Sea
Of Souls
Archie
Panjabi plays Megan Sharma
 Deeply
spiritual actress Archie Panjabi makes no secret of the fact that
wherever she goes she carries a small, gold amulet – a gift
from her Guru in Malaysia and a potent symbol of his protection.
"It
is always with me. I really don't know what I would do if I lost
it," she admits.
"It
may sound strange but it is really important to me. I've always
been quite psychic and believe there's a reason why things happen
and that we need to learn from them.
"I
think that is especially important in this business, it chews a
lot of people up. It's one of the hardest professions in the world
to maintain any kind of stability.
"But
my spirituality helps with that – and you're not considered
some kind of sissy when you start talking about your paranormal
experiences now."
Panjabi
was introduced to her Guru by an aunt and has since visited him
as often as she can and frequently keeps contact by phone.
"Anytime
I'm down I phone him up and he always seems to be in touch with
my gut instinct and knows what's on my mind," she explains.
Panjabi
believes that she has more in common with academic psychologist
Megan Sharma than any other character she has played.
"I
am becoming more and more open to the whole area of spirituality
and alternative ways of looking at things and I think I have that
in common with Megan.
"In
fact I based her very much on things I already had in my own life
– more than any other characters I've played. There were so
many parallels.
"'If
she sees a lot of evidence then she does get excited and her gut
instinct is usually quite right. That is down to her being an intelligent
and spiritual woman. Women always have a sixth sense and a certain
instinct and Megan definitely brings those qualities to the group.
"She
has all the intellectual abilities, but is more streetwise than
the other two. Her social skills are the biggest attribute to the
unit – because even though they are dealing with the paranormal,
they are dealing with people.
"Megan
is much more aware of people's emotions and it's often her who's
able to scoop out the truth from people."
Panjabi
draws other parallels between herself and this enthusiastic postgraduate
student of parapsychology – she believes they have both had
their battles to fight against other people's expectations.
"Megan
is very bright and knowledgeable and has been selected by Monaghan
to join him in the parapsychology unit as a team member and she
is thrilled.
"But
I think maybe a lot of her friends laughed at her choice of profession
because they were mostly lawyers or bankers. They would have scoffed
at parapsychology, just thinking of the odd séance on a wet
Wednesday afternoon. That just makes her more determined to be a
success.
"In
my case, I went to university to study management before I became
an actress and a lot of my friends and friends of my family said,
'How can you want to be an actress?'
"But
I think it is vital to fight to do something you want to do despite
not gaining your community's or your friends' approval – they
all wanted to be doctors and lawyers, 'proper' professions.
"Luckily
my parents were not against my ambition, they've always been very
supportive. But they were adamant that I went to university first.
"I
went to Brunel University and very much wanted to go on to do a
PhD in management, but then my acting career started to take off.
"In
those days when you switched on the box there were hardly any brown
or black faces so they worried that I wouldn't be able to make a
living. They saw it as a very risky profession."'
Panjabi
began getting small roles in series such as London's Burning and
The Knock. Then she had the bright idea of writing to the cast of
EastEnders for advice.
"I
got this lovely letter from Nick Berry who suggested I got an agent
through The Stage newspaper. That's what I did and things really
began to take off. I really wasn't aware how the whole business
worked until then.
"At
the time there was just a handful of roles on TV being played by
Asians, so I was very lucky. I've still not met Nick to thank him
personally. I owe him a lot."
One
of Panjabi's biggest personal triumphs is the fact that, as an Asian
woman, she won the role of Megan who was not written as an Asian
character.
"When
the BBC went out to cast Megan, they didn't go out to cast an Asian
Megan,"' she explains. "It is so refreshing to be able
to be seen for a part where there is no reference to ethnicity.
"I
believe one of the most important ways of combating racism - and
trying to get people to accept everyone for who they are - is to
just cast from a group of people and see which one is right,"
she argues.
"It
has been wonderful to get roles in the films Bend It Like Beckham
and East Is East. But playing Megan has a different quality about
it – it's been a really good feeling to know I'm here strictly
on merit."
Panjabi
lives with her partner Raj in north west London and helps him run
a high class, bespoke tailoring company.
"It
gives me the chance to put my management skills into practice,"
she laughs. "It is also more glamorous than acting, believe
it or not. Raj gets to travel all over the world."
Now
the couple are hoping to start a family and Panjabi has been getting
a little bedtime story practice in ahead of time.
"I
am one of the new characters in the brand new series of Postman
Pat," she says delightedly. "It has been a joy to do –
and just a little different from the world of the paranormal."
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TO MAIN RELEASE
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