Tiya Sircar – Miss India America

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What made you want to be a part of the movie Miss India America?

A) I actually got to read the script kind of early on. Meera [Simhan] and Ravi [Kapoor] worked on a show together with me and they played my parents. It was while they were writing the script and they had a table read and asked me to read the part of Lily. I read the script and immediately knew that if it ever did get made into a film I had to play the role of Lily. Something about her I just connected with immediately and knew that I was going to fight tooth and nail to get that role.

Q) Lily thought her life would go one way, but it ended up going in another. How is she feeling about that huge life change?

A) Lily is the kind of person that there is no Plan B. She is so driven, so ambitious and so focused to the point where she is not one to roll with the punches. She knows what she wants and knows what is going to happen (she thinks). But no matter how smart and intelligent she is, she is still young. So, she thinks she has it all figured out. It’s almost Earth shattering when things don’t go the way she thought they were going to go. She’s almost not even able to function. She doesn’t know what to do with herself. So, the decisions she makes are purely out of desperation. Lily is not someone who would ever enter a beauty pageant, but it’s the only option she has based on what she is faced with at that moment. She thinks she is going to win this too because she basically wins at everything she’s done thus far in her life, but that’s because she’s never tried her hand at a beauty pageant.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) Good question! I think it was a little bit of a tricky role to play because if you just read what she says then it can be extremely abrasive. She could have been down right unlikeable, based on her actions and interactions with other characters. Even how she acts with her best friend! Sometimes it makes you want to shake her. Hopefully, that she if she is likeable and has any charm that it is what I brought to the character. She could have gone either way and I hope she went the way of being likeable, but still you shake your head at some of the things she says.

Q) You worked with Hannah Simone in the movie. Were you familiar with her at all before costarring together?

A) I had never met her before. Of course, I’d seen her on “New Girl” so I was kind of familiar with her work. This was the first time I had ever met her and worked with her. She was great! She Executive Produced the movie and, of course, stars in the movie. I think she is great in the film. And I just love that they have put this cast of not just female comedic actors together, but also South Asian comedic female actors. It was so lovely to work with these super talented and super funny women. It was like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Hopefully not! Hopefully, this will be less and less of a rarity in the future. Up until this point it’s been a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Q) What was it like working with Ravi Kapoor on his first major film?

A) First of all, I think Ravi is one of the kindest human beings on the planet. He’s just a lovely person, but as a director it was wonderful to get to work with him. I don’t think you could have guessed it was his first feature film. I wouldn’t have guessed that if I didn’t know him already. His level of professionalism – he just knows what he was doing. It’s also just such a luxury to work with a director who has also been an actor and has been on the receiving end of direction. Not to say that every director needs to be an actor to direct, but the vocabulary that a director that is also an actor is a little different and the dynamic is a little different. I loved working with Ravi and Meera. They are lovely people and also really good at their job. I thought the script was sharp, funny and really well written. That sort of carried over from the script to the shoot. They were just a dream to work with.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

A) It was kind of a whirlwind. We didn’t have a huge budget so we shot the movie in a short amount of time. It was just a little over three weeks. So, it was a little bit frenetic (for me anyway) because I’m in a lot of the movie. There was a lot of me going from this set to that set and “moving on.” There was not a lot of time to think. [laughs] I loved all of it, but I loved the pageant. We did about a week of the pageant stuff, which was a bit crazy because the people who played the pageant contestants almost all of them are actually Miss India American runners up or contestants. That was fun because pageant world for me is foreign, specifically the South Asian pageant world. So, it was a really nice learning experience to work with girls who had actually done it. For the talent portions, those girls actually did their talent portions from their pageants. So, you see the stuff they used when they were actually competing, which was so fun to watch.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching Miss India America?

A) I hope people laugh a lot. I think the movie is funny and sweet, but I also think it has a lot of heart. I hope at the end they actually feel something, not just that this was hilarious, light and comedic. I hope they see it also has a message and I’ve been told occasionally that someone got a little verklempt (“overcome with emotion”) and had a tear in their eye. [laughs] Not that I want people to cry, but if that happens it’s not the worst thing in the world. Also, it’s not just a cast of South Asian actors (which I think is awesome), but it happens so rarely if ever. It is about Indian American characters, but what I think is special about this movie is that the scenes are universal. It’s not specifically for a South Asian American audience. We’re talking about familial dynamics, pressures to succeed, pressures for a young woman, coming of age, the pressure to be perfect and thinking you have it all figured out and you don’t. Those are all things that it doesn’t take a South Asian American audience to appreciate. Anyone could come see this film and enjoy it, but also feel like these characters are familiar to them. I think that’s what makes this movie unique.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you will be receiving?

A) Honestly, yeah, because it is such a nice way to get to interact with fans and people that have seen your work and have something to say about it. Whether it is good or bad – I love interacting with people on Twitter and Instagram. This thing has been under wraps for such a long time that I can’t wait for people to see it and hopefully love it, but I am looking forward to hearing what people think.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) First of all, thank you very much. I totally appreciate it. Obviously, I can’t do what I do without you. I hope you love this film as much as I loved making it. It was really a labor of love for me and so many people. I am excited that is finally going to be out there in the world. Let me know what you think!

Available on Digital HD and On Demand TODAY, April 5th!