Tara Mandal

Tara Mandal, is a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street portrayed by Ayesha Dharker.

Creation

Her creation and casting were first announced on 22 August 2008,^[1] one month after Coronation Street was lambasted in a report by chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips for being "too white".^[2] The report criticised the show's tokenism in having existing Asian character Dev Alahan fill the stereotypical role of shopkeeper.^[2] Dharker's casting as Tara also dually serves to increase Dev's role in the soap, as her arrival sees him become the centre of a mother-daughter love triangle. A show insider said: "We really want Ayesha to become a favourite with viewers."^[1] However, in the 14 April 2009 edition of TV Times, it was reported that the character had been axed from the show and would depart screens the following month.

Storylines

2008–09

Tara made her first appearance on 15 September 2008 when Dev met her at a dinner party thrown by her parents Prem (Madhav Sharma) and Nina (Harvey Virdi).^[3] She reappeared on 10 October when she visited Dev's apartment to discuss business matters on her father's behalf. From the outset, it was evident that there was an attraction between the pair. They were interrupted by a jealous Nina who warned Dev to stay away from her daughter. After she left, Tara tried to kiss Dev but he rejected her advance, she left feeling embarrassed. On 20 October, Tara invited Dev to her house after asking for Prem's consent to the relationship. The two were about to share a kiss when Prem and Nina walked in. Dev was forced to end his relationship with Tara after he admitted to Prem that he had been sleeping with Nina, Prem and Dev agreed that Tara would not know of the affair. However, Tara reconciled with Dev and they resumed their relationship. In November 2008, a devastated Tara discovered that her ex-boyfriend had been having a fling with her mother when they were together. Further heartbreak followed when Dev's daughter Amber (Nikki Patel) told her that Dev had also been sleeping with her mother. This led to the end of her relationship with Dev.

On Boxing Day 2008, Amber set Dev and Tara up on a date in the Rovers, Amber told Tara she was having relationship problems with Darryl Morton (Jonathan Dixon) and that she wanted advice, whilst telling Dev she wanted a drink. When they arrived, they realised what happened, they soon sat down and made up whilst having a drink. Dev sold Tara the corner shop flat, as it was empty and Tara needed a place to stay.,^[4] she gladly accepted. On 19 January 2009, Tara gave Amber a car as a belated birthday present. However, Dev was against this. Amber was offered a job by Darryl, so she could pay for driving lessons. ^[5]

In March 2009, Dev refitted one of his shops as a new art gallery for Tara and she launched it with the name No Oil Painting. Dev's uncle Umed (Harish Patel) voiced concern that Tara was taking advantage of Dev's money and even suspected her of having a fling with Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) who was doing the refit on the gallery. Tara began to dismay when it became apparent that there was little interest in her new venture as she was failing to sell any pictures. Keen to please her, Dev got Minnie Chandra (Poppy Jhakra) to pose as a London art dealer who was interested in purchasing some work. Tara found out that it was indeed Dev that has purchased the art after Minnie brought the art into the shop and she left, humiliated that Dev had made a fool of her. After her departure, Dev had a one-night stand with old flame Lisa Dalton (Ruth Alexander Rubin). To Dev's horror, Tara returned to the flat the following day to say how sorry she was, not knowing that Lisa was in the bedroom.

Tara later discovered Dev and Lisa's night of passion from Poppy Morales (Sophiya Haque), and disgusted, planned her revenge, tricking Dev into posing naked at a photoshoot. On 11 May 2009, Tara revealed to the whole of Weatherfield the nude picture of Dev with the word 'LIAR' censoring him. Dev, who planned to propose to her that same day, and Tara argued in the flat before she packed her bags and left. Tara attempted to apologise to Amber, whom she was very fond of, but Amber refused to listen.

References