‘Wedding Season’ Star Pallavi Sharda Talks Netflix Rom-Com

Pallavi Sharda didn’t have to look far to step into the “Wedding Season” persona. The Australian actor and dancer stars in the Netflix rom-com as Asha, a New Jersey-raised lawyer who faces pressure from her Indian parents to find a man and get married. To get them off her back, she convinces one of her set ups (Suraj Sharma) to pretend they are dating during a summer wedding season.

“When I read the script I was like, ‘I know this story,'” says Sharda, who is best known for her Bollywood career and Australian television work. “I know this woman. I have friends who are that woman. I have family who grew up in Jersey, as do many of my cousins ​​who come from that part of the world. And my grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. All my maternal cousins ​​are American Indians.

I met Sharda from her native Australia as she was about to fly to the United States to promote the film directed by Tom Dey.

Congratulations on the movie. I watched the movie with my aunt, who is an 80-year-old Jewish woman from Long Island, and we loved it. We were laughing.

I’m so glad to hear that. That’s all we want.

It is a very universal. It’s not like Jewish mothers don’t pressure their children to get married.

It’s not just a South Asian thing. Every parent is concerned about the future of their children and their happiness. And I think that’s the whole point. It’s about them wanting to see my character happy.

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

When I was about three years old. I had been inspired as a young girl by Bollywood because there were these magical on-screen goddesses who looked like me and transported me to this world, which was in such stark contrast to my suburban Melbourne life. It gave me a glimpse of what was possible, even if it was fantastical and dreamlike.

Tell me about the first audition you went to.

I was 20 and it was in Mumbai. It was a humid, hot and scorching day. I had no idea how the city worked. I had no idea of ​​transportation. I had no money and someone said it was walking distance from my hotel guesthouse where I was staying and I walked to this place but I was like if I was sweating in about 30 seconds with eyeliner running down my cheeks and just asking vendors, street food vendors, “Where is this place?” And finally this winding journey brought me to a small bungalow, like an old Catholic bungalow in a suburb of Mumbai. And there was just an “audition” sign kind of tacked on that screen outside. And there was this languishing ceiling fan in that room with hundreds of people crammed into it. But I booked the job. I booked my very first audition.

What was it for?

It was an ad for a mouth freshener. I had so little experience.

How did you tell your parents that you were going to Mumbai to become an actress?

I said that when I was a kid, but obviously they were like, ‘She’s going to grow from this.’ Then I was in law school because we are doing an undergraduate law school in Australia. And I was studying media and law and started taking acting classes part-time because I kind of felt like a fish out of water in law school. I was in my senior year and a professor had come from India to give a guest lecture on a legal topic that interested me regarding Indigenous rights. That light bulb went out and I thought, “Oh, this is how I get to India.” So I went to talk to this professor. I said, “Can I come and do an article with you in India?” And he said, “Sure, sure, come on. Come down. So I said to my parents, “I’m going to study at this university in Delhi for a semester. I went to college for a day. I paid the entrance fee. I got my ID, left campus, flew to Mumbai and never went back. A few weeks later, I auditioned for this mouth freshener commercial.

So, are you a lawyer?

By training. I’ve never practiced, but I have a law degree.

Let’s talk about a post you did on Instagram in June where you talked about being South Asian and a woman of color and you were told early in your career that there was no room for you in Australian entertainment.

When I was going to drama school part-time, a teacher or someone leading a class that day looked at me and said, “I don’t think you should expect see you on screen here. And it was an on-screen acting lesson! I remember not being surprised or disappointed. I just say “Oh, that makes sense.” And then I was looking at my double degree because media was the other degree I did. I love to write, speak and play, so I thought broadcasting, media and expression through this mode might be an option. But it was the same message. That’s when I just realized that if I wanted to work in a way where I’m seen, where the gifts that I have, that I think I have, can be seen, I have to go to India or Asia or wherever. .

Will we see a sequel to “Wedding Season”?

There’s no complete story without the actual wedding, that’s all I’ll say. We joked about it on set. We scripted it in our mind. Let’s put it there. I couldn’t imagine anything more incredible than finding this team.

Thank you very much for talking with me. Hopefully the next time we meet will be in person.

Absolutely. I can’t wait for this day. Thank you very much for your time. Say hello to your aunt for me.

She will be 80 next week.

Well, happy birthday to her and give her all my love. And if she ever makes a trip to Australia, a hot Indian meal awaits her. And to you too, always there for you when you arrive in Melbourne. This is what we offer as a family.

This interview has been edited and condensed.