The life Of Pi star Suraj Sharma will be seen in the fourth season of Homeland. He says he doesn’t have the looks of a typical Indian actor which makes it difficult for him to crack Bollywood
So what are you doing in HomelandIJ
I play Aayan Ibrahim, a medical student. He’s from a village but he’s moved to a city so for me, to create that person was a very mixed feeling. In general, he is smart, hard working and a good person but he is caught in a very bad situation. It’s got a lot more to do with familial bonds — where he grew up and who and what side can be considered the right side.
What’s the biggest challenge of joining Homeland at season 4IJ
Firstly, this is the first TV show that I’m doing. The shooting process is completely different from a movie, because you have a vague outline of what’s going to happen but you don’t really know, and that helps the character because the character doesn’t know it either. For me that’s the hardest thing since it’s a very different ball game from movies.
What’s the best part of this experienceIJ
The people...it’s always the people since I am meeting few of the best people.
What was the most challenging part of training yourself for the characterIJ
I think the hardest thing with this character is he is essentially a normal person in the situation. The hardest part for me is simply imagining a situation wherein there is this constant strife; you’re part of it because of your family, so you’re involved and there is this continuous threat through the drones always, since a long time now. And living with that, imagining what it would be to live with that and get to a point where you don’t notice it anymore — the continuous danger all the time — and you’re trying to live your life, that’s the hardest part.
During the promotions of life of Pi, you had mentioned in an interview that it all happened by chance, because you accompanied someone to the auditions. How did that episode change your lifeIJ
I have a career (laughs).
What was the career path you were planning back then and how has that shifted the whole thingIJ
Back then I was bad at school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future. I hadn’t even thought about that, I had no plans. I was lost and not in the best situation that one could be in at that age. So essentially it saved me. It gave me hope that maybe I can do something like this. It gave me that random thing that’s needed for actually anyone to even work on movies. Mostly something randomly happens somewhere, which gives you a direction. That happened early, gave me a chance to do something and now I’ve realised that this is really what I want to do — tell stories. So yeah, it saves my life.
Is TV the new directionIJ Since you’re comfortable now, do you want to pursue other television showsIJ
TV’s coming up, that’s what the future is. So for me I feel like I’m growing. And regarding this particular role, I’m very fortunate to get it because it’s so different. This guy goes through so much stuff and that’s what an actor would look for — a role that’s complex as hell and one that challenges you.
How are you enjoying Cape Town (shooting location)IJ
Cape Town is so beautiful, I don’t want to go from here. Of what I’ve done so far, I know I want to do much more. I really want to come back to South Africa and see everything and travel.
Do you ever feel like a starIJ
I don’t like that.
You don’t want to be a starIJ
You get some things, you lose some things and you have to be smart about these things because we live in a strange age where sadly enough, when something is looked up at too much, it loses its sheen. But yeah I don’t like that whole idea. I’m normal, everyone that works in it (Homeland) is normal. We’re just all a little bit crazy and we are trying to make something very unreal come to reality. We are trying to affect people in multiple ways. Beyond that, I don’t know anything.
Would you be willing to do projects that come from places other than Hollywood and the USIJ
I am trying to do that. My belief is that studios will always have that power that they have which will also mean the US. But at the same time, the world is coming really close together and movies are being made everywhere. Moreover, studios are coming up everywhere. There is a lot of push for this kind of stuff. Even Bollywood is changing fast, so when I look at a script I’m not looking where it’s coming from. I’m looking at the script and the role.
So as an actor, you’d be comfortable having a leg in both camps and you’d be open to the idea of doing more stuff at home...
Of course! As an actor, you can’t relegate yourself to one thing…that would be a mistake, so I’m open to whatever comes my way.
You got catapulted into life of Pi almost by accident at a very young age. How did you cope with the certain change in your popularity, status and the influx of cashIJ
Well firstly I grew a beard. I’m not hugely always social; I’m kind of an awkward human being, so initially I didn’t take it well, at all. Slowly I just started realising, trying to figure out what I’m trying to do and now that I am in this situation, what do I do with it now. I don’t know how I cope with it.
So you didn’t go “wow” for the moneyIJ
I didn’t get as much money as you would expect me to. Also, NYU is really expensive, so everything I’m earning right now is like take it here and put it there.
Did other offers come pouring in from IndiaIJ How has Bollywood reacted to your Hollywood fameIJ
Bollywood is not an easy nut to crack, especially if you are young, doing things on your own and lack any back up. This is how it’s been set up. All the producers, everything that holds power and money, is built around connections mostly, so it’s hard to break that. So I don’t know what my status is. I get roles offered once in a while, sometimes they ask me to audition as well. If the role seems right and appropriate to me, I may try doing it. But I have scheduling problems since I have my college all the time. So status wise, it’s very hard to break Bollywood because there are many people trying all the time.
Well once you’ve worked with Ang lee, you’ve got a great calling card.
Yeah, definitely I got very lucky. That one thing set me up for a lot of things and helped me and brought me somewhere I would not have otherwise been. But from this point on forth, it’s not like something is written in stone for me. I’m not even ,appearance-wise, what would be an Indian actor and I’m aware of that. In Hollywood, the number of roles you get as an Indian actor, which are not stereotypical, is very small. So I need to be aware of these things, and I can’t get ahead of myself like that. I’m just going with what’s happening.
(Homeland’s Season 4 will be premiered on Star World early next month)