‘I Want To Do Both Bollywood And Hollywood Films’

Suraj Sharma grabbed attention with his acting in his debut film Life of Pi. In an interview with Lachmi Deb Roy, he talks about his latest film The Illegal and expresses his desire to do a song-and-dance Bollywood flick.

‘The Illegal’: Director Danish Renzu came to me with the script about a young boy who goes to the US to follow his dreams of film-making and faces all the typical struggles. I connected with the character that I play because our stories are quite similar. The protagonist, Hassan, is also from Delhi and comes to the US to attend film school. The story is very personal, emotional and important because it is a perspective not many people realise. There is an assumption among us that if somebody has gone to the US he is probably doing well. But it is mostly not the case. I spoke to Danish and his life story too was very interesting...the way he narrated the story of The Illegal was absolutely touching.

Preparation and back story: When I moved to New York, I missed India a lot and the easiest way for me to not get homesick was to eat Indian food. So, I used to go to all the Indian restaurants and made friends with the waiters and delivery boys. They started telling me their stories and showed me pictures of their family and friends back home. This made me realise that they haven’t seen their families for long and they were not there legally, so there was a big question mark as to when they could go back. Some of them even had no interest in the kitchen, but they had to earn a living and this was all they could do. The way they were stuck in the US was heart-breaking. Those were very intense moments and I genuinely care about these people. So, when I read the script, my mind automatically went back to them and I felt that I know Hassan. I used my experiences and that helped me understand this character. I also spoke to my director who mirrored similar experiences.

American projects: I moved to New York eight years ago. I wanted to do both Bollywood and Hollywood. There is this bridge forming between the two countries in terms of films and I wanted to be a part of that. I feel the youth of India want to tell their stories through music, art, web series and this is really coming into fusion and it’s becoming real.

Toughest role: I was lucky to have all my projects, which are different from each other and different formats too. I feel all of them were incredibly challenging. But the toughest so far was Life of Pi because I didn’t know anything about acting then and it was an exceedingly tough set to be on. Everything I did then was deeply emotional; I was just going with the flow and keeping myself aligned with it all. Now I know how to deal with certain things related to acting because of my previous experience. I constantly keep telling myself that I can do everything, that I just need to figure out how.

Representation of South Asian people in US films: It’s changed and it is way better than before. But we have a long way to go. Now we can see a lot of South Asian people behind the camera as producers, directors and writers. Now everybody wants diversity and we also want our stories to be told and our thoughts to be heard.

On acting in Hindi film Phillauri: It was super fun. I am hoping to work in India more, just that circumstances need to pan out that way. I am waiting for good scripts. My focus is characters that have depth and complexity and that can give the audience some shift in perspective. For me, Bollywood or Hollywood doesn’t really matter. What is relevant to me are good stories and the people involved in making this.

Bollywood: I love typical Bollywood films and if I get an opportun­ity, it is going to be another learning experience. Again, sometimes I feel I am not cut out for it because of my performance, style and my looks. But I still want to work, learn and grow. Whether it is the commercial Bollywood or it is the undercurrent of the new Bollywood, I want to be part of all that. So, I am just waiting for the right moment.

Favourite platform: My favourite platform is independent cinema and that’s what I truly love. But I feel that every format has its positive side. Like in theatre, it is beautiful to see the reaction of your performance. In television, you learn how to build the character over time, change them and the character grows gradually. You can work and learn new lines every day. But independent films I love because there is something about that extra passion and the creative juice that comes out which to me is the ultimate experience!