She has tasted varied menus but for many of us Sarita Choudhury is still the girl who conjured up Mississippi Masala with Denzel Washington for master chef Mira Nair. “I am interested in independent cinema and theatre and they don't make news. Also, I am not based in Los Angeles. I live in New York,” says Sarita, who was in Delhi recently to promote her latest film For Real directed by first time director Sona Jain.
Somebody, who is hard to convince for a role, Sarita says she found the script brilliant. “It is set in Delhi but it is the story of every urban couple facing the dilemma of choosing between family and career. It has a world cinema kind of appeal. Also I have mostly played rebellious characters. Here I got an opportunity to play a mother, who keeps the suffering inside.”
With actors like Sarita, who has played characters of different nationalities you are tempted to dissect acting. From a Pakistani country-western singer to a Chilean maid she has played it all with ease. Recently she played an Arab in theatrical production “Roar”. Sarita says there is a method to the way she approaches a role but she can't share it as then one could see through her performance.
“See all actors pretend. I enjoy that pretence. I don't wear heels in real life but if it is for a character I love to get into the traits of the person I am playing. For For Real , where I play a singer who has to give up her passion for her husband and family, I practised singing for hours, in bathroom, in subways though I am tone deaf. Having grown up in different countries – Jamaica, Italy, U.K. – I catch the accents quite easily. In the US, they don't know where I am from! The point is audience should not be able see through it. That's why your close friends never think that you are a great actor.”
Cultural honesty
She finds theatre much more colourful and gender neutral. “I have recently played a male character.” Perhaps that's why she could point out her best performance in theatre but when it comes to films she is still yearning for that role. I have four productions in the last one year but only those 200-300 people who watched them know that Sarita is busy!”
Sarita is not enthused about the independent cinema scene in New York. “I don't find them culturally honest anymore. Perhaps I have spent too much time there so I can see through them.” She acknowledges the cultural changes in the US post 9/11.
“Despite all the power and money I find Americans quite ignorant, particularly when it comes to the Muslims. I attend the court trials and try to be vocal about news censorship. I say make an opinion about Islam after reading Koran. Keep an open mind. They seem to believe putting Obama on top is the end of new hope.” It reflects in cinema as well, where she feels actors of South Asian origin are being ‘used' to further certain stereotypes. “I don't want to be used and have refused many roles. I don't mind playing a racist but the film should not be made to perpetuate some wrong message.”
Going back in time, Sarita says she was always interested in acting. “My father was cool about a degree in films as long as I did my graduation in Economics. So I did both from Ontario.” Talking about her meeting with mentor Mira Nair, Sarita says she was fresh from the film school and dared to send some tattered photos to Mira. “She called me to see the girl who dared to send such photos. After three days of intense audition I was selected. In Mira I saw somebody I wanted to become.” Then her bold avatar in Kama Sutra got her some naughty publicity in India. “I did it only for Mira because only she could handle it with sensitivity. Had it been somebody else I would have refused.”
Sarita is excited about the growth of independent cinema in India. “I like what Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bharadwaj and Raja Menon are doing. It has a mythical quality, something like a parable. I believe I can fit into this kind of cinema. I met Sudhir and Anurag in Mumbai and have asked them to write something for me. I have little knowledge of Hindi, so the character should be put in the right context.”
For now she is back to New York where she has to rehearse for her next with Keanu Reeves.
