‘There’s A Kind Of Beauty In India’

‘In
India
no
matter
your
lifestyle,
you
will
end
up
doing
the
same
things
as
everybody
else.’

From
Chicago
to
Mumbai,
it’s
been
a
journey
full
of
‘adventures’
for

Lisa
Mishra.

She
started
out
as
a
singer
in
Bollywood,
seven
years
ago.

She
found
fame
for
the
reprised
version
of

Tareefan
from

Veere
Di
Wedding,
which
led
to
her
singing
more
Hindi
songs.

Lisa
then
branched
out
into
acting,
which
she
says
was
“always
on
the
cards”
given
her
background
in
musical
theatre.

After

Call
Me
Bae
and
now,

The
Royals,
she
is
making
her
presence
felt
in
the
Indian
streaming
space.

“I
know
a
billion
other
people
who
work
just
as
hard
or
harder
than
me
and
deserve
to
be
in
this
place.
But
I
had
a
little
more
luck,”
Lisa
confesses
to

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.

What’s
your
fondest
memory
from
the
sets
of

The
Royals?

Just
to
be
able
to
work
with
a
cast
of
that
calibre,
which
I
think
a
few
people
can
claim.

To
be
on
set
with
Ishaan
Khatter,
Bhumi
Pednekar,
Zeenat
Aman,
Sakshi
Tanwar,
people
that
are
so,
so
respected
in
their
craft.

Your
character
Nikki
felt
like
she
could
be
very
good
friends
with
Harleen
from

Call
Me
Bae.
How
do
you
compare
these
two
characters?

You’re
right!
I
find
that
similarity
as
well.

Harleen
is
very
similar
to
Sofia
(Bhumi
Pednekar’s
character)
and
it
makes
sense
that
you
would
feel
they
could
be
friends
in
an
alternate
universe.

The
friendship
between
Harleen
and
Nikki
would
be
just
like
Sophia
and
Nikki.

At
the
trailer
launch
of

The
Royals,
you
spoke
fondly
of
Bhumi
Pednekar.
What
makes
her
so
special
to
you?

We
are
super
close
on
and
off
screen.

We
became
incredibly
close
when
we
were
shooting
the
series.

We
were
on
set
in
Jaipur
for
35
days
and
we
had
about
15
days
in
Bombay.
So,
spending
that
much
time
together
non-stop
really
brings
you
close.

Neither
of
us
left
the
set
at
any
point.
We
were
there
for
all
days.

The
hours
were
long,
and
the
heat
was
intense
as
we
were
shooting
in
peak
Rajasthan
heat.
You
need
somebody
you
can
count
on
in
scenarios
like
that.

Plus,
the
stress
of
work.

We
really
showed
up
for
each
other
as
friends
and
that
was
effortlessly
portrayed
on
screen
as
well.

Bhumi
is
senior
to
you
in
this
industry.
Did
she
give
you
any
advice?

Bhumi’s
most
enduring
advice
to
me
was
to
have
confidence
in
myself.
She
constantly
reminded
me
I’m
there
because
I
deserve
to
be
there.
She
always
told
me
that
I
need
to
be
more
sure
of
myself.
I’m
doing
a
great
job
and
I
should
keep
going.

She
would
help
me
prep
my
lines.

We
would
prep
our
scenes
together.
She
didn’t
want
me
to
feel
junior
at
any
point.

She’s
so
giving
when
it
comes
to
co-actors.
She
really,
really,
helps
people
feel
confident
about
themselves
and
their
ability.

Very
few
people
have
not
only
the
patience
but
also
the
grace
to
share
their
knowledge
and
their
space
like
that.

You
are
juggling
between
acting
and
singing
careers.

I’m
an
actor,
I’m
a
musician,
I
have
a
podcast
about
food.

I’ve
always
been
into
a
lot
of
different
things.

But
everything
I
do,
I
put
a
lot
of
work
and
effort
to
be
excellent
in.
I
don’t
want
to
take
it
for
granted
that
I
get
to
be
in
sets
like
this
and
in
spaces
like
this.
I
owe
it
to
my
audience
and
to
the
people
who
are
producing
these
spaces.

It’s
their
money
at
stake.
It’s
their
trust
in
me.

