Harish Patel on Starring in Marvel's Eternals: People will Say Ibu Hatela Did Something New

Actor Harish Patel currently has the entire country looking him up on the internet. The reason? His brief appearance in Marvel’s recently release featurette that gives a glimpse of his undisclosed role in the studios’ upcoming biggie Eternals. The movie is set for a November 5 release internationally and features Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani among others.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally finds it’s India connect, we spoke to Patel on how he landed this once-in-a-lifetime project, the experience of the shoot, which mostly took place in London’s Pinewood Studios, and working with Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao. He also tells us about Marvel’s secretive measures during the shoot to avoid leaks and how they fool the cast and crew with fake movie title and character names and audition slides.

Mere acche din aa gaye hain

Patel has been on the receiving end of immense love from fans in India ever since he has been spotted in the Eternals footage. Overwhelmed, he says, “This clip has got me love and frankly I am enjoying it. My children, grandchildren and their friends are on social media. They keep telling me about everything that is going on. My two-second glimpse is getting heavy coverage here and I am humbled by the response. All this craze is not for me. It’s for the fact that I am in a Marvel movie. I feel ‘mere acche din aa gaye hain’.”

Everything I have done till now led me to Marvel

Patel, who is also a stage and TV actor, has been working in the West since the early ’90s. He worked in textile business from 1974-82 before taking to theatre in Mumbai.

His highly anticipated Marvel role aside, Patel has worked with HBO, BBC, NBC, 20th Century Studios, Amazon Studios, MGM Studios, National Theatre, Hulu and other leading companies. “Everything I have done till now in my career has got me to this stage. But I’ll be very frank in saying that none of the work I did in Bollywood helped me in getting roles internationally. Having said that, seeing the works of Dilip Kumar, Guru Dutt, Vyjayanthimala, Dara Singh and Dharmendra has been my education. This has got me to Marvel,” he says.

I haven’t seen a Marvel movie yet, but will watch Eternals

Interestingly, Patel points out that he has not seen any Marvel superhero film till date. “I have not seen any Marvel movie. When they were making the actor’s reel and asked me which Marvel movie and superhero do you like the most, I told them I haven’t seen any of their superhero films. I said I do not know about them. Even now, Avengers, Spider-Man and Hulk etc play on TV, but I don’t watch them. I will see Eternals at the premiere,” he says.

When I dubbed for Eternals from Mumbai, the movie director and producer were present

Patel rues how Bollywood treats it’s actors. He lauds the professionalism of international studios. “I was dubbing for the Eternals last month. Our director Chloé Zhao was present during my online session. The movie producer, along with Sound Designer, Dubbing Director and Film Editor were also there. It is such a huge thing. I got teary-eyed with this gesture. They make you feel wanted and respect you. Here, in India, it is nothing like this at all. Leave the director aside, he is not even present during the dubbing. His 3rd or 4th assistant and others who are there are like ‘let’s get this done fast’. I am talking about respect and love for an artist, which is completely missing in Bollywood. I have been spoilt working in the West for two reasons, one is money and the other is respect.”

On Chloé Zhao

Patel dubs the experience of working with Chloé Zhao on Eternals as ‘great’. He says, “The movie was supposed to release in 2020. But it got delayed. I’d say all that happens is for the better. Zhao has now won an Oscar (for Best director, Nomadland) and it is a matter of great pride for our Eternals team. People’s interest in the film has increased even more. I even sent Zhao a congratulatory mail on her Golden Globes win. On set, I told her that you are one of the few directors whom I’ve enjoyed working with. She was very happy with the compliment.”

On auditioning for Eternals role and how Marvel fooled him with a fake scene

Patel auditioned for his Eternals role, with the final round and confirmation coming in August 2019. His character goes by the name Karun. He shot the film from September 2019 till January 19, 2020. “My agent told me about this role. They guided me with all the information regarding the studio and what the movie was about. The studio in the west, they do a lot of homework and send out requirements to the agencies. If I approve a role and decide to audition for it, it’s not just me who is spending time with the script. My agency does the same amount of work with me. For Eternals, they sent me three slides where my character name was something else and the project title, as mentioned, was also not Eternals. The scene that I recorded for them was not from the film either. The reason behind this is secrecy. When we were shooting, the unit banks did not carry the official film title. The studio security is very strict to avoid leaks. To be on such a set is thrilling.”

On what to expect from his Eternals role

When asked what can fans expect from his role in Eternals, Patel jokingly asserts, “People will say that Ibu Hatela (his character from from Gunda, 1998) did something new.” He adds, “I will not say that only I will be remembered because the project is such that everyone should be remembered, however small their role is. If the vibrations of the film are good, it reaches the audience. The vibe of Eternals has been evident with the teaser response itself.”

On length of role in a Hollywood film

Patel says, “Certainly, the role has to be good. Your presence should get registered and the audience should know you. I still see myself as a character actor in films despite having done many lead roles as well (All in Good Time, director Nigel Cole; Jadoo, director Amit Gupta). In my case, I can say that whenever I was called from India, I knew I would get a good role.”

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