...Blaze A Trail

From Bend It Like Beckham to The Good Wife, ARCHIE PANJABI has always been ready to challenge the status quo. She tells PARIZAAD KHAN SETHI why diverse characters are the order of the day

Archie Panjabi’s reaction to winning an Emmy is a clear indicator of her matter-of-fact, focused approach. Panjabi, in her characteristic way, shrugs off winning as “getting a badge to say you’re not bad.” It was in 2010 that the British actor collected one of television’s best-known prizes for her portrayal of the gutsy, leather-clad, baseball bat-wielding private investigator Kalinda Sharma on the legal drama The Good Wife. For someone who knew she was going to be an actor from the time she was very young (despite having no similar role models to emulate), winning that Emmy would probably have been quite the moment.

It was a surprise and an honour, Panjabi, says, though her true validating experience had come many years ago. At age 12, she won a versatility cup presented to the star performer at an arts and drama festival in the UK. “I was the only Indian girl in the room. When they called my name, my mother and I were nearly in tears. It was a defining moment because I thought, if a panel of judges can see beyond me being a brown woman, that was motivation enough. Ever since, I’ve always felt like the lack of ethnic actors or Indian women drove me rather than deterred me.”