Leaving a career in banking behind for acting, to her debut role in Life Goes On, Supriya Davda talks to the beautiful British Asian actress Neerja Naik
BY SUPRIYA DAVDA | MAR 16, 2010
Q. So tell us the lowdown about yourself?
A. Where do I start? I did my degree at Cambridge and then went on to drama school to train as an actress. I graduated from Drama Centre London following in the footsteps of Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Anne-Marie Duff amongst a long list of others. The training there was brilliant, the school itself is well known for its focus on "The Method". It was an intense training, very disciplined with a sometimes gruelling schedule. I loved it and the rest was pretty much history.
Q. You left a stable career in investment banking for a career in acting? What made you do that?
A. Well, when I went into the City I found that that particular world just wasn’t for me. Like all actors, I love to play around with character, with moods and emotions, letting my imagination run wild. Soren Kierkegaard said that “the most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly one you can never have” and I wanted to live life on my own terms with no regrets. That’s where the desire to pursue acting as a career came from, but the love of acting and the ambition to act was always there. When I was a kid I used to love the magic of going to the cinema or watching a movie. I remember watching ‘Edward Scissorhands’ over and over, along with a few others. I used to repeat all the lines and liked feeling what the characters felt, going on their journey. And now it's just all fun and imagination for me!
Q. Besides 'Life Goes On' what other work have you pursued in terms of acting?
A. In my other projects I've gone from a comedic pampered housewife, to a psychotic murderer, to an ambitious student who has to work as a cleaner to make ends meet. I acted in ‘Professional Woman of the Year’ directed by BAFTA nominated Don Boyd - a mainstay of the British film industry who has worked with the likes of Tilda Swinton and Laurence Olivier. The film is a comedy directed in the style of a documentary. It’s based around four characters trying to win the award for Professional Woman of the Year. It was a lot of fun as I played a somewhat crazy character! I also recently played a ghost in ‘Untouchable’ a horror by debuting director Rohit Gill.
Q. Tell us about your character in the film 'Life Goes On'?
A. In ‘Life Goes On’ I play the role of Tuli a spirited sister of three. Tuli is definitely a fiery, forthright character who stands by what she believes to be right. She is highly opinionated, not afraid to speak her mind and also reveals a great deal of vulnerability, which was exciting to play with.
Q. What preparation did you do for the role?
A. I always try to bring out the humanity of the characters that I play, relating to them through my own experience of life. ‘Life Goes On’ is about a family dealing with the loss of their mother, and the theme of loss and grief is something that, unfortunately, all of us can relate to. So for me it was about recreating that feeling making it as impulsive and as real as possible. In terms of my character, Tuli takes life a lot more seriously than me, her tempo is also a lot quicker than mine and Sangeeta (the director) gave me very clear direction on how she had written and foreseen her. We work shopped the script before the shoot. I read the script a lot, found the similarities between me and Tuli and also our points of difference and then worked on creating that in my performance.
Q. 'Life Goes On' won Best Film award at Pravasi film festival, what was your reaction to this?
A. It was very exciting. I was unable to make it to Pravasi for the festival, but it was great to hear the news, via a stream of text messages. I remember when they had the first screening in India and Sharmila-ji called to say that she had liked my performance that was pretty cool. It is always nice to hear good news about a film you’ve worked on.
Q. Speaking of Sharmila-ji you've worked with actors like Girish Karanad, Sharmila Tagore and Om Puri in the film, what was the working experience like?
A. It was amazing. They are brilliant actors, with so much experience and I relished being around them, both to work with and to learn from. All of them were super encouraging, like wells of knowledge and they were generous enough to share their experiences with me. We had a lot of fun together.
Q. I understand that Om Puri is extremey pleased with your acting skills in the film, and wishes to take you back to B town, any plans making a debut in a Hindi film?
A. How did you get that! He had said some encouraging words to me on set after a particular scene, which blew me away. I am working on my Hindi, so who knows what the future will hold...
Q. Although 'Life Goes On' is a British film, most of the major star-cast are from the South Asian continent. Was their working ethic different from yours?
A. All actors have to work differently from each other as the craft is very personal. There are always differences in the way people work. I don’t think there was a difference in working ethics based on part of the cast being from India and another part from here. Their experience plays into the way they work, I suppose. I was definitely impressed with the speed and ease with which they worked. I guess my working ethic is borne out of my Drama Centre training, a method approach to acting.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. Acting, acting and more acting! I hope to shoot a thriller this summer and am in very early stage talks with an American director about a feature, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I want to keep on playing interesting, varied characters that inspire and challenge me to experience life from a different perspective. To explore both dramatic and comedic roles. It's important for me to keep growing as an actress so naturally that means learning from and working with great directors and actors.
Click here to view exclusive pictures of Neerja Naik along with Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore at the London screening of 'Life Goes On'. You can also visit www.lifegoeson.info to read more on 'Life Goes On'.
