Dimple Kapadia’s talent manager, who played a significant role in helping her land a role in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, has spoken about the process, and the methods she employed to get Dimple in the door.
In the science-fiction spectacle, Dimple plays Priya, an arms dealer who meets with the film’s protagonist a couple of times. Dimple auditioned for Nolan when he flew down to India in 2019. The film was partially shot in Mumbai.
In an interview to Film Companion, talent manager Purvi Lavingia Vats said that she pulled out Dimple’s scenes from Dil Chahta Hai for Tenet’s casting team. The entire process was shrouded in secrecy, she said.
“As Dimple has said in her recent interviews, she was initially hesitant to do it. I had other actresses go on tape and very few were shortlisted. Based on feedback, however, my mind kept going back to Dimple. I kept checking back with her as I really felt that she was the right choice for this role,” she said. “Her answer was the same every time but I just couldn’t get her out of my mind. I even put footage together of her work and pulled out a few scenes from Dil Chahta Hai and sent that to the casting team. After seeing the scenes, they were even more keen to see her audition. She finally came around and, as luck would have it, Nolan was flying in for a location scout and he brought casting director John Papsidera. So the meeting was fixed.”
Purvi said that during the audition, Dimple even suggested another actor’s name for the same role, much to the amusement of casting director John Papsidera. “We had a good laugh. That’s the best thing about Dimple. She’s a legend and yet so humble and nonchalant. She’s a powerhouse of talent and I’m so excited to see what she does next in Hollywood,” Purvi said.
Dimple in an earlier interview to NDTV, she said, “Honestly, I thought that there are so many better actors so why would I get this role but since I have been called, I should just go. I thought I’ll take a photo with Nolan for my nephew Karan. I was not even under pressure because I thought 90%, I won’t get this role.”
