What was the biggest attraction in The Namesake?
To work in a different milieu than in Mumbai. Of course, I was going to work in a film based on a famous novel, working with a respected director and I had many interesting co-artists.
But more than anything else, I was curious to know what it was to work with an unknown unit and in a country without a friend. So I told myself, I will go abroad, do this film, and come back home. And that is what I did. Of course, I have been attending a few film festivals (Toronto, Rome) where the film was showing. And here I am in New York now talking about the film.
Did you wonder what the film could do to your career?
Not at all. I knew it was a Hollywood project, of course, but at this stage in my career, and Hollywood being Hollywood, I could not think of The Namesake as a gateway to something abroad.
If you could use just one word to describe your experience working on The Namesake?
Liberating. It was a very liberating and exhilarating experience. It was like I had come to America to work in this film without bringing any baggage. It was a different kind of experience. There was hardly a familiar face around, apart from Mira and Irrfan Khan. And I did not know anyone in the crew, at least in the beginning.
It was as if I had been transported to a different planet, but it was so invigorating to work on this film, I forgot where I was.
Also Read: How The Namesake came to be