Here's the reason why Dev Patel wanted his character to be a Sikh in the upcoming flick Hotel Mumbai

The actor reveals it was a lot of hard work to make himself appear and sound like a Sikh man
Dev Patel in Hotel Mumbai
Dev Patel in Hotel Mumbai

Actor Dev Patel who plays the turbaned Sikh waiter working at the luxury hotel in the upcoming film Hotel Mumbai shares how he prepared for the role. The actor knew the character of Arjun who works under Chef Hemant Oberoi in Anthony Maras’ upcoming film was a tough one because it was far removed from his real self.

Patel who was born and raised in England by Gujarati Indian Hindu parents had great compassion for the Sikh community who bore the brunt of the 9/11 attacks. The actor understood the hate came from the lack of representation of Sikh characters in international films that triggered him to reason with his director why Arjun should be a Sikh in the film.

Talking about his prep, he said, “I spent about a month with my coach Raghuveer Joshi working on the accent and the pitch. Since the character is fictional, there was no reference point. Looks-wise we built him up from ground zero. I had to completely change my appearance, work on my Hindi and Punjabi at the same time and ensure that the words sound correct in terms of tonality. I had done neither of these before but I am glad the film made me push myself to try out an uncharted territory personally. The story is close to me as I was shooting here for one month and the next month, when I was back at home in London my parents were watching Mumbai burn on the TV screens, it was a horrible experience for us!”

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