Amira Devkar (Maria Thattil)

Maria Thattil is joining the cast of Neighbours next year in the guest role of Haz's big sister, Amira.

Nowtolove.com.au article:


Maria Thattil is joining the cast of Neighbours in 2024
Her acting debut!

https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebri...ighbours-79500

In exciting news, it's been announced that Maria Thattil is joining the cast of Neighbours in 2024!

The Australian presenter, author, speaker and now actor will be portraying the role of Amira Devkar, Haz's older sister.

The news was announced this morning via Instagram, with both Maria Thattil and the Neighbours account posting about it.

Maria expressed her gratitude at having landed the role of Amira, saying, "I couldn't be more proud to join the beautiful Neighbours cast at a time when the show is evolving to tell even more Australian stories. Imagining 10 year old me turning on the telly to see herself is pretty surreal ? even more so because I can't remember ever seeing a gay female South Asian character on an Australian TV show. Can you? Grateful to @neighbours & @channel10au for the honour of being authentic representation of what we've been missing. And to do it with a bang 💭💥".

Neighbours also showcased their excitement to have Maria joining the cast, saying, "We're delighted to announce that Maria Thattil will be joining the cast next year in the guest role of Haz's big sister! But just why she turns up suddenly at Harold's is yet to be revealed 👀".

While Maria hasn't delved into the world of acting before, she's no stranger to the camera. She featured as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under and presented a TED Talk speech in 2023. She also appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022, and was also Miss Universe Australia in 2020.

"I'm so excited to be heading to Ramsay Street to bring Amira to life, and best believe she's coming in with a bang! It's a pretty surreal thing to get to play a queer woman of colour on one of the most iconic shows in Australia, as seeing that representation was unheard of when I was growing up. I couldn't be prouder to join the Neighbours cast and I can't wait to stir up a little fun", Maria said to Channel 10.

Maria's role of Amira Devkar is the older and sometimes bossy sister of Haz Devkar. It's an emotional reunion for the siblings who have had challenges with their strict parents. However, despite having her brother's best interests at heart, not everyone on Ramsay Street is thrilled with Amira's arrival.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?v...600&vt=2&sim=1



Also:

Neighbours to bring in Haz Devkar's sister in 2024
Maria Thattil has joined the soap's cast.

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...maria-thattil/


Maria Thattil to guest on Neighbours
Miss Universe Australia to feature as a sometimes bossy sister in Ramsay Street.

https://tvtonight.com.au/2023/12/mar...eighbours.html


Former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil shares shock career change

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...er-change.html

Is this Moana Hopes new girlfriend???

Will be interesting to see if she can actually act. Dont know why they bother with guest appearances the show needs more full time characters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bossy7

Is this Moana Hopes new girlfriend???

Will be interesting to see if she can actually act. Don?t know why they bother with guest appearances the show needs more full time characters.

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Apparently so...

Moana Hope makes new relationship "Instagram official"
The ALFW athlete turned reality star is dating former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil.

https://www.newidea.com.au/moana-hope-maria-thattil


Moana Hope and Maria Thattil share loved-up selfie after rumours the pair are dating

https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertai...ing-c-11656374

Thanks for that. I thought her name rang a bell. Will be interested to see her act.

For anyone interested, Maria Thattil's interview with Stellar Magazine (in the Sunday Telegraph) - a bit of a mention of her upcoming Neighbours role, but no real news on her character, Amira Devkar. It is a subscriber only article, so no link available:


"?I?m sensual and empowered, I won?t apologise for that?: Maria Thattil poses in daring ?naked? shoot
Former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil has bared all in a revealing shoot, as she opens up about her new acting role, romance with Moana Hope, and why she is living by her own rules.


Through her memoir, social media following and appearances on TV, Maria Thattil has offered up her life for self reflection ? as well as public examination.

Now, the 31-year-old former Miss Universe Australia and Stellar columnist is ready to open up about a new acting role, her romance with Moana Hope, and why she is happy to push the envelope: ?I don?t need to shrink myself to bolster someone else?s perceptions of me?.

