Actor Rakshak Sahni on facing Hollywood’s whitewashing casting practice, what makes him want to change the stereotyping and more.
Actor Rakshak Sahni on facing Hollywood’s whitewashing casting practice, what makes him want to change the stereotyping and more.
Actor Rakshak Sahni who shot to fame in the Indian television space for his roles in daily soaps such as Kkavyanjali and Kasauti Zindagi Ki, is all set for his Hollywood flick Change the film, which is based on Hollywood’s whitewashing controversy. For those who don’t know, whitewashing refers to the practice of giving white actors preferential treatment in casting. Only recently has the perception towards Asian-Americans on television begun to shift — but with seriously lagging progress. Most recently, Tilda Swinton was cast as The Ancient One in Marvel’s upcoming movie Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwitel Ejiofor. The casting of Scarlett Johannson as Major Kusanagi in the adaptation of Manga’s Ghost in the Shell has also sparked outrage. In both the original comics, these fantastic roles were Asian.
Having experienced this first-hand, Rakshak says that this film will shine the light on the struggles that different ethnic minority men and women face on a day-to-day basis in the West. “Even when I was in India, I always wanted to go to Hollywood and be a part of it. But when I finally moved there, I was shocked with the lack of opportunities and stereotyping practices. It appeared that Hollywood’s white bias was deeply embedded in every facet of the industry. That’s why you never got to see an Indian superhero, an Indian romantic hero or an Indian playing the lead in any of their major blockbuster movies. To me, this practice revealed that American cinema was not merely ignoring modern racial, ethnic and cultural realities — it was in denial mode. I just want to change that through this movie.”
After moving to Hollywood Rakshak was seen in films like My Indian Boyfriend’s Mother, You Can’t Curry Love and Excuses Girls Make. His love and passion for cinema also led him to start his own production house in California called Salt Vinegar Films.
Talking about his latest venture and its plot, the actor reveals, “The story revolves around six characters from different ethnic backgrounds and the struggles they face in Hollywood. The inspiration behind the movie is an incident I experienced first-hand when I moved to Hollywood. I was called to play a technician in a crime show once. So, I reached Universal Studios with my headshots and was waiting for the director. The assistant director showed up and took my headshots to the director, who in return told him to tell me that he must have made a mistake and that I was not looking Indian enough. I was shocked when I heard that and it made me come face-to-face with the stereotyping in Hollywood. It started with an incident but turned into a full-blown idea for a feature film. There is no better time than right now to address this diversity issue.”
Ask him about his expectations from the movie and he avers, “The expectations are plain and simple. I just want to make a noise and be heard. My main motto is not to demean anyone or question anyone’s choice but to enable a clear and merit-based selection process for generating and giving equal opportunities to all people irrespective of ethnicity, colour or gender in the entertainment industry. My future plan also includes setting up a non-profit organisation which would help getting resources such as finance and talent from India, and combine it with Hollywood’s resources such as technology and distribution to help make more movies for international audiences.”
