Ali Fazal on Hollywood creating space for Indian actors

With the world talking of Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone venturing to the West, the likes of Irrfan Khan and Ali Fazal have been making their mark in Hollywood more silently. Talking about his place in Hollywood, Fazal expresses that roles are becoming more diverse and filmmakers are making space for Indian actors to progress.

“It is slowly opening up, although, we (Indian actors) are still finding our space there (in the West). Now, there doesn’t have to necessarily be a white man in the lead role. That’s the way forward. That’s diversity. It’s cool, if an Indian is playing the lead role in a Hollywood project and we should be proud of this,” Hindustan Times reports Fazal stating.

He went on to add, “I would be lying if I say that it (being typecast) doesn’t happen in Hollywood. But I did not face it because I entered with Fast and Furious 7 (2015), where I was playing an Arab. I was happy to not have an accent like Russell Peters so that everyone knows that the character is not American. People are not liking that (portrayal) any more and are not finding it funny.”

“I was offered to play an Italian part in an Italian film. Although I could not take it up because I did not have the time, the kind of characters being offered to us are changing,” he said.

Fazal is gearing up for his first Hollywood film, ‘Victoria and Abdul’, with Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Gambon and Eddie Izzard. Talking about what he wanted from the film, he expressed, “I told them that I will make it authentically Indian. I don’t want to name films, but there have been some which have only been geographically Indian, but otherwise are tailor-made for the Oscars.”

Directed by Stephen Frears, ‘Victoria and Abdul’ is set to hit the big screens on 22nd September.