Aysha Kala


Aysha Kala is an English actress and theatre maker. On television, she is known for her roles in the Channel 4 series Shameless and Indian Summers, and the BBC One crime drama Virdee. She was named a 2015 BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.

Early life and education

Aysha Kala grew up in Snaresbrook in east London, England. Her father is a Gujarati Muslim from Gujarat, India.
Kala attended Chigwell School. She graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2013.

Career

Kala made her television debut in 2011 when she joined the cast of Shameless on Channel 4 for its eighth series as Sita Desai. She then made her professional stage debut in 2012 with roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing in Stratford-upon-Avon, for which she received an Ian Charleson Award nomination, and Khadija is 18 at the Finborough Theatre, for which she was nominated for an Off West End Award.
Upon graduating from drama school in 2013, Kala made her feature film debut in the comedy Jadoo. She also appeared in Farragut North at Southwark Playhouse and Djinns Of Eidgah at the Royal Court Theatre.
She was named a 2015 BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.
In 2015 and 2016, Kala had a main role as Sooni Dalal in the Channel 4 drama Indian Summers.
In the years following, Kala did more theatre, including PunkPlay at Southwark Playhouse in 2016, Obsession at the Barbican Theatre in 2017, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Theatre Royal, Bath in 2019, and The Welkin at the Royal [National Theatre|National Theatre] in 2020.
Kala returned to television in 2021 with guest appearances in the BBC series Call the Midwife and the Netflix series Master of None. This was followed in 2022 by recurring roles in Man vs. Bee, also on Netflix, and the Channel 4 thriller The Undeclared War.
Kala returned to the National Theatre in 2023 when she originated the role of Jessica Levy in The Motive and the Cue, directed by Sam Mendes, and took over the role of Vimala in The Father and the Assassin.
She had roles in the Paramount+ series The Doll Factory and the Apple TV+ series Criminal Record.
She plays Saima, the wife of detective Virdee, in the BBC One crime drama Virdee, which premiered in February 2025. At time of the series release, she was filming season 2 of Criminal Record.