KOCHI: A shapeshifter. That’s an apt way to describe Hari Bhaskar, a 27-year-old Malayali actor who is living out his dream in New York’s bustling theatre scene.
He is sometimes Sir Andrew in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, but in a punk-pop way; sometimes he is Dr Andre Cox with some secrets in Dummy Detective, and then he goes on to play an Iranian in a play about two homosexual lovers during a tumultuous period in the country’s history. He moves in and out of characters with a rare eloquence, and ever-changing accents to boot.
Hari’s tryst with acting began long back in his homeland. He was a student of Kottayam’s famous Pallikoodam at the time. “I would say the school’s environment nurtured the artist in me.” Amid the busy schedule of rehearsals and shootings, the young man from Kudamaloor, Kottayam, still recalls his early days in theatre.
“I grew up in Dubai till I was 12. So when I joined Pallikoodam, my Malayalam wasn’t that good. My English was. So in English plays, I always got a role, and in 11th grade I played the lead in a school production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’”
That was when he fell in love with the euphoria of being on stage. “Anyway, I couldn’t play sports or paint. Nor was I studious. However, I did try my hand at cricket after watching a spell-bounding innings of Sachin Tendulkar. But being on stage was my true love.”
He realised it at the age of 17. And never looked back. What followed were years of somehow achieving that vision. First, he moved to Delhi, and when his parents insisted that he study something useful, he chose a triple major at Dr B R Ambedkar University. On the sidelines, he was performing in Delhi’s student theatres.
It was when his parents insisted on a master’s degree that he decided to further pursue his passion. “I decided to study acting in America,” Hari explains. He enrolled in New York’s Stella Adler Studio of Acting. “In a way, my parents’ wish paved the way for me to get closer to my goal.”
Many sought to know why he didn’t try his luck in Kerala. However, he always had bigger plans. “I love Malayalam films. And I love watching the electrifying performances of Fahadh Faasil. But I wanted to excel in theatre. Moreover, my Malayalam is not good enough for Malayalam films.”
So he took his aspirations to the city of dreams. That was in 2021, at the peak of the Covid pandemic. A scary time for Hari, fresh off the boat in the Big Apple.
“However, in acting school I met all kinds of people, all passionate artists. And that made me feel at home. After college, New York City in a way adopts you. Takes you along on its constant flow, be it the [New York] Knicks fever or its labyrinthian subway, or by helping you find your people.”
Now, Hari’s proving his mettle, one of the rare Indians trying their luck in a creative field rather than in high-paying tech jobs in the US. “It is rewarding, even if it comes with challenges. I’m a brown actor in New York, and I am on a visa here. That means many roles and productions prefer to look past me. But every day I feel like I am getting closer.”
And after being part of several Shakespearean plays, he has come to understand the playwright a little bit more. “My love for the bard was a slow burn process,” he describes.
Last year, he landed a substantial role in a feature film: an indie production streaming on Amazon Prime in some countries. “It was a fun project called Dummy Detective. It was an experience, especially acting with veteran artists. It was a funny and an absolutely crazy project,” he says.
Through the years, his ambition has also evolved. He now wants to reach Broadway, where acting goes hand in hand with singing. “Why not take up one more challenge?”
Hari also wants to try his hand at Hollywood. “I want to be the first South Asian A-lister in Hollywood,” he says tongue in cheek about his plans in Tinseltown.