And Just Like That: Sarita Choudhury on Sarah Jessica Parker

Daily Telegraph

2 days ago

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And Just Like That star Sarita Choudhury had addressed what it's like shooting awkward sex scenes – and the reason she is 'almost embarrassed' by them.
'I'm like, how do they know that? You think it's personal to you,' the British-Indian actor said. '[You think] do other women have this problem? A lot that happens to us in life, you might tell your one friend, you're not talking to everyone about it.
'Usually in any of the bed scenes, I find the most comedy.'
The 58-year-old plays Seema Patel on AJLT, which is currently airing its third season. Seema is a leopard-print wearing and Birkin bag toting real estate agent working in Manhattan, and a close friend of Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker), filling the kind of sexually liberated role famously and formerly filled by Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall).
An accomplished actor, Choudhury made her Hollywood debut opposite Denzel Washington in Mira Nair's 1991 drama Mississippi Masala, and had a starring role in hit TV series Homeland, among other projects.
The cast of And Just Like That including Sarita Choudhury, second from right. Picture: Getty Images
Asked about the importance of cultural representation in Hollywood, Choudhury remarks: 'It is so important. As an actor, I look for [the] character. And then because I have brown skin, and I'm Indian, that's going to come in naturally as opposed to the writers informing me how to do that'.
'With And Just Like That, one of the first things I saw was – oh, she smokes, she walks, she says it. I was like, this is exciting. This is not a stereotype.'
Sitting down with Stellar from New York, Choudhury says she takes inspiration from Seema's self-confidence, which she muses was likely built from 'maybe not fitting in'.
'Often what looks like confidence comes from, you know, maybe not fitting in,' she said.
'I think you develop your strength, because you have no choice. I think Seema comes from that kind of root.
'I'm of colour, and it doesn't matter what school I went to, I was always the different one. 'You find tricks and you are also like, f-off to anyone who doesn't get it, as you go home and cry. Now, she's like whatever.'
'I think you develop your strength, because you have no choice.' Picture: WireImage
Picture: Getty Images
While Fendi and Hermes are staples of Choudhury's on-screen wardrobe, her personal style is less like Seema's in real life.
'I like things to look normal, within the glamour. When people tell you, no, no, no, you've got to do this! People actually want your original truth.
'Yes, it has to be packaged a bit at the beginning. In a moment of a scene, you can just stare at someone in a certain way, no one can control that. It's actually more work to be yourself but it's worth it.'
The latest season of And Just Like That – the buzzy reboot of groundbreaking series, Sex and the City – has been criticised, including this week for a bizarre plot inconsistency surrounding the killing off Lisa Todd-Wexley's father twice. It led New York magazine's influential Vulture blog to ask: 'Could the loony bin known as the AJLT writers' room have made such a big continuity error?'
'I like things to look normal, within the glamour.' Picture: Getty Images
While not commenting on the jarring error, Choudhury said she had felt more embedded into the cast – and role, while shooting the third season.
'I feel so much more settled and also, more alive. Now, I know how to wear high heels well, I know how to open all my purses quickly.
'I enjoy her pace, I know how to study for it. It's less uncertain and scary and it allows me to take in everyone,' she said, referring to her co-stars including Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.
'By season three now, it's completely at ease. I don't think twice about running into any of their dressing rooms to ask them advice or a question.
'If we're lucky to be in a location, at a lot of our locations there are crowds. We can't even hang out! We can't go to the next restaurant and just sit outside. That's not possible. Sometimes, we visit each other at our houses, where there is certain privacy.
'My most fun these days is when we're in the makeup room together and we gossip. Because we know each other more, it's a shorthand.'
It's a contrast to the reality Choudhury faced in the show's first season, when she admits she 'was a little terrified, let's be honest'.
'It was exciting to get the news that I was going to do this and at the same time, how was I going to do this?
'I knew this show was under the world's eye – like, people have a lot of love towards the history of the show. And their history with the show. It was scary.
'By the time season one finished, I started to think, oh, this could be fun! Season two you don't know if you can repeat what you did in season one.
'By season three, I realised it's not me playing a character, it's these friends pulling me in. You start to earn that over the seasons. I feel so comfortable with the ladies.'
New episodes of And Just Like That … are out every Friday on Max. The new issue of Stellar is out on Sunday.