Purab Kohli hopes that his role as a game developer in Matrix Resurrections opens doors for more international offers and that people in the West take notice of him as an actor.
Kohli, who previously worked with director Lana Wachowski in 2014 on Sense8, said he was beaming with joy after he was roped in for the fourth chapter of the Matrix.
“This is such a big film and you are part of it and clearly a noticeable part. I think it will kind of make an impression. Fingers crossed, people will look at casting me for bigger parts and trust that as an actor, I could carry on bigger parts in films that are as big as this,” Kohli, who has moved to London, told PTI in a zoom interview.
“The world is becoming very global, especially in the entertainment front when you have options to watch so many things and films are crossing over. So, I think it's a good time to be placed where I am placed."
The Matrix Resurrections will see the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity and Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, besides new additions to the cast, including Indian actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jessica Henwick, Christina Ricci, Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff.
The 42-year-old actor, best known for movies such as My Brother...Nikhil, I Am, Rock On! series, said he never thought he would be a part of the Matrix franchise.
"But after a point, the whole ‘ho ha’ of working with Lana Wachowski goes in the back, you get attached to the genius Lana Wachowski, the way she thinks cinema and the way she paints on the canvas and understands the medium so well. So, when you hear about the fourth instalment of the Matrix being made and you're a part of it, there's a curious mind wondering what she is going to do now.”
The actor may appear in a handful of scenes in The Matrix Resurrections but he recalls having read the entire script and being bowled over by the vision of the makers.
"I read the whole bound script in one go, and it was a hard copy that came to me. When I put it down and I looked at my wife and said 'wow, this is really amazing and she's just gonna blow the world' again,” he said.
Speaking of how he landed the role in the movie, Kohli shared he didn't audition for the movie because the director was aware of his work, courtesy Sense8.
“I didn't audition for Matrix because I had worked with Lana on ‘Sense8’, which I auditioned for a couple of times and then also did reading before I got cast. That was the tough one. But once Lana trusted I could act and I think for the Matrix, it was just a sheer honour that she just thought of me for the part,” he said.
Having admired Keanu Reeves since his "growing-up" years, the actor said it was a huge moment to work alongside the Hollywood star. “To work with him, sit next to him and do a scene was just really good. He's not a big star, he is so simple, easy and comfortable and really relaxed. Like every other actor, he's just trying his best to give his best, asking the same questions you ask the director."
"The most endearing thing about Keanu is that he is that real person and has no qualms showing it. He's just being himself and that makes it easy and comfortable to work with him,” Kohli said.
The actor did not share a scene with Carrie-Anne Moss, but off-camera, he had a great interaction with her. Kohli also said that he didn't get a chance to meet Chopra Jonas, as the two were filming in different countries.
Besides Reeves and Anne Moss, Kohli was thrilled to collaborate again with his team from Sense8. “There are a lot of people in the scene that I'm in, I knew already from before, a couple were actors on Sense8, but there were those who were not actors but were part of the Sense8 family. Matrix is a global family, from all over the world, including people who worked behind the scenes, come in front of the camera. In a way, Lana kind of orchestrates us to be together every now and then.”
Warner Bros Pictures released The Matrix Resurrections in India on December 22 in Tamil, Telugu, English and Hindi.
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