ZARAH KULKARNI
character intro & biography
the basics
full name : zarah lakshmi kulkarni
gender & pronouns : cis woman, she/her
age & date of birth : forty, 8th november 1982
category : Β comedy actress & aspiring director
sexuality: biromantic bisexual
faceclaim : Β hannah simone
backstory
zarah was born in england and dreamed of being an actress from an early age. as a child, she had a recurring role in the tv soap eastenders and this took her into her mid-teens, giving her opportunities in later years to work on doctor who, happy valley and various other iconic british tv shows. her transition to work across the pond, however, wasnβt easy - finding the right agent was something of a struggle, and it turned out that moving to a country where you knew next to nobody was quite difficult! who knew?
it was at this point zarah met her now ex-wife. they bonded over stagnating careers, a lack of work, and being at rock bottom and embarked on a whirlwind romance that saw them married within a year. with barely any money to their names, they floated around l.a., going from audition to audition until zarah finally got the callback sheβd been waiting for. it was for a sitcom set in california, revolving around a bunch of roommates in their late-twenties to early thirties. zarah was up for the quirky british slash transatlantic side character and she nailed the audition.
as it turned out, getting the part was the easy bit, waiting for the show to get picked up was a whole different ball-game. the pilot had been shot, and now all she had to do was wait. meanwhile, her wifeβs career was dying an even more dramatic death by the day. sheβd stopped bothering to get out of bed, she didnβt care about working - if it wasnβt acting then why bother? zarah was supporting the both of them and it was exhausting. too exhausting. they argued constantly, the fierce love theyβd once felt for each other turning into hate, until one day zarah couldnβt take it any more and she had to leave. she sent a note to her wifeβs parents to let them know the situation, because she couldnβt just leave her entirely alone. six months later, her pilot was picked up.
slight changes were made to the sitcom long haul and she was now the lead - a kooky british woman finding her way in california, making friends and making people laugh. weird how work sort of imitated life sometimes? the show did well in its first season, and in its run was commissioned for six in total. zarah had an absolute blast, genuine connections with most of her co-stars and friends for life. her dreams had become a reality, or at least most of them had anyway. tv acting was different to movie acting. maybe that was next?
zarahβs had a couple of high profile relationships. she dated one of her co-stars from long haul and it ended amicably (much to fansβ relief). she also had a brief fling with a director, which sparked her interest for working behind the camera. this is the route sheβs now trying to go down, forging new connections. sheβs going to have to start small, or so she thinks anyway.
personality
zarah has a real warmth about her; she oozes approachability, but sheβs not exactly an enormous fan of people because sheβs quite introverted. sheβs usually very friendly, and a lot of the time itβs a facade of politeness. she has a theory that she appears a lot more confident and self-assured than she actually is. anyone who gets close to her will have a friend for life. with that being said though, loyalty and trust mean a lot to her and if either of those is broken then she will cUT OUT whoever has hurt her. sheβs not afraid to go βsnip snipβ. sheβs not unaware of her flaws - she knows she can be selfish sometimes (isnβt everyone?) and she will go to certain lengths to protect herself.Β
inspirations
zooey deschanel in new girl, tiya sircar in the good place, parminder nagra in bend it like beckham, maya rudolph in literally anything, isla fisher in literally anything, rashida jones in parks & rec.
list of work
1992-1998: shari khan in eastendersΒ 2001: nina bolton in casualty Β 2002-2003: beena shah in crossroads 2003: stella kowalski in a streetcar named desire (the lyttleton theatre, london) 2005: rose tyler in doctor who 2014: ann gallagher in happy valley 2016-2022: priya marsh in long haul
possible connections
her ex-wife! they never actually got divorced so that could be an interesting plot. maybe her career has had a huge facelift and sheβs ready to rub it in zarahβs face? or maybe she wants to take zarah down after her success, so she goes to the press? idk any drama is great! could also have someone who knows her ex-wife who isnβt a fan of zarah? any romantic relationships would also be welcomed, professional relationships too - bestie work colleagues or maybe someone who zarah doesnβt get along with? iβm open to p much anything!
connections pageΒ / pinterest











