Latest news with #MurderatthePatelMotel
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Murray Bartlett on ‘Murder at the Patel Motel': ‘It is a double-edged sword'
Murray Bartlett, who won our hearts as Armond in The White Lotus, and as Frank in The Last of Us, plays Gareth in Maulik Pancholy's comedy podcast, Murder at the Patel Motel. He also appears as the disgraced puppeteer, Brian, in Season Two of Nine Perfect Strangers. 'They're similar, in a way,' says Murray over a video call from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. 'Both have a mystery at the centre of it. The difference with Nine Perfect Strangers is we got to be in amazing locations in Germany and Austria, with a wonderful cast of people that I got to work with in person.' Past traumas Both characters, the 54-year-old actor said, are dealing with trauma from the past that holds them back. 'They both have to be backed into a corner before they reveal themselves. It is not easy for them to face or talk about it or be vulnerable around.' The absence of visuals is both liberating and challenging, according to Murray. 'It feels uncomplicated to have one sense to hone in and focus on. There are fewer distractions. It gives you a strong focal point. It's an interesting process where you've only got the audio so you become ultra aware of how you can play with that in interesting ways to tell the story.' With a look There are some scenes, Murray says, which you wish you could just do with a look. 'You have to find a way to do it with sound. It's a double-edged sword, it is a challenge, but it also makes you creative. There's something thrilling about that.' Voicing a character in an audio-only format calls for a similar approach to his work in television or film, Murray says. 'There are certain subtleties that you can do visually without saying things that you can't use in audio. You have to make sure you're getting the character and the story across effectively through audio.' Rich world The world of audio is so rich these days with podcasts and audiobooks, Murray says. 'It's an exciting genre to step into. We are now used to listening to content in the way that we used to listen to radio plays. I was familiar with the genre and how you can bring subtlety into audio in a way that you might when working on film and television visually. Murder at the Patel Motel is comedy, so you can be a little broader, and play with sound in a comedic way.' Having known Maulik for a long time, Murray immediately said yes to playing Gareth, Maulik's character, Milan's, partner. 'I love the idea of this small town in Montana where there's this Indian American family, and the kind of world that surrounds them. Maulik told me about this network of Indian American families who run motels around the Midwest of America, which I was unaware of.' Grounded in reality Comedy is challenging as it should be grounded in reality, Murray comments. 'You don't want it to be totally untethered. This show has a definite reality to it, and there are some poignant moments. As an actor, you want to have fun with the comedy, while making sure that these feel like actual characters, with moments of reflection, poignancy and connection.' Murray says the cast did different takes and versions of certain scenes. 'When they were editing, they had some choices to get that balance of comedy, drama and mystery right.' Occasional improvisations While the cast mostly stuck to the script, Murray says there was improvisation too. 'With audio work, you don't work with the other actors. I was lucky, because Maulik was leading this project and was in all the recording sessions. We were reading the scenes together in real time. He encouraged improvisation when it felt right. We did the scenes as scripted, but then would do takes where we play around.' There are scenes where it made sense to improvise, Murray says. 'With 10 episodes, the recording sessions were long, and once you start to settle into the character, you get a sense of what else you might be able to offer as the character. Maulik was collaborative and encouraged us to stay with the script to make sure that we were telling the story properly, but also to inhabit our characters and play with it.' Close to home The podcast touches on themes of identity, family and returning home, all of which resonated with Murray. 'No matter where a story is culturally, environmentally, or geographically, there are universal things about family that we can all relate to — complex, unsettling, challenging, and funny things.' Murray was intrigued with the 'wonderful specifics' about Indian American families that he got to learn through the podcast. 'A lot of us, particularly in the arts, who grew up in small towns, have the same experience that Milan has. We tend to be the black sheep of the family. I went halfway around the world to pursue the work that I love.' Highlights the contrast When you return home, Murray says, there are all these wonderful, difficult and comic things that happen. 'The dynamics highlight the contrast you feel between the person you've become and the 17-year-old you were when you may have left,' Murray says laughing. Hoping that listeners to Murder at the Patel Motel laugh a lot, Murray says, 'There are some beautiful things about being disconnected from family and the complexity of trying to reconnect. A lot of the characters have secrets or parts of themselves that they're not in touch with, or hiding. And through the course of the show, secrets come out and the characters have to look at and face who they are.' If Gareth had a secret hobby, Murray says he would probably fancy himself a popstar. 'I would imagine when nobody's home, he would get out the karaoke machine and sing in the mirror,' he says laughing Murray's favourite scene in the podcast was when his finger gets partially cut off by an axe. 'It was fun to be able to scream and let loose,' he says, laughing uproariously. Murder at the Patel Motel is available on Audible
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Maulik Pancholy on ‘Murder at the Patel Motel': ‘I wanted to write a complicated Indian American family'
