Rumor Has it

The Seema Rahmani Interview

1. Our audience would love to know the real you. Let's talk about how and
when the acting bug first bit you. (SS)

It was more like a whale swallowing me whole rather than a bite! Overwhelming, but no damage done. I never thought I would end up being an actress... even though I did have a propensity to perform in school plays, musicals, choirs and dance shows all through high school. But our culture tends not to take the arts seriously as a profession. So after passing my 10th grade Delhi Central Board Exams in Kuwait (my parents said I could go to the U.S. if I obtained high scores in my board exams, so I put my basketball aside, studied my butt off and made sure I was in the top ten academic distinction list... because God knows I sat many nights of my pre-teen and teen years, staring at the stars, wishing for my life in the U.S. to begin.) Anyway, I digress... I signed up for Engineering as an undergraduate in an upstate New York university because I especially loved Physics and Mathematics. A year into it, however, I realized life would be terribly boring as an engineer (well... boring for me at least), so I switched majors to Communications and kept a Math minor. I then earned a masters degree in Marketing/ Advertising and worked as an account exec in both Advertising and Public Relations. It was 2 years into my successful stint at Manning, Selvage and Lee in Los Angeles that I realized I couldn't see myself working in an office for the rest of my life. No amount of benefits or annual vacation time could change the lack of passion I started to feel for my work. That's when VERY strangely enough, a few of my colleagues suggested I could be a model!! I find this RIDICULOUSLY HILARIOUS because I am all of only 5foot 6 inches and most definitely not emaciated!! And this is L.A. we are talking about, not Mumbai!!! But when I look back, I realize it was just the Universe's way of guiding me toward the entertainment industry. The actual moment I found out I had to work in the movie industry was a very special one for me. You may not even believe this story but it's true. I took a couple weeks off from my corporate job and went to Barcelona to... well, to think about my immediate future. [It was a very frightening time in my life. I was stuck in this insecure place where I knew I couldn't go on working my corporate job but I had no idea what I wanted to do instead.] I would go running in the hills in Barcelona every morning, and one such morning I sat on a hilltop... confused... terrified... crying... PRAYING for an answer to the question "WHAT SHOULD I DOOOO?!!" And then... it happened. I distinctly heard a voice... a pleasant calming voice... and it said, "Go make movies." And my tears kinda went back up into my eyes, like I've seen happen in cartoons. And even though I had no idea at the time what exactly that meant for me, it was an answer that brought the smile back into my life and put me into a whole new reality. (SR)

2. How does your culture and upbringing influence you as an actress? (SS)

I would attribute a lot of my sense of morality [as in knowing right from wrong] to my Indian upbringing. So my upbringing has definitely helped me in that I have not wandered into a rather unsettling industry being lost or an unsettled type of person. My parents have always been supportive and available for any counseling I needed along the way. I can undoubtedly say they have ALWAYS been there for me. Also I am a very emotional person... yet not void of rationale. I feel that the Indian culture values deep emotions and also practical, sensible thinking, and to strike a balance with these aspects of me makes me who I am as a human being and also as an actor. (SR)

3. What drew you to do Loins of Punjab? (SS)

The script and my character in it. They are both very well chalked out by Manish Acharya and Anuvab Pal. Brilliant, realistic, interesting, honest writing. . . who can say no to that! (SR)

4. You've lived in Kuwait, LA, New York, and Mumbai, what's next? (SS)

Africa, Australia and parts of Europe I imagine! Heh! But seriously, my travels are directly related to my career goals combined with personal peace and pleasure. So I'm thinking New York city is my next stop. (SR)

5. You write poetry (I've done my research :), if you wrote a screenplay,
what would you want to write about? (SS)

I have written a script. Actually two. One is a feature film and the other is a play. The former is driven by supernatural elements in a very real life setting of a young family. And the latter is a light-hearted yet psychologically stimulating journey of two people who discover their individual selves as they get to know each other in the confines of an institution for the mentally affected. (SR)