This issue marks your second appearance on the cover of Stellar, and this time you?ve posed nude for the cover photo. What was it like to make that happen?

I love that, over the years that I?ve been with Stellar, we?ve always been committed to pushing the boundaries. [Stellar has] always gotten behind how I want to self express and the ways that I feel strong and confident and powerful. I loved the shoot. It is definitely in line with what I said three years ago when I became Miss [Universe] Australia ? I said I came to shake things up, and I feel like the shoot embodies exactly that energy, so I love it.

This shoot is unapologetically sexy, but you often talk and write about serious and important issues. One surely doesn?t have to discount the other, right?

It is just not in my nature to worry about how someone else might perceive that, [or to feel] like I need to shrink myself to bolster someone else?s perceptions of me.

I think women are held to standards of scrutiny that make us feel like, to be taken seriously or to get ahead, we need to be palatable, but we can?t be too sexy and we can?t show skin. It is this concept of society wanting us to believe that bodily autonomy will devalue us, or it will cancel out our intelligence, our vision, or our capacity for impact. We?re not allowed to just exist as we are. And so, for me, I love that I can come down to my bare bones for the

shoot because I want to, because I?m confident and I choose to.

That choice and agency has always belonged to me, even if there was a period of time in my life when I was convinced that it didn?t. So, yes, I?m a sensual, physical and empowered being, and I?m not going to apologise for embodying that.

How do you think your family will react? You know what is great about my parents?

They just get behind anything and if they don?t understand it, they will sit and have a conversation with me. I love that.

Being that you are so open about your life, how do you choose what to reveal

and what to keep private?

I?m an open book, and I think so much of my personal life, relationships or family stuff has been the subject of columns on my blog or my work, and I?ve loved them because I really think that it is through storytelling that we connect with people ? that people understand you or feel impacted by something you say. So I think it is important to share.

Something I?ve learnt is the importance of protecting certain parts of your life and keeping something sacred. In this digital world that we live in, strangers do feel entitled to you; sometimes they can have parasocial relationships where they feel entitled to ask me things.

I always think to myself, these people would never walk up to you in the street and just, point-blank, to your face, ask you this stuff. And I feel like I don?t want that undue pressure.

You?ve been very protective of your relationship with former AFLW player and two-time Australian Survivor star Moana Hope, after going public with former partners. Is there a particular reason for that

So while I do share my relationship ? because my partner is an incredible woman who has got her own profile and she?s built her life and done things in her own right and I admire her and I love to share that ? we?re both very protective about how much we share about our relationship. It is fine if people, from [seeing] a video or a photo, want to make inferences.

At the end of the day, we choose what we share, and what we share is surface.

People don?t know the ins and outs of our relationship. It is important to keep certain things sacred. She?s incredible and I?m proud of her, and I feel so lucky to learn from her and so I don?t mind sharing that admiration. But the intimacy and the sacredness of our relationship, that?s between us.

Not so secret has been your move into acting, notably in the ABC comedy Mother And Son last year. Had you been thinking about that move for a long time?

When I was young, I trained at Stage School Australia [performing arts school] and I loved it. I loved performing, but that fell to the wayside when I went to high school. My perception of what opportunities would be like for someone like me was that the only way I?m going to have success is by pursuing a conventional route. So I went to uni, I studied and got a corporate job. I just didn?t think I fit what I thought I needed to be, to cut it in this industry. So once I chose to do Miss Universe [2020], I knew I was going to use that as a platform to do all the things I wanted to do, and I always knew that acting was where I wanted to end up.

This year you?re joining the cast of Neighbours in the role of Amira Devkar, older sister to Shiv Palekar?s character, Haz. That is big, especially given you?ve often spoken about not seeing yourself represented in mainstream media when you were growing up.

It is huge. When you turn on the TV and there is only a certain kind of person telling you stories, or when you?re watching movies and you only see a certain kind of person representing what Australia looks like, or you?re in the supermarket aisle and you?re going to buy make-up and it?s only certain shades of beige, I think all of that stuff, you start to form an idea in your head of what ?Australian? is, and it doesn?t include you.

