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I’m not a huge fan of auditions, but when you’re past the point of remembering how many you’ve been to, you learn how to deal with them. Usually, the character description within the casting notices help me get into the right mindset for the role, but one too many times, I’ve fallen into the trap of over-preparing and end up losing the spontaneity and improvisation needed so badly at auditions. But when I saw a casting notice that PFC’s very own Shripriya had sent me, advertising a trailer shoot for Browntown, my eyes lit up!

Brownscape Productions, a small independent production company based in NYC, is seeking a Male Actor for the leading role for an upcoming feature film. We are currently casting for the trailer of the film; if you are the perfect choice, you may be chosen as the lead in the feature film as well. We are seeking the following:

South Asian Male, 25-35 yrs old, preferably South Indian, (but if you know a South Indian Language and can do a South Indian accent, that is great)

Knowledge of American crime dramas like Law and Order: SVU and also classic Bollywood movies

Ability to play comedic/dramatic/action

Are available for audition on 4/14/07 and two weekends in May to shoot. Details will be given when selection is made.

Could I possibly BE more perfect for this role??

South Asian Male: Check.
25-35yrs old: Check.
“Preferably South Indian.” I looked at these words and stretched out my arms as Uyire, Uyire, vandhu yennoda kalandhu videy ran through my head, as if I’d found the perfect audition. It was a hallelujah moment, if you will, with a single ray of light shining down upon me from the heavens. Needless to say, I got excited and confident. Sure, I didn’t know a damn thing about American crime dramas but I could always catch a few episodes on TV or rent them whenever possible. Within an hour, I’d exchanged a few emails with the producers, not only securing an audition spot, but also with a more detailed background about my character…

Srinivasan Pasupathy Ravichandran would be a detective who, after having gotten his training in South India (Chennai, in all likelihood), moves to the US, and is placed in a fictional precinct in Queens (NY suburb), called “Browntown”. His partner is a no-nonsense female Latina cop, (by now I’m thinking Rush Hour with a south asian/latino twist), and they go around the city solving hate crimes. Minority detectives solving minority-based crimes in one of the most ethnically diverse places on the planet: Queens, NY. How apt, and what a cool premise at that.

During the 5-hour bus trip to NY, I prepared with the audition sides that I’d received from them ahead of time, and tried to inject the script with bits and pieces of Tamil that I felt I could improvise with. I had also managed to relax the overconfidence in me by this point — the last thing I wanted to do was give up a role I knew I could pull off easily by getting arrogant about it. At the audition, my improvisations seemed to be working their desired effect. The actress auditioning for the lead role and one of the producers started laughing to the point that I couldn’t keep a straight face when I saw theirs. 20 minutes and another scene later, I was on my way back. A 5-hr one-way bus ride for a 30min audition might seem outrageous to some, but 24hrs later when I’d see those beautiful words…

Brownscape Productions would like to extend our congratulations to you for being chosen for the role of Ravichandran in the Browntown Trailer.

I’d know it was all worth it…