How does your South Asian heritage help you in your acting career and how does it hold you back?
The only way I can see it holding me back is that I’ll probably never have the opportunity to appear in a classic British adaptation of a period drama such as “Pride and Prejudice” or “Jane Eyre”…..these are texts that I studied growing up…but on the other hand, I can be Sita in The Ramayana or Jeherezade in Arabian Nights, roles for which a typical Caucasian actor wouldn’t be considered for. Then again, Merle Oberon played Cathy opposite Lawrence Olivier’s Heathcliff in the Hollywood adaptation of Wuthering Heights, she was half Indian and judging by the casting of the recent “Prince of Persia” film, anything is possible.
There is a lot of background noise about the show Outsourced being another program that just stereotypes Indians, how does that make you feel, and what would you say to those talking about it?
That’s just being said by people who haven’t even watched it. They are assuming that it is stereotypical……if anything, the show is breaking down stereotypes by showing just how similar the east and the west essentially are.
Do you feel that there is any truth to the “buzz” that Indian actors only get cast in stereotypical roles?
No more than the classic blonde does or the moody Italian-American guy does……. sure there are stereotypical roles out there for Indians, but there are for every stereotype ….not just Indians….and times are changing ….the industry is moving away from that kind of casting.
