Rajiv Surendra gained popularity after starring in 2004’s Mean Girls, and although the evergreen movie gained cult status, his career took a different turn after a traumatic experience in the movie industry. Ultimately, he left Hollywood to focus on a different path, and in a recent interview, Surendra opened up on why he took the decision.
Surendra Went Down Memory Lane
GQ ‘s latest interview was with Surendra, one of Hollywood’s stars who defined teen comedy in the 2000s. These days the Toronto native who resided in New York has withdrawn from the movie industry, taking on a path channeled at Renaissance art. However, he opened up on his journey to choosing this path after being part of a historical period in pop culture.
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On Leaving Hollywood
Surendra, 34, had just finished shooting Mean Girls, and at the time, the was in his freshman year in college. The star noted that he found out moviemakers were working on turning Yann Martel’s 2001 book, The Life of Pi into a movie. Surendra felt this was the next big thing for him, and he channeled all his energy into making his goals actualize.
Surendra Was Determined To Get The Role
The TV star mapped out a plan such that he had to drop out of college and move to the little town in India where the book was set. He made it known that this was a way to do some in-depth research. He returned home after a few months, waiting for production to begin, but there was a brick wall.
The Challenges He Faced
Surendra shared that after waiting for a while, he discovered that the movie was put on hold because the director passed away. Afterward, he returned to college. The actor stated that the movie project continued to be delayed, and it took six years for filming to actually start.
He Never Gave Up
He recalled how he would always go back to the library to continue his research once a new director came on board. In all the project got four different directors before it finally kicked off. The star noted that he “worked really really hard to try to get” his desired role in the adventure movie.
Sudrenda Faced Rejection
At the end of it all, his years of dedication and consistency did not pay off. Following his audition, the actor received a rejection mail, and according to him, it felt like “someone had died.” He described the heartbreaking feeling, “when I got the email saying I didn’t get the part, I felt like that person just died, instantly. It was traumatic. I think I was in shock for a couple of weeks.”
He Had Grown Accustomed To the Character He Desired To Play
The Fast Food High actor described how over a period of six years, he perfected his art, trying to embody the main character in The Life Of Pi . He had built the role so much, it became a part of him. In his own word: “Very slowly over the course of six years, I was building this boy that was a character in a book. By the end of those years, that was a real person inside of me.”
He Felt Too Dejected To Go Back To Acting
By the time he gradually recovered from the shock, Surendra felt he could no longer continue acting. He left Hollywood and sought a job at the bank. After a while, he knew the corporate world was not for him. The multi-talented actor moved to Germany and worked for a family as an au pair . That brought back his vibe for life. Surendra has since ventured into calligraphy, pottery, painting, and knitting, among others.
What The Life Of Pi Is About
The Life of Pi is a 2012 adventure-drama movie brought to life from a philosophical novel. The storyline center around an Indian boy whose family sold their zoo and while they moved on a ship with some of the animals, they experienced a mishap. He ended up surviving on a small boat alongside a Bengal tiger.
