Upala KBR (DNA; September 22, 2015)


Are you nervous now that Quantico is airing on October 3?
I am very nervous, but excited too. It’s been a tough journey as every episode has been shot at breakneck speed. Content-wise it’s a very interesting character as the audience discovers with me the various twists and turns. It’s one of those shows that is serious, but at the same time pop culture and part of the mainstream.

Three things to watch in Quantico.
The cast which is very interesting. Secondly, lots of intrigue and mystery. One has to try and figure who did it — even I don’t know (laughs). If you can figure out let me know. That’s why I want to hold a contest for the audience where they will win prizes if they can find out who did it. Each of us in the series has secrets and hidden reasons for enlisting and one amongst us is a sleeper terrorist. As we go along it’s a fun, guessing game joy ride. Just expected the unexpected.

So how much of Alex is you – Vivacious, sassy, intelligent, free-spirited?
Alex is like my alter ego. I am very shy in comparison, though I maybe outspoken in private. Alex doesn’t care at all about anything. She lives life on her own terms and is very courageous. I don’t think like her. But as the series progresses, Alex will be shown more and more like me. The writers will be writing more of me as an Indian girl, Priyanka, my persona and who I am.

How did you work on getting an American accent?
I had learned Marathi in Kaminay where I had a coach with me the whole time. I spoke so well that people thought that I speak Marathi fluently. For Quantico too, I worked on my American accent with a coach who was there 24/7. It’s been quite an effort but that’s my job as an actor to play different roles. In Quantico I am half-Indian, half-Caucasian.

Looking back what was the toughest thing to do?
For me more than my character the most difficult part was the difference between shooting for films and shooting for televsion. I have only done movies where we shoot one scene languidly in two-three days but on TV we had to can nine scenes in one day! Quantico is a show played out in two time lines — future and present and we had to shoot both together! It’s an amazing mindspace to be in. I had to keep a diary keeping track of the different scenes in different timezones. There was no other way of doing it.

Was it tough to act blasé for the lovemaking scene?
Not really (laughs). It was just one hour of shooting and technically a talking scene. More an allusion to making love and what’s happening. In pop entertainment it’s important to show it as real as it is but what can we do? Quantico is an ABC serial and there’s only so much that they can do. Of course, I was very happy with that. I get very shy and awkward doing such things. It’s not something that I am comfortable with. But Alex is a modern-day girl and that scene explains that she treats boys like the way boys treat girls, is independent and free-spirited.

You all spent time with real FBI agents to research the role and learn to correctly portray an agent.
Yes, we had five FBI consultant who came and spent a week with us. With the agents we were like students. They talked about how hard it is for them when faced with mindless crimes like terrorist acts and how they get affected. They too like us find it difficult to understand why people do what they do. The training I got in Jai Gangajal and other films where I played a cop helped me
with the show.