Interview: Fagun Thakrar
British actress Fagun Thakrar ditched medical school to become a thespian, and the risk looks like it is paying off, what with her being cast opposite Martin Sheen and Mischa Barton in Ravi Kumar’s environmental disaster biopic Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain and a recent starring role in the upcoming release of Atul Sharma’s domestic violence-themed Blood & Curry. In speaking with Buzzine Bollywood at a recent private screening of Blood & Curry, Fagun Thakrar talked about her transition from medicine to acting and shared her perspectives on what she considers an ideal role.
One of those roles Fagun viewed as ideal was that of Deepa in Blood & Curry, a crime drama film about domestic violence. In Blood & Curry, Fagun’s character is an Indian woman who moves to the United States after accepting an arranged marriage with a man who lives there. Arriving in the country with hopes and dreams of a happy life, Deepa quickly realizes there is little to smile about because of her abusive husband.
A film delving into the realistic consequences of domestic violence, Fagun said Blood & Curry is an eye-opening film.
“(The film) is very true. This is live,” Fagun passionately chimed during a private reception for the film at the Marina Del Rey Marriott hotel, adding that one possible ending of Blood & Curry truly drives home the point of just how real the issue of domestic violence and spousal abuse exists all around us in everyday in commonplace situations.
“We went back and forth with the ending — one ending where he gets caught and (one) … where he gets away with it. I wasn’t happy with the ending (where he gets away). I wanted him to get caught,” she emphatically opined. “But it’s true. This is what Indian families would do, where the mother would do anything for her son. People are getting away with it. I want people to watch this and go, ‘No, we need to stop this sort of thing.’ Some people think it’s right. These men who abuse women don’t think it’s wrong. They really don’t.”
Fagun went on to state that she hopes films like Blood & Curry help shed new light on an issue that is a lot closer to home than people realize. By watching a film such as this one, Fagun believes audiences will be armed with the most important tool: knowledge, which she considers as the first step to action in fighting against the spread of domestic violence. Beyond that, Fagun also said she hopes audiences take that action to local or national non-profit groups who specifically aid and support domestic violence victims.
In exhaustively researching how best to play the role of Deepa, who is meant to be the poster child of South Asian women innocently caught in abusive marriages, Fagun quickly realized how fortunate she is to be living the life she does.
“My (Indian) family is very traditional and very strict, but I have my own life,” she candidly shared with Buzzine. “I was a medical student studying medicine, and my parents wanted me to finish it, but I wanted to become an actress. I am going to do what I want to do. So yes, I am very different.”
As positively different in real life as she is from her character in Blood & Curry, Fagun thinks taking on the role of Deepa is only natural for her since she views such roles as vital to empowering audiences.
In addition to providing valuable insight into the painfully harsh world of domestic violence, Fagun is looking forward to her next project in Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain. A planned fall release of a production shot almost entirely in India, Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain dramatizes the 1984 gas disaster in the northeastern South Asian country nestled between India and China.
Collectively, Fagun believes both of these movies will educate and empower audiences, and that is what matters most to her as an actress.
“I really like giving messages … and taking roles that I believe in. (Blood & Curry) is about domestic violence and women who need help. Bhopal is a movie that…people are going to know what happened there. It’s a message for the whole entire world,” Fagun insightfully said. “As an actress, give a message and make people’s lives better. We are in the public eye, and people look up to us. Why waste that?”
If Fagun continues to take on inspired and socially influential roles, she will have wasted nothing as a professional actress. Quite the contrary, assuming she continues upon her ambitious career path, Fagun can definitely say she made the right decision in trading in her scrubs for a theatrical wardrobe.
Be sure to “Like” Buzzine Bollywood on our Facebook Fan Page.
