Sarita Choudhury is enjoying the extreme reactions to And Just Like That…

Sarita Choudhury’s magnetic presence has graced the screen from her 1991 debut in Mississippi Masala to a supporting role in last year’s acclaimed The Green Knight. The British Indian actor has appeared in numerous dramatic films and TV shows over the last couple of decades, most notably Homeland and Jessica Jones. Choudhury now tackles one of the more daunting roles of her career: the renegade fiftysomething Seema Patel in HBO Max’s Sex And The City revival, And Just Like That…

Seema Patel is a self-assured, wealthy South Asian real estate agent who befriends Carrie after Big’s death. Her introduction helps expand AJLT’s efforts to diversify the original series’ perspectives on love and friendship. It also puts a fresh spotlight on Choudhury’s impeccable comic timing. The A.V. Club spoke to the actor about joining the iconic franchise, the polarizing reactions from fans, and whether she would be game to do a spin-off on Seema.

Sarita Choudhury: It’s interesting because the comedy I’ve done so far is all in the theater. Theater gives you so much practice. It’s so rigorous, the rehearsals are long. In a weird way, it trains you for anything, especially auditioning for comedy for film or TV. But you’re right, I always end up doing darker, more weird stuff on screen. The pressure was more joining such an iconic show because I’ve never done something like this before. It’s one where when you join it, you don’t want to get it wrong because it’s seen by so many people. I’ve also never played this type of character before. Seema is so unapologetic. She’s comfortable in her expensive clothes.

AVC: Was the challenge of it one of the reasons you auditioned for Seema and wanted to be part of AJLT…?

SC: I realize now as an actor that we don’t think so much about it generally; it’s based on scripts each time. When I first got the script, saw Seema’s entrance, and read the scenes in episode four, “Some Of My Best Friends,” which is my first episode, there was something about it that just appealed to me. It was so specifically written. I thought, “I want to do this, I’ve never done something like it before.” The writing supported it. I didn’t have to come up with anything.

In our careers, if we sit to think, “Oh, it’s time to do a comedy,” it’s like looking for a different kind of boyfriend. That’s not how it works. It’s only if you meet someone and happen to have a crush on them that you will pursue it. It’s the same with acting. The script is what you get a crush on.

AVC: I’ve never heard anyone phrase it like that, but it seems so true.

SC: You know, I’ve actually never said it that way, either.

AVC: Was there any chemistry read with Sarah Jessica Parker during your audition? If not, what was it like to work with her to establish the instant bond that Seema and Carrie develop?

SC: She’s one of the producers so she was involved with seeing the auditions, but there wasn’t really a chemistry read. The auditions were very thorough. I briefly worked with Sarah Jessica once, and I’ve run into her in New York City in the past if we went to see each other’s plays, so we were aware of each other in a certain way. I mean, neither of us knows until you do your first scene, but it was clear right away when Seema walks into Carrie’s apartment and confidently tells her to get rid of everything that it clicked. It was also my first day and we shot it all in order. I remember how kind and observant she was. I was the new girl, I was more nervous. I felt like there was respect and kindness coming from her that made me go, “Okay, this is going to be great.”

AVC: Seema’s connection with Carrie, and the fact that she’s such a free spirit, has led to comparisons between Seema and Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall). Did you think it was inevitable or was that not a concern?

SC: When I was reading the script, I didn’t feel any of that pressure, but I know while watching it now that has come up. I’m not a worrier, though. I know it’s weird to say. People are writing so much about the show that if I was a worrier, I would have to give that up immediately. You have to have fun with all this and accept everyone’s going to have opinions. I find all of it refreshing, the amount people are talking about it, even though I know not all of it is good. It makes me happy people are watching. I usually don’t read reviews because I’m so vulnerable. With this, I do try not to read, and it’s hard because the headlines are everywhere. Sometimes I do, and I laugh out loud. It feels like a sport and I’m in the Colosseum or something. Maybe because it’s so extreme, I feel less vulnerable. Every week I was just expecting more and more.

AVC: Seema is such a renegade, and we don’t get to see many South Asian women like her on TV. Why do you think it was important to bring someone like her into the SATC universe?

