British-Indian actor Jassa Ahluwalia, who is writing a TV series on mixed heritage experiences, says he is both, not half anythingNo ‘Mixed’ feelings here!
Gurnaaz Kaur
Seeking inspiration…here, there, everywhere! It begins from that and goes on to becoming a motivation for others. Elementally, this life is about ceasing all opportunities to live it fully, happily. Of the many steps in the direction to invoke this feeling in humanity is TEDX. Sharing life experiences, helping people open up and drawing the courage to face the odds, many people take the stage and make people realise how beautiful the world is. Among the 18 plus noted speakers at the third edition of TEDX-Chandigarh was British-Indian actor Jassa Ahluwalia. While he looks a gora (white), he is fully desi. Listen to him speak Punjabi and that will make all the sense to you. He is indeed proud of his mixed heritage. He uses the hastag BothNotHalf to explain his point. “It has been the distillation of my struggles with my sense of self. I feel I’m in a world that really wants to divide and label. It is essentially my way of saying that people are not fractions. I am not half anything. I am both. I am Punjabi and British.” He says he has full ownership of both parts of his identity.
Being in Chandigarh for him is not just work, there is a deep connection he shares with the city. “I was a three-year-old when I first came here. It’s a wonderful green city. I am going to be coming back to spend more time. I share a deep connection with Punjab. I get really happy being here. I’ve come here so many times to meet my family but now I’ll come back to build connections for the future.”
Jassa once felt insecure of getting distant from his roots when he saw his relatives growing old and the occasions to visit them became rare. But it did not let him give up, rather it became a reason to get better at Punjabi and now he will be visiting the state for work and explore other opportunities. “Instead of being nostalgic, I chose to be proactive.”
Dabbling with acting, writing, direction, production and comic videos on social media… he says he is an artiste with many interests, who has always been drawn to performance art in all its forms.
“Therefore there are different mediums that I work with but they are all an outlet to my creativity. Acting is something that I am naturally drawn to; it is also something that I do most as a profession. From early years, I was the little white kid in the brown family and everyone would stare at me, take photos. So, I guess I have been performing since childhood.” According to this young boy, storytelling is a blend of imagination and rationality and it is the best way to add to others perspective.
And adding to his repertoire would be a Punjabi film. If he had to pick, it would be, “Gully Boy, Udta Punjab or Sacred Games. I’ve been following a lot of Hindi and Punjabi content on Netflix and Amazon. I am impressed with the high quality of content that is being produced here.”
For now, the British-Punjabi actor is busy filming a series, titled Unforgotten, for ITV. “I’ve made a short film that is in the post-production stage. I’d like for it to play at film festivals in India. I will be submitting it. Then my sister and I, we are writing a TV series that is called Mixed.” It is about mixed heritage experiences. How they differ and how they are alike.
