It’s been five years since Delhi boy Suraj Sharma made his acting debut with Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. The accidental actor (he had accompanied his elder brother to the auditions and ended up bagging the role) is now studying filmmaking at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and making his big Bollywood debut in Anushka Sharma’s Phillauri this Friday.
t2 met the 24-year-old actor at Anushka’s office in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala on his recent trip to India for Phillauri’s promotions. With a giant cup of black coffee to help him battle jet lag, Suraj spoke Phillauri, how Life of Pi changed his life and the big decision he’ll need to make soon.

The last time t2 spoke to you was just before the release of your Hollywood film Million Dollar Arm. You had said, ‘I am interested in Bollywood, but no one has approached me yet’… 

And then things changed! (Laughs)

Clearly!

I think at that point, I was also aloof. I didn’t want to do too much. I was in college… I still am… but I guess I was a lot more cynical towards the idea of doing too much or something big again. It was around that time when I started getting quite a few scripts. Then it just became about choosing the right script that also fit in with my college schedule. I can only work on my holidays. 

What made you want to be a part of Phillauri?

I am glad Phillauri is the first Hindi film I did. Firstly, it gives me a full character. I am integral to the script but I don’t necessarily hold the whole weight of the film. It’s a big cast production, a family entertainer but at the same time, it’s not so far down on the road that it loses out on the story. Phillauri is kind of quirky and interesting. My character is constantly in an odd situation. 

This has been a learning experience for me. The style of acting is very different… you are far more emotive here. Learning that was a lot more different and… difficult for me. This is also my first attempt at comedy. There are a lot of firsts for me with this film and I am glad that happened with this group of people. Anushka ma’am, Anshai Sir (Lal, the director) and the film’s cast and crew have been phenomenal. They could guide me and yet give me the freedom to find my own rhythm. I don’t know how other actresses work, but Anushka works on this reality quotient. She is very much in the moment and derives her performances off you just like you derive from hers. I am very lucky that I got someone like her to work with. 

This is your big Bollywood debut. Are you excited?

I am! Just so excited! I am now in that zone where I am nervously excited, but also numb because I haven’t seen the whole film yet. I know it’s going to be different because I haven’t seen myself in a set-up like this… with songs and stuff. 

I didn’t recognise you in the promo the first time I saw it… 

I didn’t recognise myself! (Laughs) No seriously! I couldn’t even recognise my voice. I decided that my character is not standing up for himself, so I decided to give him a pitched, childlike voice. So, when I watched the trailer I felt this disconnect which was quite interesting. I am quite looking forward to seeing how people react to me in this film. 

For people around you, is this a bigger deal than Life Of Pi?

I think it is a bigger deal in a different way. That was just the beginning… it felt really odd because it was so big, so unexpected. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Even today, I find it hard to understand what happened. This is exciting because, in comparison, this is home. This character is closer to me… I think I am funny as a person.

Talking about funny… did you enjoy attempting comedy for the first time?

I did. I didn’t realise how difficult comedy is, especially situational comedy where your character is caught in this vortex of frustration and confusion. My character is not intentionally funny. It is odd to get your mind to understand that it’s a comedic situation, but you aren’t supposed to be funny. Also, timing is so important. Again, learning experience… I want to do more comedy. 

What was Anushka like as a co-star and producer?

For me, her producing a film already instils a great deal of confidence in the film. I know from all her films that she has only done good work. She’s never done a story that didn’t make sense. That was important for me. She is so on-point as a producer… she is such a smart woman. As an actor, it is scary how inter-dependent two people in front of a camera are. If you don’t work together well, it could easily not work at all. But that wasn’t the case with Anushka and me. Both of us like to work off the other person. It was very organic to work with her. 

You said earlier that you didn’t want to do too much work because of your college schedule. But since Life of Pi, you’ve made four films including Phillauri and had a six-episode guest role in Homeland’s Season 5!

It’s been tough. On the one hand, I was lucky enough to get these amazing jobs while I was still in college. I was able to apply the things that I was learning. It felt integrated and wholesome as a learning process. But I do feel that I couldn’t invest as much as I would have wanted to in these characters because of my schedule. 
I am almost done with college, so I think I should get more time now… to not only find the right roles but also to flesh them out more. But I have to tell you that I loved college. It gave me this great buffer from both industries. I was really young when Pi happened and young people tend to get very bogged down by the whole thing. 

You have about five months left for your course to get over. What happens then?

The real world beckons! (Laughs) I am currently debating what my move should be. I need to decide if I should continue living in New York or move to LA or Mumbai. Hopefully, I would have a certain amount of work that would help me make that decision. In terms of work, after Phillauri, I have Burn Your Maps (co-starring Vera Farmiga and Jacob Tremblay) that will release in the US at the end of the month. It’s a small indie comedy. 

The one thing I have noticed through this interview is how much at ease you are with this process. During the interview for Pi, you were like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. What else has changed since?

(Laughs) I was pretty much directionless until that film came my way. I wanted to be a footballer, but that didn’t work out so I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do with my life. Getting a regular job wouldn’t have worked for me. It gave me a sense of self-worth which is not what I would have had at that point. Also, as you remember, I was a super introvert. I couldn’t speak to strangers. 

That’s clearly changed!

(Laughs) Ya. The more I was pushed out of my comfort zone, the more I have grown.