I
owe
it
to
them
to
be
responsible
about
how
I
give
that
energy
back.

You
grew
up
in
Chicago
and
are
a
self-taught
singer.
How
did
you
develop
interest
for
Indian
pop
music?

That’s
the
kind
of
music
I
grew
up
listing
to.

It
was
a
lot
of
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,
A
R
Rahman,
early
Vishal-Shekhar,
early
Salim-Sulaiman,
Shreya
Ghoshal.

I
come
from
that
generation
of
pop
music.

I
would
just
mimic
what
I
was
listening
to
because
I
didn’t
speak
Hindi
at
the
time.
I
learned
Hindi
after
I
moved
to
India
seven
years
ago.

It
was
just
exciting
for
me
to
be
from
a
country
that
made
such
fun,
incredible,
layered,
complicated
music.

That’s
why
I
just
had
a
love
for
it
since
I
was
very,
very
young.

How
often
did
you
visit
India
before?

Very
little.

I
think
in
the
span
of
those
18-20
years,
I
visited
only
four
times.

What
are
your
earliest
memories
of
Bollywood
films
and
music?

My
earliest
memories
are
singing
songs
from

Ghulam
andHum
Dil
De
Chuke
Sanam.
I
was
three
or
four
years
old
at
the
time.

How
did
your
singing
journey
begin?

I
started
singing
at
four.

When
I
was
seven
or
eight,
my
teachers
at
school
recognised
that
I
have
a
talent
for
this.
They
kept
making
me
sing
on
stage.

By
the
time
I
was
13,
I
started
my
YouTube
channel
and
I
was
posting
videos
of
myself
singing
and
playing
guitar.

From
13
to
24
—
for
11
years
—
nobody
was
watching
those
videos.

But
then
I
got
discovered
and
was
brought
to
India
to
make
music.

Was
acting
always
the
next
plan?

It
was
always
on
the
cards.

I’ve
been
an
entertainer
since
I
was
a
kid.
I
grew
up
doing
musical
theatre.

So
when
I
moved
here,
I
immediately
started
with
auditions.

I
really
love
entertaining,
being
on
the
stage,
being
on
screen.

And
since
the
age
of
13,
posting
all
these
videos
online,
I’m
very
used
to
people
watching
me.

How
did
people
around
you
react
when
you
told
them
you
want
to
move
to
India?

I
think
my
parents
were
confused.
They
were
like,
we
moved
away,
why
are
you
moving
back?

My
extended
family
lives
in
India.
My
parents
moved
25
years
ago
because
my
dad
was
an
employee
at
State
Bank
and
he
got
transferred
there.

When
I
came
back
here
seven
years
ago,
it
felt
strange
to
integrate
back
into
the
country
I’m
originally
from.

I
felt
like
a
foreigner.

How
did
you
navigate
the
cultural
shock
in
India?

It
was
a
huge
cultural
shock
for
me,
definitely.

There
are
fewer
people
in
America.
There’s
a
more
space
there.

There’s
a
kind
of
beauty
in
India
where
it
feels
like
a
communal
atmosphere.

Everybody’s
together.

Everybody’s
sitting
in
the
same
traffic.

They’re
standing
in
the
same
lines
at
Elco
(a
shopping
arcade
in
Bandra,
northwest
Mumbai)
for

paani
puri
(Laughs).

Life
is
equal
here
in
a
lot
of
ways.

In
India
no
matter
your
lifestyle,
you
will
end
up
doing
the
same
things
as
everybody
else.

You
have
an
American
accent.
Is
that
a
problem
during
your
auditions?

Not
any
more.

I
think
after
what
I
did
on

Bae,
people
have
seen
I
can
pull
off
the
Indian
accent
in
English
because
no
one
dubbed
for
me.

I’m
able
to
do
the
Indian
accent,
this
(American)
accent
and
the
British
accent.

I’ve
grown
up
being
really
excited
about
voice
acting
so
this
comes
very
naturally
to
me.

What’s
next
on
your
wish
list?

If
I
have
any
shot
in
hell,
I
would
love
to
be
in
a
feature
film
since
I’ve
done
two
series
now.

I
think
it
will
be
a
great
adventure
for
me.