Kaveri Seth on landing a role in Dev Patel’s A24 banner film The Peasant: “It felt surreal”

Actress Kaveri Seth is set to feature in The Peasant, an upcoming period revenge-action thriller co-written and directed by Dev Patel. While the project marks Patel’s second feature as a director after Monkey Man, it also adds another international title to Seth’s growing filmography. Opening up about how she came on board, the actress recalled auditioning for the film and described receiving the eventual confirmation as a surreal experience.

Speaking about the possibility of working with Patel and how the project came her way, Kaveri said, “The possibility of working with Dev on an A24 film was exciting, but I tried not to get ahead of myself. The project came my way through an audition. I went in with zero expectations, just wanting to have fun, and given how insightful his notes were and how curious and engaged he was, I came away even more excited about the prospect of working with him. It was several months before I heard back, so when I finally did, it felt surreal. Watching him work on set, wearing so many different hats and bringing so much heart to it all, was quite incredible.”

Her account offers a glimpse into the audition process and her experience of working with Patel, who takes on multiple responsibilities on the film as its co-writer and director, in addition to starring in it. Seth also spoke about observing his approach on set, highlighting the impression his involvement across different aspects of the production left on her.

The Peasant features an international ensemble that includes Patel, Christian Friedel, Sebastian Bull, Saurabh Sachdeva, Anasuya Sengupta and Vipin Sharma. The film is being made as a period revenge-action thriller under the A24 banner.

For Seth, the project follows a series of roles across Indian cinema, streaming and theatre. She made her feature-film debut with Rahul V. Chittella’s Gulmohar (2023), in which she played Divya Batra alongside Manoj Bajpayee and Sharmila Tagore. She also appeared as Shireen Irani in Mira Nair’s adaptation of A Suitable Boy and featured in Made in India: A Titan Story and Perfect Family.

Her acting journey began on the American theatre stage with the Bay Area Drama Company, where she performed lead roles in Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like a Man and Vijay Tendulkar’s Kanyadaan. She subsequently assisted Mira Nair for a year, including on A Suitable Boy, before deciding to pursue acting full-time.

With The Peasant, Seth now adds another international production to a career that has moved between theatre, films and streaming projects.

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