Tanya Maniktala

Tanya Maniktala was born and raised in Delhi. She graduated in English Literature from Shivaji College in New Delhi in 2018. Her acting career began through street plays performed with 'Vayam', the theatrical society of her college. In 2017, The Viral Fever's Delhi office, TVF Rajdhani, was producing a web series for their YouTube channel, 'The Timeliners', and sought a young actress to play the role of 'Ishita'. They discovered Tanya through her street play and approached her for an audition via Shivam Kakar, her neighbor and a fellow street play performer. Initially, Tanya declined the role due to poor attendance at college and upcoming exams. After discussing it with her elder sister, who encouraged her to seize the opportunity, Tanya auditioned and was cast as Ishita in *Flames* (2018). Though the show was well-received by audiences, it did not lead to further acting opportunities. Despite several auditions, Tanya struggled to find work and eventually left acting to become a copywriter at an advertising firm in Gurgaon, Haryana. In 2019, a college friend, now working at a casting agency, informed her about auditions for Mira Nair's *A Suitable Boy* (2020), the adaptation of Vikram Seth's novel for BBC One and Netflix. After multiple rounds of auditions with casting director Dilip Shankar and director Mira Nair, Tanya was cast as 'Lata', the main lead. In June 2021, Tanya was selected as one of ten participants in the first BAFTA Breakthrough India initiative.