February 8, 2017
It is the quality of flexibility and ability to adapt
to an out-of-comfort zone that helps Indian actors make a mark in a foreign
land, says Nimrat Kaur, who has worked in American shows like "Wayward Pines"
and "Homeland".
Nimrat first caught attention with "The Lunchbox", a
simple but compelling film that found wide visibility at international film
festivals. It worked in her favour for projects abroad.
In the past few
years, Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan,
Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Ali Fazal have featured in international
movies.
What does it take for an Indian-origin actor to break into
Hollywood?
"For any Indian actor, the first thing which helps you to be
able to cross over and be able to work in different industries -- not just the
American film industry, but even in Europe or anywhere else -- is, I guess,
flexibility and relatability... What happens is that the first thing is
language," Nimrat told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
Actors with an
ability to express themselves in different languages have an advantage, she
said.
"We are one of the largest film industries in the world, but we are
a Hindi-speaking film industry. So, for actors who are able to express
themselves and who are able to translate as actors in a different language, they
truly stand out with that advantage... They are able to cross over and are able
to work in different industries.
"That is a very basic factor which helps
actors to be able to cross that bridge," she added.
Nimrat hopes to see
more and more Indian actors in "projects, films and TV series abroad".
"I
feel like we have all the talent of the world. We have such incredibly diverse
and amazing actors who just need to be seen in a different light. It's very
exciting to be out of your comfort zone and be able to plug yourself into
environments that you do not entirely relate to. But as exciting as it is to
work in a foreign project, it's also being majorly out of your comfort zone,"
she added.
She stressed that flexibility, openness and being able to move
without carrying any baggage of where one comes from "really helps if you work
in a foreign set-up".
Nimrat was last seen on the silver screen in the
2016 film "Airlift", starring Akshay Kumar. She is currently seen in ALT
Balaji's web series "The Test Case".
She hopes this year she is going to
be seen in more projects.