Adarsh Gourav Speaks On Getting BAFTA Nomination For White Tiger

Indian cinema finally get a pride of place on the global map after a long time.Thanks to  the  exceptional performance given by Adarsh  Gourav in The White Tiger. On  Tuesday evening came the  stunning news that Gourav has been nominated  for the prestigious BAFTA(British Academy Of Films & Television Arts) award.

 Gourav will  be competing for the award  alongside  Riz Ahmed for  The  Sound Of Metal , late Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom , Mads Mikkelsen for the Danish language film Another Round,veteran British actor Anthony Hopkins  in The Father  and Algerian-French actor Tahar Rahim   in The Mauritanian.

 These are  all exceptional  performances that I’ve seen. But I’d like to believe  Gourav is superior to all of them.

 I spoke  to  him minutes after the  BAFTA nomination was announced. Gourav seemed  curiously calm, a bit dazed.  “I am dazed! I  was  in the gym. In the morning I heard that I may be nominated. I didn’t think about it the whole day. I was busy doing other things. Now when I finish working  out, I find messages  from Pooja Asher(dialect coach for  The  White Tiger) and my father. He was watching it live on television. His  joy on the phone was infectious.  The  impact(of being nominated) has  begun to hit me now. It will take time.”

 Looking  back at the journey that  was The White Tiger  Adarsh says, “The preparation  that I  undertook  for the part, the numerous auditions…. it all seems  worth it. I’d work just as hard on any other role. That this  one turned out so  special was just my luck.I’ve given as much of myself to other parts which no one  has even seen.”

But being nominated  for a best actor  in the BAFTA is no small matter? “I realize that, Sir. I am proud of it. Now that  you mention  it it’s started  to sink in.  To just be nominated alongside all those great actors  including Sir Anthony(Hopkins) whom I  hero-worhip…I’ve seen  all the  nominated  performances  except  Anthony Hopkins in The Father. They are  tremendous  performances. If I’ve been nominated alongside these greats it means something.”

I tell him  that I can’t recall  any  major Indian actor being nominated  for a BAFTA, Gourav  humbly  submits, “That  could just be a technicality, Sir. I am sure there have been several internationally acclaimed performances by Om Puri Sir,  Irrfan Sir and  other great Indian actors. It’s just that their performances were featured in films produced  in India and hence probably didn’t qualify.”

 What next  for Adarsh?  “Next?  I am going home , have a bath ,have my dinner  and sleep. Seriously, Sir. I can’t let this  go to my head.  I need to keep working hard. I’ve two  important  auditions coming  up. If  I bag one of these  my immediate future as an  actor is ensured.”