Suraj Sharma began his journey in the world of making movies with the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee. The young actor’s first role was very challenging not only in the character he had to potray, but the fact that much of his role was filmed in front of a green screen with a CGI tiger. He excelled and won rave reviews. Originally from India, Sharma has been looking for an Indian film to do and finally found it in Anushka Sharma’s Phillauri.
Set in Punjab, Phillauri is about an NRI Punjabi boy named Kanan (played by Suraj Sharma) who returns to India to get married to his childhood sweetheart. As luck would have it, his horoscope reads that he is a Manglik and that he needs to marry a tree before he can marry Anu (played by Mehreen Pirzada) to ward off any threat to his love life. Grudgingly he gets married to the tree and to his shock, he finds himself being haunted by Shashi – the friendly spirit (played by Anushka Sharma). Shashi used to live on the tree and when Kanan married the tree and then the family chopped it down as a ritual – the ghost finds herself stuck in the world of Kanan not knowing what to do. In the course of the film’s journey we find there is a poignant, beautiful, unfulfilled romantic back-story of Shashi with Phillauri (played by Diljit Dosanj) that becomes that centre-plot of the film. What happens well you will find out when you see the film!
Recently the actor talked with Stacey about working on his first comedy film, Anushka as a ghost and much more!
Sharma says that many things went into his decision to play the part in Phillauri. “I was always looking to do a movie in India because I am from India as you know. I really felt like I wanted to do a something along those lines but it took its time, I guess. Mainly to find the right story that met what I wanted, which is something that was focused on entertainment, focused on being fun, a family driven film which is more commercial at its base, but at the same time has some depth to it, has some off beat sensibilities and something different. I found all those things in the script. I thought the script was really quite brilliant.”
Adding, “I really hadn’t done anything like this before.”
“There were many things that made me want to do it,” he says. “My character, he is a guy in such an odd situation, you know, coming back to get married to his childhood sweetheart, but at the same time having cold feet about that. Then being stuck between her and a ghost! It is just something comical. I hadn’t really explored comedy.”
Anushka working both as producer and actress on this film was another reason he said yes. “She is very well respected. I think she is one of the actresses who can really hold her own. She likes to do things that are unique and have some meaning.”
“I felt like all these things came together on this film and I was totally down,” he concluded.
Talking about how he becomes his characters he revealed, “I feel like with every character you have to try and do different things to bring that character to life. I don’t really have a method or anything per se. I just try to feel my way through what is going on and find the characters. I talked in depth with the director and the writer. They really helped me understand what they wanted. At the same time, I wanted to portray certain things myself, because I found it very interesting: this character’s dilemma where when you have so many options one finds it hard to commit to something one thing completely and wholly. So we found certain things about that and we worked along those lines. We did workshops. I started to listen to a lot of Punjabi rap music to get a sense of what they think and what they do on a regular basis. I tried to use all this. But at the end of the day, I guess, it was just an exploration that all of us kind of went through together – to realize and kind of grow along the way and we found things about each other’s characters. It kind of happened in an organic sense, I feel.”
Since Anushka is a ghost, we wondered how were her scenes filmed? Was this another Life of Pi with the green screen or was Anushka fully in costume on set? “It was actually quite brilliant because the CGI and special effects that we did in this film were slightly different – not so based on where you place them within the mise en scène. What we did with this is was a mix of two different kinds of things, we had the real Anushka on set working with us and then the effects were added on to her. It was great! I got to react to a real person with emotions and expressions! (Laughs) So it was quite good! It was amazing.”
He added, “Plus you know Anushka is an amazing actress, so when you act with her you feel very comfortable. You feel in the moment and you are really in the zone. You never really break character when you are acting with her. So, it was great. It really, truly was a beautiful experience.”
Sharma had nothing but compliments for director Anshai Lal. “Anshai sir is very interesting, I feel, because on hand he has a very set vision, I believe. He knows very well what he wants, so you feel a certain trust – you really trust him to guide you in the direction he wants. But, at the same time, he has a very collaborative attitude about things, with everybody: with the crew, with the actors. He likes to explore and find more that what either of us knows existed in the first place. It was really great.”
