The young star of Brick Lane is to go head to head with Dame Judi Dench for the honour of best actress in the British Independent Film awards.

Tannishtha Chatterjee, 29, a Delhi art-house actress, plays the lead role of Nazneen in the adaptation of the Monica Ali novel about a Bangladeshi girl who comes to Britain for an arranged marriage.

The film provoked outcry from some in east London so that filming was moved. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall then pulled out of a planned Royal Film Performance amid concerns a gala might become a target for protests.

Chatterjee is honoured in a list that also includes Anne Hathaway who played Jane Austen in Becoming Jane and Sophia Myles for the quirky Scottish movie Hallam Foe.

Chatterjee said today: "It's my first British film and I've been nominated - you can't get better than this." She said there had been a very good response from screenings in London attended by members of the Bangladeshi community.

"I honestly don't find anything controversial in the film. Most of the people who are reacting obviously haven't seen it and haven't read the book. They have to see it."

Brick Lane's director, Sarah Gavron, has been shortlisted for best director in a list including David Cronenberg for Eastern Promises, his story of Russian gangland crime in London, and Anton Corbijn for Control, the story of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.

Control heads the nominations list with 10. They include best actor and most promising newcomer for its star, Sam Riley, and best supporting performance for Samantha Morton as Curtis's wife.

When Did You Last See Your Father? received seven nominations.

The winners will be announced at the Roundhouse on 28 November.