(May 24, 2024) “So grateful to have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the Bridgerton universe, dressing up and joining the world of Julia Quinn’s incredible characters. Thank you, Netflix and Shondaland, for a wonderful experience that I will forever cherish,” British-Indian actress Banita Sandhu shared with her fans, announcing her Hollywood debut in the eagerly awaited third season of Netflix’s Bridgerton.
The first episode of the Season 3 premiered this month, with Banita sharing the screen with British actors like Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan. Banita’s character, Miss Malhotra, introduces a fresh dynamic to the social scene of the show’s fictional Regency-era London, challenging the established norms among its eligible bachelors.
Banita Sandhu on the sets of Bridgerton
Bridgerton, adapted from Julia Quinn’s novels, has mesmerised audiences in all its seasons with its lavish production design, captivating storylines, and diverse casting bringing the story of the nobility of the early 1800s in London.
From UK to India
Banita Sandhu hails from Wales, UK. She began her acting journey on the local stages in the UK before getting an opportunity to play roles on the screen – in TV commercials and short films. The English Literature student had started working in short films even before she turned 18, and later worked in ads for Vodafone India and Wrigleys. Very early on in her career, at the age of just 20, Banita got an opportunity to work in Bollywood.
It was while working for Wrigley’s ad which was being directed by Bollywood director Shoojit Sircar that she caught his attention and earned the Bollywood break.
The 26-year-old made her Indian cinema debut in 2018 in ‘October’, a Shoojit Sircar film opposite Varun Dhawan. She was a second-year student of English Literature at the King’s College, London at that time.
The following year Banita went on to star in a Tamil production ‘Adithya Varma’ (remake of Telugu film Arjun Reddy) and the sci-fi series for Netflix, ‘Pandora’. Banita also worked with singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh in his track ‘Jind Mahi’, a love ballad.
Acting across continents the British-Indian actress went on to work at the British Dark Comedy, ‘Eternal Beauty’, and later Shoojit Sircar’s historical drama ‘Sardar Udham’ starring Vicky Kaushal.
The India connection
“My grandparents came to Britain from Punjab, northern India, shortly after World War II. Both my parents were born here and my sister and I were raised in a middle-class existence in Caerleon,” Banita told BBC.
Although she grew up with an interest in acting, low representation of South Asians on screen in the UK made her ambitions seem unreal. Also, coming to terms with her cultural identity was challenging. There were very few Asian girls in her small town which predominantly had only white people. “I really struggled with my identity as a kid. I used to hate my skin colour and wished I was the blond girl who all the boys liked,” she said in an interview with the Guardian.
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India calling
Banita did not have any known relatives in India, nor had she travelled to the country before. However when an opportunity to work in Bollywood fell in her lap, she was more than happy. Working in Indian films helped her learn about her country of origin. “I loved learning more about the culture, my family’s lives, struggles and traditions,” she said.
In preparation for her debut in Bollywood, the UK-born actor, who could speak only a smattering of Punjabi, had to learn Hindi, and took lessons for a year before the filming began. It was a challenging task and she was nervous about her delivery in a new language, but luckily most of her lines were a hybrid of English and Hindi, and things went well.
Making strides in acting beyond boundaries
Since then, Banita has worked in many film projects across continents. Her recent film Mother Teresa and Me went to earn the Best Film Award at the Mirabile Dictu International Film Festival. Sardar Udham starring Vicky Kaushal has won awards in the categories of Best Hindi Film (feature), best cinematography, best audio, best costume design and best production design at the 69th National film awards held in 2023.
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Banita has several brand promotion projects in her kitty. She has wrapped up her work in India’s spy sequel ‘Our Agent 116’ before immersing herself in the world of Bridgerton in Hollywood. “Wish I could keep the costumes,” the actor joked, talking about the grandeur, glitz and glamour of the regency era that the historical romance series offers.
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