Aasif Mandvi, 44, is branching out of his usual role as a regular correspondent on The Daily Show. He has co-written and stars in Today’s Special, a movie about a young Indian American finding his place between Indian and American culture. Born in Bombay and raised in England, Aasif had much to relate to. We had a chance to talk to Aasif about his new film and projects.
Where did the inspiration for Today’s Special come from?
The inspiration really came from my days on Broadway, back in the late 90s, where I portrayed members of my family, so I guess the inspiration of writing a movie about an Indian family came from that. My co-writer Jonathan Bines was also in a sketch comedy group with me, he’s not only a comedy writer but also a food critic. Being the real foodie he is, we came up with the idea that we would show the experience of an Indian immigrant family and sort of create an actual foodie comedy about Indian food. Because food has such an association with family and love and since no one explored it with an Indian family, for me, it just felt like a no-brainer to do that.
What was it like shooting the film especially in and area Jackson Heights where there is a large South Asian population? Were there lots of crowds?
Jackson Heights is actually not used to having a full film crew there. I think there was one movie called, Chutney Popcorn that was shot there, we were just kinda left alone for the most part. People were just like, ‘Oh, they’re making some student film in that restaurant.’ But Jackson Heights was amazing. The community was very friendly to us and supportive. We were in that restaurant for almost 3 weeks we took over that entire restaurant. We only had problems when Naseeruddin Shah showed up. He was sitting in the back alley reading the newspaper sitting on a plastic chair and the word spread and people wanted to take their picture with him. It kinda freaked out our NYU interns who were in charge of crowd control, but it was fine in the end.
Are you a foodie yourself? Do you like to cook?
No, I’m not really a foodie. I can say I appreciate it. I cook only when I’m trying to impress a girl and usually it’s with my mom at the other end of the phone telling me how to do it. I took cooking lessons during the course of this film, in preparation but we ended up just eating a lot of food. For me the main thing was to create the persona and the confidence of a chef. I knew I wasn’t going to become a sous chef in 2 weeks, but what actors are really good at is sort of mimicking and finding it somewhere inside of you. Finding out what it appears like. For example, the confidence the chef has while picking up a knife or the way they chop, that’s what I needed to know and what it felt like. When a professional is doing it there’s a different sense in the way they hold their body so that was what was important for me in terms of portraying Sameer.
How do you think the mainstream North American audiences will react to this film based on the success of shows like Outsourced and films like Slumdog Millionaire?
I dunno, I hope that they embrace it. This is a very American story. Both Outsourced and Slumdog Millionaire take place essentially in India, even though Outsourced was shot in LA but they take place in a foreign land and someplace that is exotic to Americans. And in some way this is an exotic world in terms of the food and the culture, but this is a story about an American family. It’s an American immigrant family that takes place in Queens, NY. Originally we thought of maybe going to India, that obviously would have blown our budget but the thing is we also decided that he should just stay in Queens because this is an American story and it’s about an American family. I think that’s what makes it universal.
In your career, you have become a South Asian icon. Do you think this has been a conscious decision for your career? Representing South Asian positively?
[laughs] Um… I just laugh at the word icon. No, it hasn’t been a conscious decision, I just happen to be South Asian so I represent in some way. There’s a globalization that is happening in the world, and India and China are emerging as the world’s super powers, so there’s more focus on it. Just by virtue of being Indian and being on something like The Daily Show, you end up speaking to that cultural East-West piece a lot and that’s kinda what my life is about and what has defined my life.
Were your parents supportive when you decided to become and actor?
Yes and no. I think my mother was supportive in the sense that she was a woman who didn’t get to explore her dreams in the way she wanted to because she was an Indian woman and she got married young and her husband moved her to another country so she never got a chance to be the person she always felt like she could be in the world. She transferred that to her son and was very encouraging of what I wanted to be in life, so when I told her I wanted to be an actor she was supportive of it. I think it was only when I decided that I really wanted to be an actor, make it my living, and not go off to medical school, I think my parents were nervous, like any sensible parents would be, but my mother has a little bit of the adventurer in her as well, so she was always encouraging of me following my dreams.
In the film, Madhur Jaffrey, who plays your mom, is trying to get you married. Have you felt that or other typical South Asian pressures in your life?
Yeah, I mean we all have, that’s why it’s true and strereotypical in some way. We all experience that, its part of the immigrant experience. Your parents want you to get married to someone within the community, it’s kinda something that happens but the short answer is that yeah, I’ve experienced that.
Are you a fan of Bollywood films?
I grew up watching Bollywood films. I don’t really watch Bollywood films all that much, now but I’ve seen Naseer’s work a lot. I saw him in Monsoon Wedding and a bunch of his other films. I think he’s great. These guys make so many films, that there’s an ease to which they do this and I found that to be true working with Naseer. These guys just do this like they’re drinking water, it’s effortless and that is what’s so brilliant about Naseer’s performance in this film. There’s something effortless about it. It’s true for Bollywood stars and Hollywood stars as well. You see someone like Robert Duvall doing a scene and you think there’s nothing going on here, until you really pay attention and then you see the entire universe is going on.
What advice would you give to an aspiring Muslim actor?
Just do it until you don’t wanna do it anymore. It’s a tough business, and if there’s anything else you want to do that makes you happy then do that. But if there’s nothing else that you want to do that makes you happy then do this. I don’t really have any advice other than don’t take no for an answer unless you want to. There’s much easier ways to make money, to live your life in general and nobody would begrudge anybody to take those paths or judge anyone for taking that. But if this is the only thing you see yourself doing and being happy then do it. For me acting was not a choice. It was the only thing in life that I wanted to do. It chooses you. It’s a cliche but it’s really true.
I’ve seen you perform stand up comedy. Is this something you want to continue?
I don’t know. I’m kinda doing standup as an outlet to express some things and see how it goes, and people seem to enjoy me but I don’t know whether I’m a standup comic. I think ultimately I’d like to create something that’s a hybrid of standup comedy and solo performance so right now I’m just writing stuff and performing it. Some of it is good and some of it is shit, I’m just kinda doing it…
Comments
Facebook
Twitter
Contact
Elan.tv
Comments