‘The Lunchbox’ actress Nimrat Kaur, who is all set to debut on American series ‘Homeland’ as ISI agent Tasneem Kureshi, says she plays Claire Danes’ nemesis on the show but is not sure whether she will share screen space with the Golden Globe-winning actress.
Danes has won three Emmy and four Golden Globe trophies for playing the lead role of CIA agent Carrie Mathison on the popular show.
Nimrat, 32, and ‘Life of Pi’ star Suraj Sharma are the new additions to the fourth season of the hit thriller series.
Nimrat will make her debut on the fourth episode of season 4.
“I have no idea that I have scenes with Claire Danes at this point. I play a mysterious person who is her nemesis on the show. Of course, it would be lovely to share screen space with her but every time I ask the writers they have this sweet smile on their faces, so I am not sure,” Nimrat told PTI in an interview.
The actress won international acclaim for playing a lonely housewife in Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’ Nimrat, however, believes ‘Homeland’ would be her real introduction to the western audience.
“ ‘Lunchbox’ was an incredible gift for all of us, mostly for Ritesh and me but I feel ‘Homeland’ would be my real introduction to the western audience because it already has a great viewership and fan following. I feel I have a big responsibility to be as true to the story as possible,” Nimrat said.
The actress found working on the hit series “completely out of her comfort zone” but a good challenge.
“It was completely out of my comfort zone. Everything was up in the air. Normally, I am used to working after doing a lot of rehearsal but we were given the script just before shooting. It felt like I was doing a workshop,” she said.
“A lot also depended on the energy of the day and your equation with your co-star. It was very challenging but I feel it was a good thing to chew on as an actor. They really placed a lot of trust in our ability as performers,” she added.
Nimrat feels she got the part out of sheer luck as she was in London for some personal work when they were casting for the show.
“I got there on Sunday morning and I had my audition on Monday. This was my first time in London, so it was a nice way to begin the trip,” she said.
Nimrat, who watched the pilot after landing the role, bonded with Suraj on the set of the show as they both come from Delhi. Nimrat finds Suraj really talented and someone who has a long way to go.
“Suraj was missing home so I brought some ‘kaju katli’ for him.”
She is yet to announce her second project following the success of ‘Lunchbox’ and there were reports that >Nimrat read more than 400 scripts , something that she laughs off.
“Yes, there is a ridiculous number floating on the internet. I don’t know where it came from. If that was true I would be at home still reading the scripts. I did not keep a tab but I think I must not have read 25-27 scripts at the most. There is a Bollywood project in the pipeline but I can’t reveal much about this at the moment.”
Ask her how she wants to take her career forward, Nimrat says she likes to do her best without expecting much.
“ ‘Homeland’ is another show for me, a very prestigious one for sure but I believe in doing my best and moving on. I don’t like to expect much. That way you don’t get affected either by success or failure,” she said.
