It's a fierce competition to be the next 'Desi idol'! This is the plot for the hilarious film 'Loins of Punjab' . The DH crew got exclusive interviews  from 'Loins Of Punjab' cast members, Seema Rahmani and Samrat Chakrabarti.

Seema Rahmani

Interview by: Anita Chatterjee

"I wanted to be on the other side of the glass” remarked Seema Rahmani when speaking of her desires to get away from her job in corporate America and finding her true passions. People would tell Seema that she should consider modeling, but Seema felt that this would be quite a challenge since she didn't meet the LA modeling industry height requirement of five foot nine.

Obstacles like this didn’t prevent Seema from finding her destiny. “The universe had a direction for me” said Rahmani.  Seema pursued courses in acting and learned about the industry. “I was hungry to practice my skills” she commented. Her drive to hone her skills led her to stage performances and her talent has resulted in doing over forty stage performances in Los Angeles. Seema got noticed on American television shows as well as feature films. 

Although she was flourishing in her career, the fact that she did not fit the bill of the token ethnic women or the all American girl limited her pool of options.

Due to this Seema decided to make the next move in her career. "I decided to go to India where they would look beyond the color of my skin."  Seema’s career turned into quite a success in Mumbai as well. She did several movies some of which are ‘Sin’, "Missed Call’ and "Shakalaka Boom Boom’. I had the opportunity to meet up with Seema while she was in NYC for the US release of her most recent film "The Loins of Punjab’

You have always been very bold and have taken on roles that real women can relate to. You weren't afraid to play a prostitute in "Missed Call" or go topless in "Sin". Are these the types of roles that you take on and do you think women can relate to your role as Sania Rehman in "Lions of Punjab?"

“Yes, my ideal types of movies are the Hollywood mainstream stuff and roles where women are strong and have their own identity.  Sania Rehman is an aspiring Indian actress. I think a lot of Indian actress can relate to her and even I can. Coincidentally her name happens to be Sania Rehman and I am Seema Rehmani”

What made you audition for ‘Lions of Punjab?

“The script, it was hilarious. Also the character Sania Rehman went through a journey where she began the ‘Desi idol’ competition as someone and she came out of it as a completely different person. I love when characters go through journeys”

You have worked with some great names in the industry, what was it like working with Shabana Azmi?

“I have always respected and loved her work; she was very easy to be around her. I saw her as a mentor to many on the set. We didn’t interact very much, but when she watched the film she came up to me and said that was wonderful work! Coming from her that meant a lot!”

What is your next move?

“Honestly I can see myself moving here (New York) and landing a great role here”

Aside from acting you are always a big activist for animal rights, tell me about that?

“It’s been a blessing that I have been volunteering for animal rights groups for ages. I actually host a show called ‘Heavy petting’ that’s all about the joy and heartaches of owning a pet. You can watch it on NDTVgoodtimes.com

Is there a message you want to send out to DH readers?

"Yes, support your fellow artist and support your fellow Indians."

Samrat Chakrabarti is an accomplished actor and musician and in conjunction with his latest film, "Loins of Punjab," I had a chance to sit down with him and discuss his work in the film and other projects as well.  

Samrat Chakrabarti

Interview by: Radhika Jit
 
Samrat actually got the role because of his history as a musician.  The director Manish Archarya interviewed him and subsequently was signed on to play the role of Trance Sen.  Samrat also sings the theme song to the film as well with star Ajay Naidu rapping the verses.  Check out a little more insight into the world of Samrat below with a few excerpts from our chat in the Desi Hits! NYC office.
 
 
 
You have quite an impressive resume from television, theatre, films as well as being an accomplished musician as well.  What has the journey been like so far?
 
"Well my Dad's a doctor, I grew up in Boston and my Dad was involved in the arts in the Bengali communities, I don't know if there's something in the fish or something, but there's something that definitely promotes art in our blood. But you know my Dad wrote plays, directed plays and even acted in them on the weekends for the Bengali community so as a young kid I sort of got sucked into that being an actor there.  I give a lot of credit to my parents for introducing me to the arts and then music too.  I played tabla from the age of 6 so I had a good sense of rhythm and a good sense of style of Indian rhythm and then played piano for a little bit.  It's been a crazy journey, so I did pre-med as like any good Indian kid should and then I just decided one day in Organic Chemistry, I looked around and thought you know what my friends are going to be doctors and they're great and they're really passionate about it and I'm learning lines or something and figuring out the set list for tonight's band's show, this is not what I'm here to do, I’m here to maybe I'll do something in the arts.  I took a couple of years off did a couple of bands, I moved to the Caribbean did a band called Jive we sang in hotels for a while.  Moved to Northern California, near San Francisco and Sacramento with a couple of friends did a band there.  Wene back to school got my Masters in acting, went to Russia and Moscow, did some training there and I've been in New York since, for the last 5 years doing both ans just continuing to do whatever I can to be an artist and be a professional and get paid for it."
 
