Ambika Mod, who was born to Indian immigrant parents feels that she could never imagine that a person from an ethnic background would have got a predominantly white-girl character in ‘One Day’. She feels it’s a significant change, but also believes that there is a long way to go.
Ambika Mod is on cloud nine ever since she was announced as the lead for the web series adaptation of ‘One Day’ – a novel by David Nicholls. The actress in a recent interview revealed that she was just 13 when she first read the book, and she couldn’t believe her luck that years later, she is getting to play the lead character for the same novel’s screen adaptation.
“God no, all of this is still mad to me,” Ambika Mod opens up while talking to BBC News when asked about whether she ever thought she would get the lead in such a prestigious production. Above all, she felt that coming from an Indian immigrant family, she might never get such a part in western productions.
“Even up until my early 20s, it was something that was quite rare in TV and film,” she reveals as she is asked about actors belonging to a specific ethnicity. To be fair to her, she isn’t completely wrong. Up until a few years back as well, no one could image such a diversity of ethnic actors who belong to a certain minority come up and play major roles in predominantly a white-man’s film industry. However, things are quite different now, and an acceptance level has increased manifolds.
“But I think we’ve still got a long, long way to go,” feels Ambika Mod.
Many would remember ‘One Day’ from the film adaptation back in 2011 when the lead characters were played by Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Ambika is stepping into the character which was made immortal by Anne Hathaway. Leo Woodall steps into the character played by Jim Sturgess.
Both the actors were cast for the parts regardless of their ethnicity, and that’s a shining news for every actor from every minority group in the western countries.
Talking about why this was right decision coming from the makers, she says, “I think [that decision] definitely was right for Emma. I think it just opens up a whole other dimension to her character and her identity that is prevalent in the book and I think it becomes even more enhanced by my casting in the series. I hope it will open people’s minds a little bit. I’m aware how significant it will be to a lot of people, especially young women of colour, young South Asian women in particular.”
For the unversed, ‘One Day’ is a decades-spanning love story, which has been released over 14-episodes. It’s available to watch on Netflix.