Tarina Patel is a South African actress, film producer, and model. She was born in Cape Town and raised in Durban, and is one of the leading acts in the Bollywood movie industry. Currently, she is making the waves on a global scale and has been featured in hundreds of movies. In this interview with QUADRI ALABI, she lets the world into her business as a one-time medical student, achieving actress, producer, and philanthropist, as well as the challenges facing Bollywood actors and families. Excerpts:
How do you describe your acting style?
I’m more of a thinking actress. I like to really understand my character, what my background is, where I come from, and why I am the way I am. Once I have a better understanding of my character, I can then lend that knowledge to. I also tend to rely a lot on my director for his guidance because he’s got a greater overview of all the characters. So, instead of my character is, you know, in, in its solo sort of understanding, it’s always good to gauge the understanding and the dynamics between my character and the other characters through the vision of the director.
Tell me about a time when you had difficulty with a character, what was the role, and why was it challenging.
How your challenging roles can be addressed is like I said, you engage with people who understand the character and characters better. You can always consult with an acting coach. You can watch the actors that you love. I watch a lot of Meryl Streep. I will watch anything and everything she makes. Yeah, and you go about it that way.
Since you’ve been in the industry, how many movies have you produced or acted in so far?
I have been in the industry for a really long time. The first film that I produced was ‘Mandela’s Gun’, which we took to the Cannes Film Festival and festivals around the world. And it was a beautiful film. I was very excited about it because of the nature of the subject; the team that I put together, and for somebody whose first film is that big, is quite a feat. I’ve also produced TV commercials, music, videos, ads, TV series, and things like that, as well as starred in countless films – 1,618 in all. There have been countless TV shows; the biggest TV shows in South Africa, from The Wild, to ‘Generations’, to international franchises, like the Real Housewives. I actually currently have a show on the air called ‘African Dreams’. I have a slate of films that I am producing. One film is in post-production for Netflix. And I will be working with Netflix and Amazon, going forward.
You are a reputed actress, how did you find yourself in the acting world?
I was in India as a medical student. I was in Bombay studying to become a doctor. And I would get spotted. I was spotted repeatedly where, you know, people would approach me with their details and suggest that I get into modeling and I suggest getting into films. And as I was out and about on weekends, you know, with my family. At dinners, filmmakers would approach me and say, Look, you’ve got, like, really beautiful bone structure. And you’re really beautiful. You really should, you know, are you interested in doing films? Or are you interested in this?
And I would get, and this would happen to me often. It’s so bizarre because I come from such an academic family. And nobody in the family was in the arts, and so it was quite foreign to them. And it was certainly foreign to me because I’d also never seen myself that way. I’d never thought of myself as somebody who could, you know, be in front of the camera. I was just a girl with the head in the books. That was it. That was my life. And then I decided one day because my friends goaded me on and they were like, come on, Terina. Like, just give it a shot. Like, why not? Like it could just be the most amazing thing and you never know, and why not? You have nothing to lose. And I went ahead and I did this photoshoot and I couldn’t believe the result. I couldn’t believe that that was me. I had this out-of-body experience where I was looking at these pictures and saying, Oh my God, that’s phenomenal. I had never seen myself or thought of myself as being this really beautiful girl. And so yeah, one thing led to the other, and before you know it, I was shooting commercials around the world. I’ve done more than 100 TV commercials and then I learned Hindi. I was you know in the film world and then you know, as they say, the rest is history.
Of the lot, which are your favourite films and why?
I have a particularly favourite genre, I think that it is very much mood-based. And so now with the change of format in the world, we live in TV series have really gained a lot of momentum in my, in my passion and in my own personal entertainment in watching TV series. But again, sometimes I’m just in the mood for a movie. And then, of course, I’m in the mood for a TV series. The thing with the TV series is that I get so invested in the characters, that it almost becomes a part of your life. And I watch, I watch films almost most nights, I watch TV series almost most nights. And I feel like, they really become a part of you, they really start to shape how you think. I think it’s very much mood-based.
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Talking about your debut in 2006 with the film “One Night with the king’’, how has the movie influenced your style as an actor?
Part of my career, working with stalwarts and legends like Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole. And Laurence Olivier. I mean, life does not get any better than that. Because here we are upset with these people and then offset just sitting with them and engaging with them. And I guess from a very young age, I was just like a sponge, absorbing everything, watching my environment, learning from those. I was blessed and fortunate enough to be around. And I was very aware from that early age that I was lucky. And I tried to maximize that very experience by trying to learn as much as I can and trying to understand what their trajectory was and what they had learned. So I could sort of benefit from their wisdom and experience. But overall, what an adventure that was, and my career started off in this great adventurous manner. And while I am ambitious and driven, and I have my own vision, I’m very aware that I want it all to be fun and exciting and adventurous in the spirit of living life to its best and not taking things too seriously.
What are the challenges actors are facing in the Bollywood industry?
The kinds of challenges that actors face are pretty standard around the world. There’s always a shortage of work, for the most part. I think that’s what actors really suffer from. This is why I take the route of producing my own content. And even in producing, you know, you’re always going to have challenges and difficulties, obstacles in raising money or trying to get to the right sort of cast and crew. I do believe that your script is really important.
What does it cost to make a good production?
I mean, a question like, what is it cost to make a good movie? All of that is so relative. It really is. I mean, they are films that have been made with practically no budget, But if the story is beautifully told, it carries you through as an audience. Of course, there are certain types of films where you’re recreating a certain era that costs, or if it’s a Marvel type film and you’re going to space or, it’s these great characters that you’re creating, as the American studios, make, futuristic films or, like I said, superhero films, those things cost, but not every film has to be that sometimes it’s just an emotion-driven story versus a plot-driven story where you’re following a person or two people or the dynamics of a family, and it could be set in a home in one location. A good film is not dependent, ought not to be dependent on a huge budget.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as an actor?
When people ask me what my greatest accomplishment is, I feel like there’s so much more that I’m doing that I cannot say what my greatest accomplishment is. To be a working actor is a huge feat because there’s a small percentage of actors in the world that are actually working. So to constantly work and to constantly be relevant and to constantly reinvent myself and to always be top of mind for producers and directors is huge. I’ve worked in India, and I’ve worked in South Africa. I look forward to working in Nigeria. I’ve worked all over the world, in the UK, and in the states. And I’ve been there for pilot season. And, you know, just to make myself relevant and to be somebody that people want to work with, to constantly be that girl, to get to a point where I’m at now, where my networks are so wide and vast that I’m able to put my own projects together and elevate myself to a new level of power, a new level of influence and independence where I can call my own shots and put my own films together. I think these are exciting times for someone like me.
What is the most embarrassing day in your life?
To sound bizarre, but I almost never get embarrassed, I guess I have such a great comfort level with myself. You know, my good, my bad, the ups, the downs.
Give me a sketch of a family.
I am a very, very family-oriented person, I grew up like that, my father was one of seven and my mom is one of eight. So, you know, a lot of uncles and cousins and food and family and celebrations. And so my sense of family is very big and large and fun-filled and all-encompassing and embracing and supportive and kind and loving. And you know, so that’s how I see family. I have two brothers, my parents and I have a very, very kind and loving, and supportive husband who’s absolutely amazing.
Tell me about what you are working on now.
Currently, I’m working on a book. It’s a story with my father and me, it’s a beautiful journey with father and daughter. I’m also working on a slate of projects there at various stages of readiness and development.
