Move over bond

The name is Sendhil... Sendhil Ramamurthy. the actor of Heroes fame plays a detective in Gurinder Chadha's next filmu00a0 it's a wonderful afterlifeu00a0u00a0

If the name Sendhil Ramamurthy conjures up an image of a south Indian actor prancing around in a lungi, try this name: Mohinder Suresh. If you see flashes of test tubes, people with superpowers, and a great looking guy in the midst of it all, you have come to the right place. Sendhil has just wrapped up his role as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the hit drama series Heroes. He has now set his sights on movies from Hollywood and Bollywood. After acting out small parts in films like Blind Dating, Sendhil has moved to playing prominent roles in Gurinder Chadha's It's a Wonderful Afterlife and the Ekta Kapoor-produced Shor.



In Gurinder's film, he shares screen space with Shabana Azmi, playing detective Raj, who investigates a string of curious murders of Londoners killed with kitchen items and food. The victims come back to haunt Shabana after she bumps them off for rejecting her plump daughter.u00a0u00a0

What attracted you to It's a Wonderful Afterlife?
The time I had off between Season Three and Four of Heroes, was exactly the time that Gurinder was shooting. We shot for eight weeks in London. Since my wife (actress Olga Sosnovska) is from there, I had the whole family with me.

Shooting in London must have been fun...
It was quite an experience shooting in front of the London Eye and in the restaurant of the Tate Gallery, which has an amazing view. But when you get a camera on the street, people are going to stop and look. It was challenging work, because we had to shoot many times over. We would always spot someone in the background pointing or waving at the camera.

Do you believe in the afterlife?
It's a nice concept, but I'm far too cynical to believe in it.
If you could let go of your cynicism, what would your afterlife look like?
I hope I'll be surrounded by people I want -- my family, my child (daughter Halina). I hope there's a tennis court and lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Everything else that is coming to mind is stuff you can't print. So, I'm going to stop.

Most of the characters you portray are Indian-American/British. Do you see yourself being typecast or consider it your niche?
I don't see it as being typecast. I'm very fortunate in that aspect. Some are straight-up American parts. Right now, I'm doing Covert Affairs in which I play a CIA agent. I'm open to Indian parts.

Who directs an Indian part better -- a director of Indian origin or a foreign director with no prejudice?
I've had both, positive and negative experiences. Gurinder is very good with her actors. I've also worked with Indian directors who were nightmares. They had only one idea of being Indian that they held on to for their characters as well. Then, there are foreign directors who bring no baggage to the script. Regardless of your origins, it all depends on how good a director you are.u00a0

Many actors go from Bollywood to Hollywood. You did it the other way round.u00a0
You have to keep all doors open. It's great to have one foot in Hollywood and the other in Bollywood. The Hindi film industry is chaotic, but in the end it all comes together. The fact that it throws up so many movies a year shows that something is working. I would repeat the experience for the right project.

How was it working on your first Bollywood film Shor?u00a0
Shor never felt like a conventional Bollywood film -- there is no song and dance, for instance. Shor was shot in very difficult conditions on the streets of Mumbai. I did not know anything about the city until then; when I come to India, I spend most of my time in Bengaluru where my family is from. The way people work in Mumbai is very different.

If you could steal one power from a Heroes co-star, whose would it be?
I'd steal from my co-star Adrian Pasdar who plays Nathan Petrelli. It would be cool to fly.