Cosmopolitan (film) - Cast Information

Cast Information

Distinguished Indian actor Roshan Seth, a 20-year veteran of major American and British films, including lead roles in Gandhi, Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was chosen for the starring role of Gopal, the suddenly single Indian patriarch. Seth had also played the groom's father in screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan's 2001 film, Monsoon Wedding.

Oscar-nominee Carol Kane, familiar to many as Latka's wife Simka on the sitcom Taxi, and noted also for her roles in Hester Street, Annie Hall, The Princess Bride, and Scrooged, was chosen to play Gopal's unconventional American neighbor, divorcée Mrs. Shaw. "There was no other (casting) choice" for Mrs. Shaw, said co-producer Jen Small, who had previously worked with Kane on the 1998 PBS film The First Seven Years. Director Nisha Ganatra agreed: "We wanted to take advantage of Carol's incredible comic timing, and that way she has of making you laugh and breaking your heart at the same time."

To round out the major cast, Ganatra chose Merchant-Ivory actress Madhur Jaffrey, who had been in her 1999 film Chutney Popcorn, to play Gopal's disgruntled wife. Up-and-comer 18-year-old Indian-American actress Purva Bedi (American Desi) was cast as Gopal's daughter Geetu.

According to Ganatra, it was interesting watching Roshan Seth's and Carol Kane's conflicting acting styles. "Seth comes from the British school of theater acting and believes that his job is to deliver a consistent performance. Kane comes from the American school, where improvisation rules and a certain performance may not be duplicated. Seth wanted lots of rehearsals; Kane thought too much practice would make her performance stale." Nevertheless, the two actors very much enjoyed working together.