Meet Karen David, Indian-born English actress and singer-songwriter
BY SUPRIYA DAVDA | JUL 1, 2009
Born in India, raised in Canada before moving to London to study, David subsequently appeared in the original cast of Mamma Mia! and worked with Indian composer A. R. Rahman in developing material for Bombay Dreams.
Q. What was the experience like working with A R Rahman?
KD: I first met Rahman when I was in the original cast of Mamma Mia. He was in town looking for some new talent to work with in Bombay Dreams and the casting director had called after the show at 10pm, asking whether I can be at this man's house at 11:30pm. It sounded dodgy at first, so I asked who this person was? And he said it's A R Rahman. I then did finally meet him. Rahman is the sweetest man on earth, he does this amazing cockney accent, which is just so funny. We've now been working together for seven years, we did the title track for the film Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai.
Q. What are your current projects with A R Rahman?
KD: We finished doing four tracks from my upcoming album, so a year ago we flew to Chennai and we recorded all the Bollywood strings and percussions. I wanted to capture the authenticity of my roots, so Rahman insisted for me to come over to his studio and record it there.
Q. You have exstenviely lived in several places around the world. Do you feel torn from one culture to another?
KD: I was born in Shilong, the northern part of India and then I came to Canada as a little girl, I was a baby; it was always about fitting in. A lot of kids at that time can be really mean, I was bullied and as a child going to a western school, I was brought up a Catholic and people found that odd as I was a south Asian. All I wanted to do was fit in, so I was torn with my identity. All the kids would always say you're different and don't fit in anywhere. But now I appreciate that. I embrace all of these things and my culture and it is so important that I express this in my music. And I always say that music is an extension of who I am.
Q. You're starring in a Hollywood film called Couples Retreat. Tell us about your role?
KD: Well Couples Retreat is a romantic comedy. I am working with Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Kristen Davis and the music is composed by Rahman. The film is centered around four couples who go on vacation, and one of the couples goes on this trip to work on their marriage. We shot in Bora Bora and had the most amazing time.
Q. Would you ever look to work in Bollywood?
KD: I have worked on cross over films like Provoked and some others. So if there is a cool Bollywood role, I would love to do it and it?d be a lot of fun and such an adventure it'd be hard to say no too. I am learning Hindi right now.
Q. From where do you draw your inspiration from when penning your tracks?
KD: Well...I can't afford to see a therapist so you write about it. It's mostly about my life experiences of meeting different people, going through some tough times and some happy times. Like I've said previously my music is an extension of me and whilst in the midst of growing up, having this identity crisis as this south Asian kid growing up in a western country I wanted to write about that. A lot of it is universal, when I'm at gigs, friends or fans would come up and say how they can relate to that. So at times my writing has that universal appeal. And that's what makes everything great. I just feel lucky and blessed that I can live my life fully and that I can be able to write and be able to make music.
