Sanjeev Bhaskar Interview for Indian Summers

11 March 2015

The interview is available for reproduction in full or in part.

Sanjeev Bhaskar plays Dr Kamble in episode 5 of Indian Summers.

 

How did you get involved in the project? What was it about Indian Summers that particularly appealed to you?

A friend of mine, Jamie Payne, told me he was going out to Malaysia to direct the second block of the series. I casually said to him, “is there anything I can do in it?” And he said, “funnily enough there is one part that you could be up for…” So I asked to audition for it and the wheels were put in motion and they sent me a couple of scripts. This was when I first had an inkling of what the show was going to be like and I was very impressed with the writing, with the depth and detail both within the political and personal stories. So I did my homework and prepared the best I could and gave it my best shot.

 

How much did you know about the period, politics and people of the time?

I was aware of 1930s and 1940s India, partly from my parents and partly from documentaries I’d done before (the 4-part BBC documentary India with Sanjeev Bhaskar) and things that I’d read up on. I knew Simla from the documentary when I traced my father’s footsteps back from his arrival in Britain. He got his first job in Simla in the early 1950s, as an early refugee of Partition. As a kid, when we used to visit Simla in the 1970s, I was told that this was the Summer Capital (As the British Raj called it) and it was where plans for Partition were drawn up. It was quite undeveloped at the time too so a lot of the buildings I saw harked back to colonial times.

 

Your character, Dr. Kamble, is from the Untouchable community. 1930s Indian society was riven by the caste system, of course. To what extent do you think modern India is still affected by this? Yes, this discrimination still exists, but I think it’s an attitude much more prevalent in the rural areas than the urban areas. Of course, in the 1930s that discrimination was rife and the societal delineations would have been very clear. However, there was a politician when I was growing up, in the 1970s, called Jagjivan Ram who was from the Untouchable community and he ended up being the longest serving cabinet minister in India. But prior to him there was a person called Dr Ambedkar who was the person that I read most about. He also was from the Untouchable community, but was a doctor and became extremely prominent at that time and helped draft the first constitution of India. He was very active in the period in which the show is set, but I didn’t know much about him before I started my research. My character, Dr Kamble, is inspired by him.

 

To what extent, if any, do dramas that explore issues such as this affect or change modern societies?

Anything that creates debate is not a bad thing. One of the great things about Indian Summers’ scripts is that there isn’t a clear demarcation between who’s good and who’s bad, and that reflects life. There is no community or culture in the world that doesn’t have idiots as well as people who are good.

 

What do you think Indian Summers reveals about the relationship between Britain and India?

The relationship between Britain and India fascinates me. I still find it extraordinary that people, like my parents, decided to move to Great Britain only 10 years after Indian gained independence. I can’t think of many examples elsewhere where people would consider leaving their own country to go and live in the country which was, until recently, a so-called occupying force. Yes, there was lot of what you might call slavery and indentured labour, but the Indian identity wasn’t destroyed by the British, rather it retained its core. This Anglo-Indian relationship is unique and complex.

 

How was your experience filming in Malaysia?

It was nuts. Because of the timing issues, the only way it was going to work was for me to fly out to Penang on the day that I was filming. I can’t sleep on planes so it was a 17 hour journey overnight. I arrived at Penang airport and went straight into makeup, then straight into costume, then straight onto set where they were already shooting scenes. I was so disoriented I didn’t know where I was but it was amazing! It didn’t feel anything like Shimla at all, and it didn’t look like Shimla at all, but then I watched the first episode and, through the wonder and magic of television, it all came together. Also, it’s such a talented young cast that I was quite bowled over by them. I was impressed by their focus and dedication and they also made me feel very welcome. And Julie Walters, who I’ve met many times but never worked with, is a terrific actress. If someone could clone her she should be on every film or TV set, she’s such a fantastic presence – calming, reassuring, fun. It was also a joy to work with Jamie Payne again.

 

What other projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m playing a detective in a new ITV show called Unforgotten, alongside Nicola Walker. And I’ve just finished filming a one-off special of Goodness Gracious Me which should be out later this year.