. Tarina’s painting fetched the highest bid on the night. Giving her face was not enough for her though; she purchased the painting as well and contributed her personal funds to the cause. ^[4]

Personal life

Patel married Iqbal Meer Sharma on February 21, 2009 in a lavish 4 day Hindu ceremony at Pinnacle Point, Johannesburg. The wedding was considered the event of the year. Her husband is the nephew of Ismail and Fatima Meer, great South African political activists and freedom fighters who are the best friends of Nelson Mandela. He is the former Deputy Director General of South Africa's department of Trade and Industry. He was the head of Trade Investment South Africa (TISA). He currently heads ISSR business in the private sector.

Filmography

Television

Theatre

References