The Sufi prince

Jasmine Singh 

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What has changed is there anything different about him. Looks, style, presentation..Hmm. What is it? Acknowledging the questions that inadvertently strike while sitting next to Punjabi Sufi singer Satinder Sartaaj from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, we try to put him, his persona under the microscope, trying to find any noticeable traces of the 'after Cannes' Sartaaj! 

"You'd find none, the before and after Cannes Sartaaj is the same. I eat the same food, I have the same friends, I still have the same two pair of eyes that see love and pain of the humanity," Sartaaj smiles hoping to put those questions to rest. He gives it another try, "My life hasn't changed 360 degree, but yes, maybe I might be conducting myself a little more articulately. Talking about change, well, (he pauses), whenever I get time, mostly during the long flights, I try to watch as many Hollywood films as possible. I know about so many Hollywood actors now like Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Drew Barrymore...so many." 

With his back stretched against the chair, arms crossed on the table in front of him, Sartaaj talks about his debut Hollywood project The Black Prince that has won him great reviews, and how his life has changed or not as modestly as possible!  

Destined to be a prince 

I strongly believe that I was destined to play Maharajah Duleep Singh, one because of the startling resemblance with him in terms of my looks. The more I read up on him, I realised that I shared so many things with him. 

The challenges & more 

I learnt to speak Queens English and I also learnt Victorian manners for my character, which is dark, under playing and submissive at the same time. When I got the script, I saw 100 biopics on British Imperialism. . I had to speak dialogues as long as one-and-half page. To everyone’s surprise, most of my shots were cleared in a single take. Even Shabahan Azmi couldn’t believe that this was my first film. Besides, I also took acting classes in Mumbai from Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute. Since I am a writer, an artiste myself, I would tend to say certain dialogues in my own way, but my director Kavi Raz told me to be myself, leaving everything else to him.  

Punjabi cinema and me 

I've been getting many Punjabi film offers since 2009, but I didn't want to jump into something I wasn't good at. Then Brillstein Entertainment Partners, the same company which produced 12 Years a Slave, offered me the role, and I felt being a Punjabi and seeing a cultural connect I said yes to it immediately.

Grass is greener on the other side:

My life comes across as very exciting and thrilling at this moment; trust me though it is not easy. Living out of a suitcase, keeping my wardrobe absolutely immaculate for travel can be tiring. Then o f course there is so much travel.  

Now what

I don't believe in planning life, I live in the moment. And this moment is beautiful, I am getting a great response for my work.Rest, I have to go on with many more live, and who knows I might just do a film with Drew Barrymore and Kim Kardashian. He laughs. 

In the middle of this conversation, Sartaaj gets up to greet a fan who has come to meet him from Kapurthala. He inquires about this fans  family, wishes him all the luck... something he has always done. As for us, we came to meet the before Cannes Sartaaj and we return taking the same one back.

Sing Along

Saga Music will be releasing the music of The Black Prince worldwide, while Unisys Infosolutions will ensure its digital presence worldwide, Seven Colors Entertainment, the overseas arm of Unisys Infosolutions will also be releasing the film in India, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

—Sumeet Singh, CEO & MD Unisys Infosolutions & Saga Music 

The red carpet walk 

I was shivering, not like really shivering but yes, I was slightly nervous before hitting the red carpet at Cannes. But once there, it was okay. For a split second I had to remind myself that I was standing with some of the best actors of Hollywood. 

jasmine@tribunemail.com