Samir (Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, THE LAST AIRBENDER)

Samir (Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, THE LAST AIRBENDER) is a sous chef who dreams of becoming the head chef at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. When he is passed over for a promotion he impulsively quits and lets his co-worker Carrie (Jess Weixler, TEETH) know that he intends to go to Paris and apprentice under a master French chef. Dreams must be put aside though after his father Hakim (Harish Patel, RUN FAT BOY RUN) has a heart attack and Samir is forced to take over Tandoori Palace, the nearly bankrupt family restaurant in Jackson Heights.

Samir’s relationship with his parents and his heritage is immediately put to the test. He has been estranged from his father since the death of his older brother, and his mother Farrida, (played by legendary cookbook writer and actor, Madhur Jaffrey), is consumed with finding a wife for her remaining son. While Samir is being forced to forsake his dreams, he is desperately trying to master Indian cooking to salvage the family business.

Luckily, he crosses paths with Akbar, a taxi driver, passionate chef, and worldly raconteur (portrayed by the icon of Indian cinema, Naseeruddin Shah, MONSOON WEDDING). Akbar inspires Samir and teaches him to trust his senses more than recipes; to stop measuring his life, and to start truly living it. With Akbar’s category_idance, Samir has a chance to rediscover his heritage and his passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.

Today’s Special was inspired by the Obie Award winning play, Sakina’s Restaurant, a one man show written and performed by Aasif Mandvi, developed and directed by Kimberley Hughes.

ASIANCE: What is harder for you, comedy or drama?

Aasif: I get bored if I do comedy or dramatic stuff for too long. Being on The Daily Show has given me the opportunity to do more dramatic and not quite as broad comedy. I’ve always done both, my whole career and hope to keep on doing that.

I wrote the film and cast myself as the lead character. It was the easiest audition I had in my life. I did a show about 10 years ago called “Sakina’s Restaurant”. The movie is not based on the play but inspired by the play in terms of the world of my family and the India immigrant experience and the Indian restaurant world. We took that to another level with the film. Who better to play the lead than myself?

ASIANCE: Are there any South Asian actors that you would like to work with that you haven’t yet

Aasif: Shah Rukh Khan! I’d like to do a road movie with him but I get the girl and he has to be the clown! If Shah Rukh Khan reads this, then tell him I want to do my road trip movie with him.

ASIANCE: And how about Harish?

Harish: I would like to work with a role that is good. That is it!

ASIANCE: Have you been getting a lot of scripts?

Aasif: I get a fair amount. Every now and then you come across something that is really good and say that you would like to do this. There are never enough scripts.
Harish: I get scripts but what about the role? Sometimes I’ll get a film like ‘Today’s Special’. It’s actually a blessing in disguise. Out of about 200 films, there have been about 7 to 8 films that I’ve actually liked.

ASIANCE: Did you have a role in casting Harish?

Aasif: Harish auditioned and sent a tape for Akbar and Hakim. When we saw his performance for Hakim, there was some kind of humanity that he brought to the role that was necessary. David Kaplan, our director, knew that as well. We had to find someone who wasn’t going to play Hakim as a one note, angry guy. Harish is a comedy guy. He brought this playfulness and humanity but it was also balanced with comedy. It was a nice balance in the film and kind of what we needed for Hakim in the film.

Harish: I wanted to do Hakim when I read the script. I never wanted to do Akbar. I found Hakim a more interesting character. Akbar would not suit my personality. It should have been done by an actor that was more suited for that character. I’m so glad they got Naseef.

Aasif: We sent the script out to a lot of the actors in Bollywood. All the actors wanted to play Akbar, than Hakim. All these big Bollywood stars were not interested in the role of Hakim because I think Akbar seemed more fun to play. Hakim is a downer. I always felt like Hakim was more of an interesting journey. I’m glad we got Harish to do it.

ASIANCE: What is your favorite Indian restaurant in NYC and LA

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Aasif: Dawat, Madhur Jaffrey’s place on the Upper East Side. I love to go out to the Jackson Diner in Jackson Heights, which is a whole other Indian dining experience. Electric Lotus I used to go to in LA. There’s no good Indian food in LA.

Harish: I enjoyed the Jackson Diner food where we were filming.

ASIANCE: Do you think the success of Slumdog Millionaire has helped bring more South Asian films to the forefront?

Aasif: Slumdog certainly opened up the exposure in American audiences’ minds in some way. I don’t know how it’s really changed things in the US on what movies get green lit. This movie was still hard to make in terms of getting the financing whether there was a Slumdog Millionaire or not. Making an independent film is a labor of love and I don’t think Slumdog really factored into how difficult it was to make this film. I don’t know the reaction in India to Slumdog.

Harish: It was ok. People have seen that type of film. We haven’t seen this type of film. Today’s Special is something new.

Aasif: Slumdog was really a film made for Western audiences. II certainly did wonders for people’s careers who were involved in that film.
Harish: Today’s Special is based on a true, real experience.

Aasif: It’s a very universal theme. It’s about family. It’s about fathers and sons. My acting teacher told me that when you write films, always write about families. Everyone has them. Every story is ultimately about a family, even the Godfather. That’s what we can relate to.

ASIANCE: What do you like to do in your free time?

Aasif: I like to sleep. I enjoy sleeping and eating. I need as much as I can get.
Harish: Watch the Discovery Channel. I try to go to the gym. I’m putting on more weight. In my gym in Mumbai, the young people stopped coming when I’m there because I’m always talking and joking. They don’t work out.

Today’s Special is in theaters now.