SC: Even I’ve been asking that. When I was going through the episodes, I often thought, “Oh, that’s so great that she’s South Asian.” I wanted to take it and run. I was also happy that they had a Diwali-themed episode, and they named it after the holiday. They have only 10 total, they have the ongoing pressure of juggling the storylines of the four new characters, including Nya, Lisa, Che. They have three leads already, and everyone has storylines, plus their partners, husbands, kids. When I saw “Diwali,” I was surprised, too, because the Diwali party isn’t the only scene. It’s wonderful they were interested in this aspect.

AVC: Speaking of “Diwali,” that episode had lots of polarizing reactions, especially from the South Asian diaspora. From the sari vs. lehenga debate, to how little time was actually spent at the Diwali party itself to the arranged marriage storyline. What’s your reaction to all that?

SC: First of all, I’m wearing a sari. When we went to the location of that store, it had saris and lehengas. The angle for the light had to be on one particular side. We also never saw what Carrie actually bought. She could’ve looked at saris and then changed her mind. As actors when we’re shooting, we didn’t approach it that way because I also actually knew I would be wearing a sari. I didn’t know what the final shot of the store scene would be. So when that kind of thing happens after with the reactions, I don’t really participate because in my head the story is so clear.

There are so many people involved: The store they’ve selected, the production manager who has to get the items, the costume designer who has to check the outfits. There are so many levels that when then something happens and the audience goes, “Wait a minute,” it’s really hard to deconstruct. I understand how the audience feels, but at the same time, I also understand how it might’ve happened. With that episode, I was combing through it to make sure things were right, and it did make me think, “No matter what we do, there’s always going to be something.” That’s the nature of it.

AVC: The black sari you wore was fantastic, it’s one of my favorite outfits this season. Do you have any specific memorable ones?

SC: I was in love with that sari. I don’t know how they managed to get it. There was just one, and it was on a runway in Mumbai. Can you imagine? We had to get it and send it back. Even when I wore it, all the actors at the Diwali party were coming up to me to ask where I got it. It was one of my favorites, too. In episode nine, the sequined, sparkly blue dress Seema wears while in line to get into the club, I loved it. It had such great shoulders. I would never in my life think of wearing a dress like that. Our costume designers, Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, they’re so brilliant. That’s a dress they turned around, so I’m wearing the back in the front. We loved it when they styled it like that.

When you put on a costume versus when you see it are two different things. There are so many outfits that when I wore, I thought it didn’t look good on me or wasn’t my favorite, but now it is. The first outfit I wear in episode four, I knew would be brilliant, but I couldn’t sit down in it. I felt very much like, “How do I walk in this and still look good?” But when I saw it on TV, I knew it was a good choice. As a South Asian, I was worried they were going to come at me with only bright red and orange. I loved when they gave me beautiful fabrics and whites or chocolate shades.

AVC: We learn little of Seema’s backstory, but do you wish we got to know more? Like what her house looks like, or why is she celebrating her birthday with Carrie and not any other friends or family members?

SC: When you watch the show, you start wondering those things, and often you are provided with some answers. It’s almost normal not to show too much. It’s only when you get to know or like a new character will you want those extra things. Now, as I watch, even I think, “Okay, who else does Seema hang out with?” or “Where does she live?” In a weird way, I didn’t feel that ‘til towards the end because there’s so much ground to cover in 10 half-hour episodes.

I also invent a lot of my own backstory sometimes. You can go to writers who are open to ideas, but I don’t usually do that; it’s for them to come up with these things. Now just because you asked this question, I’m thinking about those things. If AJLT… continues, I think that might happen.

AVC: Were you satisfied with how Seema’s arc ends in season one? What do you hope for if there’s a second season?

SC: When I saw episodes nine and ten, I was really happy. I wasn’t sure how my story would end, but I was excited. If there’s a season two, it’s like you were asking before, if the audience likes a character they want to know everything about them, even what’s on their bedside table? I think it would be fun to see Seema in her domestic life. It would be comical.

Does she wash her own dishes, stack them in a dishwasher, or does she even not touch them? What is she like if she’s dating someone? What does her nightgown look like? Does she have a place to pray in her house? Does she have Indian art she loves? What is her life like when she’s not showing it to other people? Exploring her in a more internal, behind-the-scenes way would be fun.

AVC: Or we could get a Seema spin-off. Would you be up for something like that?

SC: Oh my God. Talk about pressure. Just hearing those words is a lot. Imagine if I say to you, “Do you want your own show?” Honestly, that question just makes me feel proud if anything.