New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) British star Himesh Patel says he draws inspiration from artists like Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel for opening doors for actors of South Asian descent in cinema but the work of representation is far from done and he has set high standards for himself. Patel started his journey with a role on the long-running British soap opera "EastEnders" and then shot to fame with Danny Boyle's 2019 movie "Yesterday". Since then, he has been part of diverse projects like Christopher Nolan's sci-fi film "Tenet", Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up", dystopian series "Station Eleven" and now dark comedy "Greedy People".
Growing up in the UK to Indian parents, Patel said it was only when he started working as an actor that he was exposed him to the barriers South Asian artistes face and that deepened his understanding of the challenges that lie ahead of him "The feeling of like wanting to see yourself and not seeing yourself as much, I think I was perhaps only subconsciously aware of it when I was growing up. I was lucky I started acting when I was very young. "It was when I started professionally working and I was working with other South Asian actors who had struggled to get to where they were, that I realized the battle that we kind of have," Patel told PTI in a virtual interview.
The actor said he is proud to be part of a generation that's changing the conversation. Patel is optimistic about making further strides when it comes to inclusivity and diversity after seeing the caree.
