Tara Mandal was a love interest of Dev Alahan between 2008 and 2009.
Dev broke off an affair with Tara's mother Nina in order to date Tara. When Dev's daughter Amber Kalirai spitefully revealed the liaison to her, Tara forgave Dev and moved into 15a Coronation Street, satisfied that it was in the past.
Tara and Dev split up when Dev cheated on Tara with her father's accountant Lisa Dalton, leading Tara to take revenge on her boyfriend by unveiling a massive nude photograph of him at the Victoria Court flats in front of a crowd of onlookers.
Biography[]
Tara was the daughter of Prem and Nina Mandal. Her mother was a Bollywood star and had many affairs with other men, including Tara's boyfriends.
Tara was introduced to Dev Alahan by her father in September 2008. Dev found himself instantly attracted to her. Nina, who was having an affair with Dev at the time, was furious and warned him off her daughter in no uncertain terms.
In October, Nina was further infuriated when she found Dev entertaining Tara at his flat. Nina left him in no doubt what would happen if he continued to see her. Nina continued to threaten him, telling him she'd reveal their affair if the relationship went any further. Dev eventually told Tara that their relationship wouldn't work, without telling her why. They reconciled a few weeks later. Dev asked Prem not to tell Tara about his affair with Nina, and he reluctantly agreed for the sake of his daughter. Coincidentally, a few days later Dev was forced to comfort Tara when she discovered that her ex-boyfriend had had an affair with her mother.
When Dev purchased the local kebab shop from Jerry Morton, Dev's daughter Amber was angry with her father for ruining her relationship with Jerry's son Darryl. Amber took the ultimate revenge on her father by revealing his affair with Nina to Tara. However, Dev managed to make amends with her and their relationship continued. She also moved into the Corner Shop flat.
When Tara make plans to go to Scotland in January 2009, Amber hatched a plan to get her to stay, as she believed that her relationship with Darryl depended on the success of Dev's and Tara's. However, her scheme involving tampering with Tara's plumbing backfired when Tara accused Dev of sabotage. Amber confessed to tampering with her taps so that she would have to ask for Dev's help. Tara was impressed by her honesty and what she'd tried to do for her dad and agreed to stick around. Tara later brought Amber a car for her 18th birthday.
Tara later proposed to re-fit Dev's shop to turn it into an art gallery, discussing the matter with Jason Grimshaw. Dev's uncle Umed got the wrong end of the stick and thought they were having an affair. Umed also began to suspect Tara was using Dev for her art gallery, but Dev defended her. Tara was later gutted when her art gallery received no reviews in the Weatherfield Gazette. Dev asked Amber's friend Minnie Chandra to phone her masquerading as an art dealer. Minnie found herself agreeing to buy £700 worth of art. However, Tara found out that Dev had arranged the buy and left him, feeling humiliated. Dev then slept with Prem's accountant Lisa Dalton and Tara turned up the next day to apologise for overreacting.
In April 2009, Lisa arrived at the shop to tell Dev she couldn't stop thinking about him, which caused to Dev to panic and he told her he was back with Tara. Tara saw her at the shop before he could usher Lisa out and assumed she was there to see her. She insisted they go for a drink at the Rovers, but barmaid Poppy Morales saw them all friendly and revealed Dev and Lisa's one-night stand to an oblivious Tara. Tara later decided to give Dev a chance to confess but when she questioned him he didn't comply. Tara then began planning her revenge on Dev. She suggested to Dev that they both pose naked for each other in photographs to declare their love for each other. However, the photographer was conveniently called away when it was Tara's turn to pose.
Several weeks later, whilst Dev was planning to propose to Tara she unveiled a large picture of a nude Dev as "artwork" on the Victoria Court flats. Thoroughly humiliated, Dev realised Tara wasn't going to accept his proposal and she left, ending their relationship.
Personality[]
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Background information[]
The character's creation and casting was announced 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".[1]
First and last lines[]
"Pleased to meet you." (First line, to Dev Alahan)
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"Your father, when I found out what he'd done, I was so angry and humiliated." (Final line, to Amber Kalirai)
Appendices[]
List of addresses[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 15a Coronation Street | 26th December 2008 to April 2009 |
| 9 Victoria Court | April to 11th May 2009 |
Employment history[]
| Role | Institution | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietor | No Oil Painting Art Gallery, Chorlton | 20th March 2009 to 15th May 2009 |