Global icon and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas gave a shout out to actor Adarsh Gourav after he got a nod in the Best Actor category for this year’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) Awards. The self-made actor played an ambitious driver in her production ‘The White Tiger’.
‘The White Tiger’, which is director Ramin Bahrani’s adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize-winning debut novel of the same name, has also been nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
“What a proud moment for Indian talent with 2 BAFTA nominations for an ALL INDIAN STAR CAST! Ecstatic for you, Adarsh Gourav, you are so deserving of this recognition, and congratulations #RaminBahrani, so well deserved,” Chopra Jonas tweeted.
The ‘Unfinished’ author and restaurateur also expressed her happiness at being the executive producer of this widely-appreciated film, in which she acted alongside Rajkummar Rao.
“I feel extremely proud to have been an executive producer on this movie! Let’s get it!” she added.
Actor Gourav, whose breakout role in ‘The White Tiger’ was hailed by critics and the masses, couldn’t’ believe that he made the Bafta cut. His other credits include films such as ‘Mom’ and ‘My Name Is Khan’.
“Holy [expletive], it’s really happening! Thank you Ramin for trusting me to play the character that has given me more than anything I’ve ever experienced,” he wrote on Instagram and added: “Congratulations to the team for two BAFTA nominations! Best adapted screenplay and Leading Actor.”
In an interview with Indian Express, Gourav claimed he had gone ‘blank’ when the news of his Bafta nomination trickled in.
“I was shocked honestly. I was shocked to see my name in the longlist itself but this was… I went blank when I read the first message,” said Gourav.
‘The White Tiger’ explored caste and class divides with a cutting gaze. Gourav played an enterprising and eager-to-please driver Balram to a rich couple, played efficiently by Chopra Jonas and Rao. The celebrated feature, which premiered on Netflix, saw Gourav’s transformation from a meek servant to a diabolical force as an entrepreneur.
At the Baftas, Gourav will be up against Riz Ahmed for ‘Sound Of Metal’, late Chadwick Boseman for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and Mads Mikkelsen for the Danish language film ‘Another Round’. Veteran British actor Anthony Hopkins (‘The Father’) and French actor Tahar Rahim (‘The Mauritanian’) are also nominated in the leading actor category.
The Bafta awards ceremony will be held on April 11.
