London: Oscar-Bafta winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley is again set to connect with India. The acclaimed actor who once worked in and as Gandhi, in Sir Richard Attenborough’s 1982 biopic is all set to play a Sikh in his next.
Kingsley plays a Sikh cabbie from New York in the movie titled ‘Learning to Drive’, directed by Isabel Coixet. The movie is ready for release in the UK on June 10, and the Ben Kingsley looks unrecognisable in a blue turban, in the movie’s promotional images.
The ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Hugo’ star plays Darwan Singh Tur who spends much of his time teaching a divorcee Wendy, played by Patricia Clarkson, to drive in Queens. Talking about the movie, ahead of its release, Kingsley cannot stop gushing about enjoying working with female directors, who have wide understanding ‘male vulnerability’. This is Kingsley’s second collaboration with Coixet, as he earlier appeared 2008 Philip Roth adaptation ‘Elegy’.
Popular as a perfectionist and a method actor, Kingsley had famously undergone a massive makeover to play Gandhi. To play a true-blue Sikh, the 71-year-old actor has again walked an extra mile to absorb the nuances of a righteous Sikh who follows Sikhism on an alien land.
Though this is the second time Kingsley has played a role with Indian connect, but this has nothing to do with the fact that he has deep Indian heritage. His father born in Kenya was of Gujarati Indian descent, but, the actor had never ever visited the country except when he shot Gandhi.
Here are a few facts related to Sir Ben Kingsley and his upcoming movie:
Kingsley tried to absorb much about Sikhism and the Sikh community, particularly those settled abroad. It was ‘profoundly fascinating’ and ‘rewarding’ way of examining their culture.
The actor spent a lot of time with his Sikh advisor Harpreet Singh Toor, who helped him tie his turban every morning and gave a few insights on the life of Sikhs in America.
Kingsley made effective use of his trip to India back in the 80s when he shot for Gandhi, and had a bodyguard and a driver from the Sikh community. He was influenced by the uprightness of the two men who were with him for three months.
In an interview to Jimmy Fallon on his talk show, Kingsley said that the movie highlights the ever-friendly Sikh cab drivers, who turned down their meters and the tried to help people from finding their loved ones, during the aftermath of tragic 9/11. It also narrates the racial slur faced by the community who were mistaken as Osama on several occasions after the Twin Tower tragedy.
Kingsley felt proud to be in the guise of a Sikh and realised there was ‘something solid’, as people walked to him and spoke in Punjabi language. Kingsley had to apologise for not being able to speak in the native language, but, he enjoyed being belonged to the community.
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