For many of us, myself included, it means that we chase security and safety because we?re scared to take chances. People like my parents, for example, they didn?t come to this country with that luxury. They couldn?t pursue unconventional paths because they weren?t allowed to be curious about their creativity, they didn?t have that representation, and neither did we.

You?re doing your bit to change that. Do you think you?re making a difference?

Over the past three years, I got to be a brown face representing Australia at Miss Universe, I gave a TED talk [at a TEDxSydney event in September] I became an author [Thattil?s book Unbounded was released in February 2023]. And so with Neighbours, to make my debut as the first gay Indian female character the show has ever had in its history, I think I?m just living and proving to myself ? and I hope to others ? that, no, I don?t have to choose one lane. I can create my own highway. I think that shows other people they don?t have to compress themselves into a box to get ahead. Whether that?s in my career or on the cover of Stellar, I don?t have to people please.

I?m going to go after my ambitions and do it my way ? that?s my compass. I think it?s pretty cool to get to now foray into acting when that has been my personal motto.

And of course, Neighbours featured the first same-sex wedding on Australian TV

in 2018, and in the mid-1980s highlighted Kylie Minogue?s character, Charlene, as

a female mechanic.

When you think of Neighbours, it is such a longstanding, influential, much-loved Australian show, and it has been pivotal over the years in telling Australian stories and it is embedded in all of our childhoods. It is actually coming to the table and trying to make tangible, real change, because these characters in these stories were not just boxes to tick or fun storylines ? they represent real Australians whose stories haven?t been told in the mainstream. I don?t think I have a memory of seeing a gay, female South Asian character on Aussie TV in my childhood, so I always wonder how that proper representation ? if I got to see that in a way that wasn?t tokenism or just an exaggerated caricature ? might have changed my experiences with racism or homophobia, or feeling like I didn?t belong or wasn?t ?Australian? enough.

s Hollywood in your sights?

What a dream that would be. I will say, one of the things

I have learnt is the importance of presence and appreciation for what and where you are. So, yes, it is not lost on me that the Neighbours gig could lead to the next one and I?m excited and open for that adventure. But what I really want to focus on at the moment is getting involved in Australian film and screen, because I think we have so much to offer.

Yet in a recent Stellar column, you wrote about not overextending yourself. How

is that going for you?

It isn?t easy. I carry this fear of, if I?m not working myself to the bone, it is all going to be taken away. I feel like I share this with women broadly and we have this desire to prove ourselves worthy, and sometimes it leads us to the point of imbalance; that?s what was happening with me.

So this year, it?s about staying true to my work ethic but acknowledging I need to live and love, too. Balance and boundaries are critical. As much as I will aggressively continue to chase my ambitions, I will also enjoy just living."

DS article:


Neighbours debut for Haz Devkar's sister Amira amid shock death fears
Will Haz survive?

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...amira-arrives/

Neighbours spoilers follow.

Neighbours has revealed a first look at Haz Devkar's sister Amira arriving in Erinsborough.

Maria Thattil has been cast in the role of Amira, who makes her first appearance on the long-running soap next month.

New spoiler pictures reveal that Amira turns up while her brother remains in a serious condition in hospital.

Amira shares scenes with Haz's girlfriend Mackenzie Hargreaves as the caf? owner faces an uncertain future.

Haz is currently taking centre stage in a big storyline focusing on deep fakes and hacking.

The businessman recently came clean to Mackenzie about his shady past in IT, which saw him and his associates accept money in return for creating damaging deep fakes which featured innocent members of the public.

Wade Fernsby, one of the people cruelly targeted at the time, now appears to be taking revenge by giving Haz's loved ones the same treatment.

Upcoming episodes see Haz coerced into working alongside Wade, which culminates in a dramatic chase and Haz being hit by a car.

