| | | | Harish Patel, David Schwimmer and Gautam (Harish's son) outside David's mansion gate in Los Angeles | Actor Harish Patel, who recently returned from Los Angeles after shooting for his cross-over American serial Nearly Nirvaana, directed by David Schwimmer (who plays Ross in hit sitcom, Friends) makes his directorial debut with an episode of Manju Singh's ongoing serial Aur Ek Kahani, on DD-I, to be telecast on May 1.
Gracious host
In LA, Patel literally became "Friends" with Schwimmer and was even invited to a party at his sprawling mansion. "The interiors of his mansion had a 1920s, vintage look, but it was luxurious and his huge entrance door had Indian-temple-like sculpted patterns. He also had a huge library, including books on Indian culture and traditions.
Shedding his star-aura, David personally cooked marinated chicken and fish for us, since we were not ham-eaters. It was an out-of-this world experience," recalls Patel wearing a euphoric expression.
In Nearly Nirvaana, shot in California, the actor is cast as an NRI doctor. "It was my privilege to get to shoot at Universal Studios in LA, and to work under Schwimmer.
The pilot episodes are ready. As soon as they are allocated a seasonal slot, they will touch base with me for regular shoots," informs Patel, whose rebel son in Nirvaana is played by actor Kal Penn (of American Desi fame).
What was his experience working with "Ross"? "When I first met David as a director, I had no clue he was such a popular foreign actor. It was only later, that my son, budding actor Gautam (who accompanied me to LA) told me about his worldwide fame."
Taking on Matthau
Wasn't Harish almost disqualified in the Nirvaana screen test, for the Punjabi character of Dr Arjun Mehta, because he didn't have an American accent?
"That was the impression the selection panel created initially; they did not speak to me after the auditions. They wanted me to enact an Indian version of the late Hollywood actor Walter Matthau, but I had the audacity to suggest that it would be more effective if I did it my own way," remembers Harish.
| | Harish with Anuradha in
Aur Ek Kahani | "Later, David told me they had appreciated my outspoken nature and they were impressed with my scenes. Instead of using canned laughter, they had live audiences reacting to our punch lines. Fortunately, in my case, they all burst into peals of laughter and David came and hugged me after the shots were canned."
Direction first
Funster Patel will also be seen in Sony soap, Thodi Khushi Thoda Gham, where he plays the roly-poly "bachelor Bhaggumama — the mediator".
What led him to direction? "It was Manju who insisted I direct this one-off Kahani episode, where I cast myself as the central character of an honest sarkari employee.
After putting in over 30 years of service, he gets an official memo, a summons to meet his higher authorities. This causes him mental agony at home and in office. That's why the episode is called Chitthi Ke Maarfat.
Earlier, I have directed many plays," says Harish, who has acted in over 150 Hindi movies, including the recent Pyaar Mein Twist. |
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