“I guess another thing I would want to add to this is, and I am sure you know, is that between Hollywood and Bollywood, though I don’t even like these terms anymore… so between a Western sensibility of what performances are like or more like the Indian sensibility of the performances and what the audience wants to see – I think I was not necessarily completely understanding that and did not completely know how to go about that. You know, I like to be subtle if I can say that. I don’t know if I am or not, but in my head I like to be. So, trying to be more outward in your emoting, I think, was something that I was kind of discovering. I really think Anshai sir and Anushka really guided me through that. Helped me understand why or what it is that makes this work or make people want to have it be that way. I think they really guided and helped me through that.”
This was his first comic role, so how was it to do his first lighter comedy? “You know, my friends always tell me, and maybe just because they are nice, they say I should do comedy because they think I am funny. Honestly though, I think it is difficult. Comedy is much more than meets the eye per se. Because what comedy does is bring about light heartedness, but comedy is a heavy tune. It is very hard to find the right timing. Especially on this film because it is a very situational comedy. It is not slapstick. It is totally situational, so what that does for me and for my character is that I am petrified, I am confused, I am frustrated. And none of these things are funny for me. Right? And the same for Anushka as she is a ghost – she is confused, she is frustrated with her situation and both of us are just trying to figure it out. So it is funny for the outside and to people watching, but not really on the inside if you know what I mean. So, the situation is funny but for either character it is real and intense, in fact. It was very interesting. But I do think I want to do more comedy because it is definitely fun. It is definitely challenging.”
Of course, music is always a part of Hindi films, so did he have a song that he really connected too? “Yeah! I really love ‘Sahiba’. I really can’t get ‘Sahiba’ out of my head. Even in NY, all my friends, I have gotten everyone addicted to this song. I have Dominican friends who listen to ‘Sahiba’ now. It is a beautiful song that can touch many hearts. It is not restricted to where you are from. I mean, even if you don’t understand the lyrics, I believe it is a beautiful song to listen to. Obviously the lyrics are gorgeous I think. ‘Sahiba’ is definitely my favorite.”
So if he were looking for a film to see, why would this be a film he would want to go to the cinema to watch? “I do believe it is offbeat. It is different. I really, really believe it is different. It might not be exactly what one would expect before they go in. In fact, it might turn out to be something more, I believe. At the same time it goes through many emotions. It’s hilarious. It’s fun, but it also goes through more emotional, more sensitive places. It portrays a diverse variety of characters. I think there is a lot to see, a lot to experience through this film. It goes through multiple time periods. It goes into the past and tries to explore the past and explore the sensibilities of the people before and then the sensibilities of the people of today in our modern world in India. It is very interesting. I think there is something for everybody in it. It really is a family film at the end of the day! It is super entertaining. It has got something for everybody.”
Sharma also told us about his next project, “I did this other film called Burn Your Maps, it is a Western production. It is super fun. Another comedy. Another family oriented film. Hopefully it will be releasing sometime soon as well.”
Besides working in films, he also is hard at work on another project, “I am studying film at NYU. I want to finish that off on a good note and then go back and really delve into the scripts and delve into auditions and try to find work.”
About why he chose to study film at NYU, he says, “So far I can only say I fantasize once in awhile about directing. I like to tell stories I believe. I have always been a little fond of writing so I have been trying my hand at that. I have been trying to direct. I have fallen in love with cinematography. I love photography now. But what I really wanted to do was study film so that I understand. You see I feel like I am an outsider. I never really wanted to be an actor and I never was a film buff. So there were so many things I needed to catch up on. I needed to understand, needed to realize what truly is why we are telling stories, what are movies, what do they do to people, so I think it has given me that overall perspective. It helps me choose scripts now. It helps me be a better actor. It helps me understand things. You know, films have many layers so I did it to understand truly, but now I have just fallen in love and I kind of want to do everything.”
Taking a look back at his career from Life of Pi to now Phillauri, what would he say about his experiences so far? “It has been a whirlwind. I really don’t know what is going on (laughs), but I am trying to go with it. Trying to ride the wave. I feel very lucky. I have been blessed. See from before Pi happened, I didn’t really have any perspective goal in life. I wanted to be a footballer, but that failed. So, I didn’t really have anything or any direction to move in. This has given me a direction to move in. And a fun one! I feel so good when I am on set! It has been beautiful!”
I would like to thank Suraj for the fabulous chat and look forward to seeing him on screen when Phillauri hits theaters today!