How will Amira feel when she finds Haz in hospital and finds out about his recent behaviour? And will Haz make a full recovery from the accident?

Neighbours announced the character of Amira in December last year.

Writing in an Instagram post, the show commented: "We're delighted to announce that Maria Thattil will be joining the cast next year in the guest role of Haz's big sister! But just why she turns up suddenly at Harold's is yet to be revealed."

Maria Thattil said at the time: "I couldn?t be more proud to join the beautiful Neighbours cast at a time when the show is evolving to tell even more Australian stories.

"Imagining 10 year old me turning on the telly to see herself is pretty surreal ? even more so because I can't remember ever seeing a gay female South Asian character on an Australian TV show. Can you?

"Grateful to @neighbours & @channel10au for the honour of being authentic representation of what we've been missing. And to do it with a bang. See you in 2024!"

Neighbours airs these scenes on Tuesday, May 21.

Neighbours releases new episodes from Mondays to Thursdays for free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. In Australia, the show airs from Mondays to Thursdays at 4pm on Channel 10, with a 6.30pm repeat screening on 10 Peach.

Nowtolove.com.au article:


Neighbours Spoilers: Amira is here to protect her stricken brother ? and no-one will get in her way
?Get out!'

https://www.nowtolove.com.au/enterta...-haz-hospital/

History is repeating itself in Neighbours as Mackenzie sees another of her lovers in a hospital bed fighting for his life.

Previously in Neighbours, the cafe owner was accidentally struck by a car ? driven by his own girlfriend, Mackenzie ? when he was chasing down Wade (Stephen Phillips) a shady criminal from his past attempting to evade the police.

Now, a tornado hits Erinsborough this week in the form of Haz?s sister Amira, and she has one person in her path she wants to destroy: Mackenzie.

The feisty Amira (Maria Thattil), who?s long been estranged from Haz (Shiv Palekar), shocks the residents of Ramsay Street when she arrives at the hospital to be by her brother?s side as his life hangs by a thread.

Hell-bent on revenge, she doesn?t hesitate to start hunting down the person responsible for putting him there ? Mackenzie (Georgie Stone) ? and punishes her by stripping her of her visiting rights.

?Amira is on the attack,? Maria, 31, tells TV WEEK. ?Her brother is badly hurt, and there?s a person to blame.?

While she claims she?s just looking out for her brother as any big sister would, questions are raised about her motives when her reasons for banishing Haz come to light.

?Amira and her parents were devastated by Haz?s criminal past,? Maria says. ?But now she feels guilty and wonders: did she go too far with this distance [she?s kept]? She?s feeling a cocktail of emotions and ends up projecting a lot of her internal shame. That?s why she comes in with a bang.?

While in town, Amira also locks eyes with a local Erinsborough resident, and feeling a romantic connection, may now have even more reason to stay around.

Who is it she has eyes for? And how long will Amira stand between Mackenzie and her brother?

...

Now, as Mackenzie is distressed at the thought of losing Haz, Holly notices there?s something off in her demeanour. What is she hiding?

?Mackenzie is definitely reaching breaking point,? Georgie, 23, told TV WEEK. ?But having something to distract from her fear and guilt is the thing that?s keeping her going right now. Exhaustion is easier than facing up to her complicated emotions.?

Holly (Lucinda Armstrong Hall) walks in on the tail end of Mackenzie apologising to an unconscious Haz and assures her not to be sorry, assuming it?s about the accident in which Mackenzie is at fault. But Holly is left wondering if there was more to the emotionally charged apology.

Could it be she?s not over the death of her husband, Hendrix (Ben Turland)? Or has she done something that might come to light if and when Haz awakes?

?Mackenzie?s love for Haz is absolutely genuine, and his presence in her life pulled Mack out of her grief,? Georgie explained. ?But I do believe that if Hendrix were still alive, they would have been together forever. He was probably the love of her life.?



Also:

Maria Thattil speaks on her ?surreal? debut on Neighbours as Amira
Her acting debut!

https://www.nowtolove.com.au/enterta...ghbours-79500/