Suraj Sharma on This Tempting Madness, Bollywood and life after Life of Pi

Yes! I’m super stoked about the film. The story is about a woman who wakes up from a coma and has lost her memory. It delves deep into mental illness and trust, showing how she’s pulled in different directions, which affects her sense of reality. My character, her brother, is someone who remembers who she used to be and is trying to protect her from a dangerous situation. In a way, he represents the love in this otherwise dark movie.

A tremendous amount of effort went into this—blood, sweat, and tears, literally, since it’s based on true events. There’s a sense of ease and relief now that we’re finally putting it out into the world, and we’re excited to see how audiences react. It was intense and hardcore, but we had a blast making it.

Oh, fantastic! I’ll start with Jennifer. She’s a smart and creative human being. She was also closely connected to the people involved in the actual events, so having her there was incredible. When you’re working on something like that, it’s amazing to have someone observing and guiding you who actually knows the real circumstances. It makes you feel protected, like you can do the story justice because she knows exactly what she’s doing.

And then, of course, Simone—I was really looking forward to working with her. She’s a fantastic actor. The good news is that from the moment we met, things just clicked. Our characters were supposed to have a very close bond in the film, and luckily, when we met, we immediately had a great rapport and connection. That made everything so much easier. She’s a wonderful human being, and I genuinely enjoyed my time working with her.

Well, it was a mix of understanding what happened—the events that transpired—talking to Jen, figuring out what we were trying to do, and finding where exactly he fits in and what emotions he’s pulling from. I also spoke to the people who actually went through this, and that was both a dark and transformative stage in building the character, because you start to grasp the intention behind everything.

And, as always with my characters, I try to draw from people I’ve met in real life—mixing elements of those who fit this role and trying to imbibe that. In my world, I’ve met people who closely embody this character. So I basically took aspects of their personalities, put them together, talked to Jen, and we figured the rest out. And Simone, of course, was great to go back and forth with throughout this process.

The guiding factor has always been the story and the people I’m working with. That’s really what drives my choices. Because when you’re trying to straddle both worlds and work in different places, you need something that steers the ship—and for me, that’s always the story.

Again, the guiding factor is the story and the people I’m working with. I’m really looking for work in India, and I’m trying to push for that. Scheduling has been an issue because I’m going back and forth, and I’m quite busy in the U.S. But we’re trying to make it happen, because honestly, I love shooting in India and enjoy acting in Hindi as well.

Well, to be honest with you, I would love to work with Adil (Hussain) sir again and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I really want to learn—there’s a certain reality they can access within their characters, and I want to learn from that. I want to surround myself with people who teach me how to be a better actor and a better storyteller. That’s kind of my aim right now.

I think there’s an idea that they’re worlds apart, but not really. At the end of the day, everyone is trying to do the same thing—tell the story as best as possible, right? But there are differences in how things operate, how a set functions, things like that.  The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that in India, the film industry handles problems in a much more seamless way. That’s been an interesting learning experience, because you can take that approach back to the U.S. and help guide situations there. So, yeah, there’s learning on both sides, but essentially we’re doing the same thing—telling a story.

Obviously, a lot has changed. I had to relearn how to navigate life based on that new reality. But it’s been great. I’m lucky enough to have consistently worked on good projects and tried new and different things. I’m always searching for something fresh to do—that’s been the goal from the start. And it’s been fantastic. Keeping myself occupied and busy when I’m not on set, and building close relationships with the people in my life—those are the things that help steer the ship in a healthy way.

I think we’ve come a long way, but there’s still a lot to achieve. Once we reach the point where the stories take centre stage, not anything else, that’s when we’ll really start shining. There’s no shortage of talent in India or among Indians abroad. There’s also a huge diaspora market and immense diaspora talent. Showcasing a wide variety of stories from very different places, all carrying the same South Asian essence, is a tremendous opportunity and strength, and we must take full advantage of it. We’re beginning to get there now.

I’ve been blessed in the sense that this job has given me access to incredible places and amazing people. I go on hikes, do agricultural work, do ceramics, and make music—there’s always a lot going on, and I’m glad that’s the case. Someone once told me that an actor’s real work happens when they’re not acting. That really stuck with me. Keeping yourself going, staying sane, and remaining creatively stimulated— that’s a huge part of it.

Yeah, I was in Washington State in the U.S., climbing mountains there. There’s the highest-altitude rainforest in the world, and I was there recently. I’ve also been in New Mexico a lot, hiking over there. The funny part about this whole film world is that you have to adapt your body and mind to whatever character you’re playing. If you have to lose weight, get buff, or get ripped, you need a connection with your body so you can adapt to whatever the role demands.

To me, criticism is really important. I think it’s never personal—it’s always about the work you’re doing. There are times when you need to tune it out and times when you need to consider it and ask, ‘Even if I don’t fully agree, where does this make sense?’ What can I take from it? I try to view it as an opportunity to grow and improve. When you approach it that way, it all becomes pretty chill.

My most challenging role has been simply being an actor. The challenge itself is the greatest part, which makes it less of a challenge and more something you genuinely want to do. I love this job so, so, so much. The real challenge comes when you don’t have a role—how do you keep yourself going, how do you keep learning, how do you keep growing, and how do you open up more characters for yourself? That’s been the true challenge.

Humility—of not letting all of this go to your head, but instead giving your heart fully to the work. These are things I observed at a young age because, obviously, people like Irrfan, Zahid Hussain, and others really shaped my perspective. I had none of that before, and I was lucky to find such good people early on who made a big difference.

Romantic comedy.

I got a lot of mad bloopers—I honestly don’t know which one to tell you. For me, onset is full of moments like that; there are just so many bloopers, it’s hard to pick one.

I'm not entirely sure. I watch a lot of things, but I don't feel very guilty about it.

Social media is important, but I'm more about real life and real connections.

If I had a superpower, it probably would be teleporting. Then I can come see my mum and dad whenever I want.

I’m constantly inspired by people. I like keeping my eyes open and staying creatively engaged. I don’t take life too seriously, but I do take the people I love very seriously.