Loin of Punjab is considered an indie film, and apart from your television appearances and your theatre work a lot of your work has been indie films, was that something you chose to do?
 
"Exactly, well here's the deal, being a South Asian actor your roles are limited and that’s growing, props to Sendal for Hero's and Asif Mandvi and all these guys for sort of getting out there and expanding however there aren't enough writers out there writing interesting characters that are South Asian and there aren't enough producers out there taking risks.  You know let’s make this guy, black, Latino, Mexican, Asian or south Asian, let's make that, we need more people pushing the envelope.  But you have to make a living so TV’s a great way.  I've done all the law and orders I've done the sopranos, I’ve played doctors and bad guys and terrorists and that's fine it pays well and it's way to support, however in 10 years I don't want to be doing that, I want to do some interesting stuff.  So I feel like I have been going down the independent film route sort of like Parker Posey or Ethan Hawke who like back in the day they did Reality Bites and consistently they've been doing interesting work since then and now they're getting onto Hollywood, instead of going to Hollywood and waiting by the phone to play terrorist number 4 in a turban, well right now I look like this I've got this energy I'm able to do this, why not.  So I'm kind of going the reverse direction so instead of crossing my fingers I’m crossing them and put them into action.  And I'm sort of saying here's where I can play a leading role, here's where I can play a supporting role, no one's going to cast you playing a terrorist and say, hey that guy can play a leading man, where I think stories need to be told where South Asians are interesting people and 3 dimensional, especially in a global world like this.  In India people work at call centers, outsource stuff, there's this other sort of class system that's happening there and here.  So I feel like I have been doing independent stuff to sort of carve a new niche because the world is changing and I'm trying to change the world as well."
 
You've worked with names like Spike Lee in your first film, Molly Shannon and Victor Banerjee, so what were those experiences like?
 
"Well Spike Lee I did a small role in his film, "She Hate Me" and it was amazing just to be on the set with Spike watching him work.  It's the meticulous manner in which way he did work was incredible.  He was on top of everything, he was just so focused.  And sometimes he was short with people and I think that's why he gets the thing were he's sort of a mean guy but he's just really focused and gets it done and props to him because what he did for the African American community, he brought from "Do the Right Thing" to the "Inside Man" a blockbuster, I think we have yet to have a South Asian person to bring it to that level and especially politically what he's done too.  That was an honor just to work with him and be in his presence.  I did a film called "Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" with Molly Shanon was one of the leads who's from Saturday Night Live and that was a ensemble comedy as well, and it's actually about 6 guys singing in an acapella group and there's a reunion ten years after college but what's cool about this film is that it was all written for Caucasian characters and I went in there and was like I can do this.  And I had to push extra hard, my agent had to get me in there and finally that's a time where the producer did take a risk and cast me and they didn't even change the name.  The guy's name was Will Wozniak and my name was Will and they didn't make a big deal out of that and I think it's cool; we need to see more of that.  We're part of American society, yes we are our own thing and that's cool but we're not only the other we're also together.  So that was an amazing experience and it's great to work with people like Molly Shannon and people like Victor Banerjee and people like Shabana Azmi who's in this film and she's a legend.  To see how graceful they are on and off screen and that they're real people with real journeys as well, that's inspiring.  "
 
Tell us a little bit more about your character Trance Sen in "Loins of Punjab."
 
"Well what I think is funny about this film is that everyone can relate to someone, you've got the socialite, the 16-17 year old girl whose parents are over bearing, the wannabe Bollywood actress played by Seema and my character is one of these DJ characters that if you don't your friend or people in the circle know people who are like that.  People that throw parties and call projects their projects and that's cool its fun, but it's also funny.  So I play one of the more serious judges that are more of the musical judge.  It was really a fun set to be on because the casting was impeccable, Manish Archarya did an amazing job as a director and also in casting because he let us improv a lot.  I got to bring a lot of my experience even before I was fully cast and even on set as well as a DJ the way he talks and everything, he really let this happen and as an actor that was just so much fun.  So that's my character, it's like pushing cool to the limit again it's fun but it's also funny, because it's like okay dude settle down, chill out.  But I think this film is great that way, it's a great observation of community."