Strength and sensitivity

SuRAJ SHARMA talks to ANToiNeTTe MulliNS on his life before, during and after Pi

honor. Suraj stated that the ceremony was to make things ‘official’ and that Ang would have taken him under his wing anyway, because that’s what comes naturally to him. “He is a great teacher,” said Suraj.

Pi is a delightful character whose sense of humour and kind heart guides him through life and gives him the courage to face his very difficult journey. He’s the kind of on-screen character that makes you want to shout out, “C’mon little man, you can do it!”, while fellow movie-goers shout at you to be quiet. After meeting Suraj Sharma, who plays this incredible character with a unique authenticity, that feeling was reinforced several times over. I cannot imagine anyone playing the character of Pi better than Suraj, who is amazingly, a newcomer to the world of acting. Anyone who has seen the movie willagree with me that Suraj became the character of Pi wholeheartedly. He completely won over fans of the book, earnest critics, general moviegoes and unsurprisingly, the crew of the movie, with the strength and sensitivity of his performance.

On his recent trip to Sydney to promote the film, I caught up with Suraj to find out about his Pi experience.

On meeting him, Suraj comes across as an uncomplicated yet sensitive person, who practically shines with excitement when talking about his experiences in making Life of Pi, and his excitement is infectious. Its clear to me that he takes joyfrom simple everyday experiences. I interviewed him at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney in a room full of people, two cameras and multiple lights shining down on us, which is certainly not an everyday experience. At least, not for me! But just as Ang Lee helped Suraj calm down during the making of the movie, Suraj had that effect on me. I took a deep breath and we got started.

17 year old Suraj was cast as Pi after an extensive search all over India, through an audition process involving 3,000 young men. “I was really nervous, especially during the final audition. I was actually shaking but Ang calmed me down – he’s got this thing about him that calms people down,” said Suraj, of his first encounter with the renowned veteran director. “Ang is an amazing human being. Some of the scenes were really intense and you felt yourself crumbling, but he was the glue that kept everyone alive and together – you can’t but help be inspired by him,” added an obviously impressed Suraj.

In what is a charming anecdote, to mark the beginning of her son’s journey into a new world of acting and moviemaking, Suraj’s mother performed a small ceremony, during which she appointed Director Ang Lee as her son’s guru. Ever humble, Mr Lee’s first thoughts were that he was unworthy of assuming such a formidable responsibility. But the ceremony, he notes, ‘got to me’, and he agreed to strive to be deserving of the

But by the end of production, it was Suraj who became the on-set spiritual leader. Mr Lee marvelled at Suraj’s innocence and efforts, noting, “We are all experienced and perhaps a little jaded. Suraj reminded us why we want to make movies. Every day was a miracle.”

So how did he transform into the powerful character that is Pi? “Blocks of Pi’s personality were slowly being put inside of me,” he replied somewhat cryptically. It’s clear that it took an intense amount of studying the character, understanding the various nuances of Pi, and Suraj even read the book three times simply to truly understand the story and portray Pi just as author Yann Martel intended. Suraj really had his work cut out as he even had to do swimming classes for the film, because he didn’t know how to swim. This coupled with meditation, yoga and acting classes kept the young man not just busy, but capable of doing justice to the character he played.

As a young boy, Suraj displayed a strong talent in music and trained in Hindustani vocal and tabla, as well as the keyboard and guitar. But he was no ‘softy’, having also trained in karate and having acquired a Junior Black Belt in the Seido Karate School at 13. It’s clear that Suraj is an allrounder, being an avid soccer player and participating in sport all through his school years.

The debut actor who was 17 during much of the production of Life of Pi, actually celebrated his 18th birthday with the film’s crew in the midst of shooting the movie’s lifeboat scenes in the massive outdoor wave tank built in Taiwan for the movie, where most of it is shot.

And yes, ladies! I did ask him the question you all want to know: he is single, but in my opinion, not for long! This unassuming 18 year old with a smile that reaches his soft brown eyes, will not be off the market for long!

And what did he think about being in Australia? Suraj said that he loves Sydney but wished he had more time to really explore our beautiful city, an unlikely option considering his hectic schedule. “I love walking and getting to know a city on foot – you really get to see so much more walking around,” he said. But currently his life is a whirlwind of media interviews, jetsetting around the world to promote the movie – and there’s no doubt that he’s getting quite good at that! He has already learned to charm the other reporters, who return to the media room with the same opinion as me –“He’s so nice!”

So what’s next for Suraj? Does he intend making acting a career? This young talented actor has other plans. He wants to be behind the camera as he says it’s much harder and more challenging for him. Suraj has enrolled and is entering his freshman year at Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College this year. And that’s his immediate plan.

But Suraj Sharma is certainly going places. Anywhere he wants to go, really!