GERMANY. INDIA: German-Indian actress Suzanne Bernert has worked in more than 20 Indian films, 36+ TV shows & numerous web series. ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, Colors TV’s ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’, Star Plus’s popular daily soap ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ are some of the projects that she has worked on.
Discussing the challenges she faced while living her childhood dream, Bernert suggested, “You should be open to doing everything. When I came here, I was open to doing TV and a lot of people thought if you do TV, you can’t do movies. It’s like either you’re a TV actor or a movie actor. But I’ve done both, TV & movies. Now, a lot of actors are choosing the OTT platform which is a kind of TV. You should go by the appeal of the project,” she added.
Discussing her experience of portraying Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress, in the movie ‘The Accidental Prime Minister,’ Bernert confessed that it was hard to represent a person who is alive & well; but playing a fictitious character, you can take more liberties with the characterization.
She added that one has to work hard to portray the person with the mannerisms, but not make it a parody.
When asked about the cultural difference, Bernert revealed that she has lived in South Korea for four years & in Taiwan for one and a half years. She added, “I come from a very supportive, loving & caring family, so, I just had a good transition. Besides, it’s not a cultural difference actually; it’s just a climate difference, which has been a bit troublesome for me. Besides, there’s a huge difference between the usual number of releases in India & in Europe. COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry to a large extent & it’ll take more time to recover,”
Bernert has worked with an Indian actor Govinda, for the Narmada Seva Yatra, a campaign initiated by the government of Madhya Pradesh, India, to conserve the Narmada River.
Recalling her experience of 16 years in the industry, Bernert advised that, theatre practice is certainly advantageous & adds more. “Besides, patience, versatility, perseverance & adaptation are important features. Also, one should learn some profession other than acting, to fall back on, just in case it doesn’t happen.”
“Because as an actor, sometimes you may face rejection regularly, but the one has to live with it and learn how to handle it. She added that India is a very open country & gives a lot of chances and opportunities than other parts of the world,” she added.
Furthermore, appreciating the positive criticism, she said that, criticism is always going to be there. “One has to be careful with the praise too, because of which, sometimes the one can lose a touch with reality. Social media is like a bubble and it’s not real,” she quoted.
Bernert has recently starred in a critically acclaimed short film ‘Cycle of Death’. The film was selected at the International Short & Symbolic Art Film Festival, St. Petersburg & Anatolia International Film Festival.
Discussing her upcoming projects, Bernert disclosed that, she shot her first-ever Malayalam movie last year, which is yet to release & currently has two web series in her bag.
She admitted her excitement about doing another Marathi cinema. Bernert has worked in blockbuster Marathi Movie Gallit Gondhal, Dillit Mujra’ & other Marathi TV and reality shows.
Watch the whole interview here:
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