Maulik Pancholy's Murder at the Patel Motel, the comedy podcast from Audible, is a fun Agatha Christie style murder mystery. 'I always thought it would be nice to write something centred around an Indian American family,' Maulik says over a video call on a hot day in New York. 'While people know of Indian American families running convenience stores, I am always surprised at how few people know of the phenomenon of Patel motels.' Nearly 50% of motels in the United States are owned by Indian Americans, the 51-year-old Maulik says. 'People in the know jokingly refer to them as the Patel motel cartel, because they have such a huge interest in the hotel lobbying industry.' Coming home Maulik plays Milan Patel, who has just got his big break in New York as the event planner for the Met Gala. He visits his parents at the family-run motel in Montana for a weekend family get-together, which quickly gets complicated with the appearance of a corpse. 'I never felt comfortable in my skin in the town that I grew up in,' Maulik confesses. 'I always thought I had to get away to become who I am.' The 30 Rock-actor wanted to explore what it would be like to return to the past to face one's demons. 'What would happen if the person that you needed to reconcile with suddenly wasn't around? That's where the idea for this murder mystery set in a small town motel came about. I wanted to write a complicated Indian American family. I wanted to write a lead gay character. And I wanted to write something that I can play (laughs).' On location The Montana setting, Maulik says, came up after a chat with a writer who described her small town in Montana where there was just one Asian family. 'We set the story in a town where this family is isolated. And the Patel motel became the framework for this family and what it means to them. There's the immigrant story of Milan's father, who started this motel, and the dreams that he got to fulfill or not.' The audio format suits mystery, Maulik says. 'You have to listen carefully for someone walking down a hallway or heading into a dark, isolated basement. How do the echoes of their voice off the wall sound? How do you build tension through the way the voice sounds, the whispering? Sound designer and editor, Daniel Brunell did such a beautiful job.' Sound options Though Maulik was writing in the audio space for the first time, his co-writers, Zachary Grady and Achilles Stamatelaky, have written audio series before. 'Their perspective was helpful on multiple levels. You can't cut to somebody's reaction,' Maulik says laughing. 'You have to communicate the story to the producers who are going to give your notes to the sound designer… The way you write, including descriptions of places, has to be from an audio perspective. We're working on how the listener is going to hear this world.' Writing a gay Indian American protagonist was a way for Maulik to mine the breadth of his experience. 'Milan's identity in the show is one of the reasons he has a troubled relationship with his past and his town. I'm interested in telling stories that we don't get to see enough of. I hesitate to say normalising, or evening it out, but we are just saying these characters exist, and they go through the same things that any other character would. It was important to me that we create a nuanced, complex LGBTQI character of colour. And I get to play a detective (laughs) which was exciting too.' Ensemble cast Murder at the Patel Motel features a stellar cast, which includes Murray Bartlett as Milan's partner, Karan Soni as a poor relation and Poorna Jagannathan as Milan's no-nonsense mother. Working with the cast was a joy, Maulik says laughing. 'I can't tell you how many times we were cracking up in the sound booth. I've known Murray, Karan and Poorna for such a long time, and I was so thrilled that they said yes to the project.' The recordings moved quickly, Maulik says. 'We were barreling through it, and it's a challenge, for actors to stay fully present, and track their arc from episode to episode. Every single person was not only funny, but also brought so much depth and heart into the show.' Surprise appearance Padma Lakshmi makes a delightful appearance as herself in the podcast. 'She's so funny, and I'm so thrilled that people are getting to see just how talented an actress and comedian she is. I've known Padma for a long time, and I reached out to her and I'm so grateful that she made time to do it.' Murder at the Patel Motel straddles three genres, Maulik says. 'It is a nuanced family story, a comedy and a murder mystery. We tried to ground the characters as much as possible, and put them in these situations that were comedic. Everybody's playing these situations as though it is completely real, even as the circumstances start to get weird. We also looked at shows and films like The White Lotus and Knives Out, to see the dynamics, especially about pushing between comedy and mystery.' Universal themes One of the cool things about the show, Maulik says, is, even though it is an Indian American family, and the lead character is gay, it touches on universal themes. 'What is it like to go home? What is it like to lose someone that you are unsure of how you feel about? What is it like to navigate relationships?' It has been a busy year for Maulik. 'I just finished filming a movie written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg with Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. It's his first movie post A Real Pain, and it was super fun. We just wrapped on Season Five of Phineas and Ferb. I am writing my third novel, a young adult romantic comedy set between worlds of Bollywood and Jackson Heights Queens in New York. It is slated for a summer 2026 release.' At the end of the podcast, there is another murder. On whether there is going to be a season two of The Murder at the Patel Motel, Maulik says, 'We wrote it that way, and no one told us to make it more final. So perhaps there will be, I will keep you posted as soon as I know.' Murder at the Patel Motel is available on Audible
