Ex-River City star Nalini Chetty feels 'more avenues open to biracial actors' than 15 years ago

dailyrecord.co.uk:

When Nalini Chetty graduated from drama school, her sister wondered what characters she’d play as she had “a Scottish accent but you don’t look Scottish".Until she got the part of Zinnie Hassoun in River City, the actress conceded it was hard.

But since leaving the soap – although she returned as part of last year’s 20th anniversary celebrations – Nalini has become a mainstay of Scottish-made shows, appearing in Karen Pirie, Six Four with Kevin McKidd and upcoming Crime 2 with Dougray Scott.The actress, of ­Longniddry, East Lothian, whose dad is a South African Indian and mum was from Grangemouth, said: “As someone who identifies as biracial, it really feels there are avenues open to me that would not have been 15 years ago.“That’s why I went down south, because I felt I hadn’t seen people of mixed-race origin playing these parts on Scottish stage and screen, and so I thought I had to go down there and change my accent.”In London they didn’t want her speaking with her Scots accent and, rather than acting, she demonstrated vacuum cleaners in stores and handed out newspapers.

She eventually got her breakthrough in River City in 2011 and returned to Scotland.But since making her home in Lenzie, near Glasgow, with her lawyer husband and two children, Nalini sees a change.From tonight until September, she plays Stella in A Streetcar Called Desire at Pitlochry Theatre, a part she doesn’t think she’d have been considered for even five years ago.Bridgerton, especially, has opened doors for more diverse casting.

She added: “I feel like things are really busy in Scotland. Post-pandemic there has been a surge in demand for content.“With so many streaming channels there seems to be many different platforms.