Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
WhovianNet is thrilled to bring you our exclusive Q&A with actress Anjli Mohindra!
Being one of the stars of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Anjli knows all too well the feeling of going up against terrifying aliens, and, in our interview, she reveals what it’s like being Rani and how the role has left her fully equipped to take on monsters in real life! She also tells us about her favourite moments from filming the series and shares her memories of the late Elisabeth Sladen.
Anjli will be taking to the stage in The Curse of the Devil’s Verse, a lively comedy by Nic Harvey, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 5th-13th August, and we wish her and her fellow cast/crew the best of luck! Thanks to Anjli for answering our questions…
Q) How did your role in The Sarah Jane Adventures come about? A) I auditioned for the role through my agent, after attending the Nottingham Television Workshop. I heard back about three weeks later.
Q)Were you a fan of the series, and Doctor Who, before you joined the cast? What have been your favourite memories from filming?
A) To be honest, I hadn’t seen a great deal of Doctor Who before being cast, but I started to watch the show loads more afterwards and I really enjoy it. My favourite memories are working with Matt Smith and David Tennant!
Q) Would you say you relate to Rani at all? Are you, Tommy Knight and Daniel Anthony as close in real life as Rani, Luke and Clyde are on the show?
A) I feel Rani and I are relatively similar. She is like a younger version of me. Tommy, Danny and I are pretty close in real life, yeah!
Q) Throughout her time in the series, Rani has faced various foes and aliens, including clowns, the Trickster and Androvax (to name a few!). How do you think you’d react if you came face to face with these villains in real life?
A) I’d know exactly what to do wouldn’t I? Wee bit of vinegar in your pocket for those unexpected Slitheen encounters. I’ve got Tommy on speed-dial with Luke so I’d have knowledge for bringing down the Trickster! I’d be fine!
Q) There’s also been several hints of a romance between Rani and Clyde. How do you think they’d get on as a couple?
A) I think they’d get on like a house on fire! And then probably kill each other. Clyde would drive Rani mad with his ‘great’ jokes!
Q) What was it like working with David Tennant and Matt Smith during their respective guest appearances in The Sarah Jane Adventures?
A) Awesome. They are both cracking actors and such fun to work with. It’s a great burst of new energy when they pop in on the show. We love it.
Q) Elisabeth Sladen sadly passed away in April. How will you remember her, both as a co-star/actress and as Sarah Jane, and what are your particular favourite memories of working with her?
A) Lis was an incredible woman. She brought so much to her character, and so many elements of her own personality were poured into Sarah Jane, such as her kindness, her maternal instincts and her fighting spirit. As a person too, Lis was such a joy to work with, and she taught me so much. We all miss her and her memories will continue to live on as Sarah Jane.
Q) Is there anything you can tell us about the three new Sarah Jane stories that will be aired later this year? A) I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will tell you they are bigger and better then ever before!
Q) You’ll be taking to the stage in ‘The Curse of the Devil’s Verse’s at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month. Have you done much theatre work before?
A) I’ve done a fair few bits of theatre at The Television Workshop, and also a play at Birmingham Rep called East is East. The Curse of the Devil’s Verse is a wonderful play, and it’s very different to The Sarah Jane Adventures. But if anyone’s about in Edinburgh, I’d recommend them swinging by!
Q) What would you say are the main differences between acting on stage and acting in front of a camera?
A) They are very different. Working in front of the camera requires lots of time in-between shooting to get everything right, plus you can stop and restart if you go wrong to make changes. Whereas with theatre, everything is in the moment. You can’t go back or yell ‘cut’, and everything is rehearsed for weeks before.
Q) In terms of acting and peformance, has the play allowed you to explore anything you’ve never had the opprtunity to try out on Sarah Jane?
A) It’s a bit more complicated in terms of character relationships, and it deals with tackling issues of gender differences and love as opposed to tackling physical threats!
Q) Finally, have you got any other projects lined up for the future?
A) Yeah, I’m in an episode of a show called ‘Beaver Falls’ which is on soon!
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
Home Media Magazine chatted to Matt Smith at Comic Con, and during the interview he discussed his memories of working with Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away in April.
The actor made a guest appearance as the Doctor in Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and has said that he will remember the late actress for her “great grace”. “She was like royalty,” he explained. “What’s incredible about Lis is she actually meant something to three generations, to kids back in the 70s and 80s, to kids now and to adults now.”
He continued: “I think that’s a remarkable feat and a testament to Elisabeth Sladen. She had great grace and a great sense of youthfulness about her, which I have not seen in many people. It’s a tragedy, a real sad day for everyone associated with Doctor Who.”
Fans of Anjli Mohindra will be able to catch her performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month!
The actress, who plays Rani in The Sarah Jane Adventures, will be starring alongside the Sheep Soup theatre company in The Curse of the Devil’s Verse, a lively comedy by Nic Harvey. The play will run from 5th to 13th August and tells the story of a young male who is bewitched by a stranger with an ancient rhyming spell, the consequences of which threaten everyone around him…
The play features poetry, spoken word, disco dancing, psychiatry and… whipped cream!
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Created by former Doctor Who show runner, Russell T Davies, this exciting action-adventure series follows the exploits of school friends Luke, Clyde and Rani, who team up with alien investigator Sarah Jane Smith and her trusty super-computer Mr Smith to examine strange and mysterious events.
This time, Sarah Jane is reunited with another of the Doctor’s former companions, Jo Grant, and they’re joined by the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in an adventure featuring new vulture aliens and a trip to an alien planet.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
Two new and original Sarah Jane audiobook adventures are scheduled to be released later in the year!
Not much is known about them at present, but we do know they’re called Children of Steel and Judgement Day, and that they’ll both be available to buy from 6th October 2011, priced £6.10 (RRP) each.
We’ll bring you reader, cover and plot details as and when they become available. Stick with us!
Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Terry Molloy (Davros) will be attending a fundraiser at the National Space Centre in Leicester this weekend!
Organised by Hyde Fundraisers, the event will include displays of their replica characters, photo opportunities and a special UNIT presentation. Katy will be a guest tomorrow, Saturday 2nd July, while Terry will be attending on Sunday 3rd July. All money donated will go to Children in Need, Comic Relief and other charities.
If you’ll be dropping in, have a great time and raise lots of cash! (With thanks to Kevin)
The all-important shortlist for the TV Choice Awards 2011 has been released, so it’s time to get clicking!
Both Matt Smith and David Tennant are in the running for the Best Actor award, facing competition from Colin Morgan and Benedict Cumberbatch, while the late Elisabeth Sladen and Karen Gillan are up for the Best Actress prize alongside Amanda Burton and Vicky McClure. Doctor Who itself is up against Casualty, Merlin and Waterloo Road for Best Family Drama, which it won last year.
The cover of the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine has been revealed today. The issue is dedicated to Nicholas Courtney, who sadly passed away in February.
Inside the magazine, which goes on sale next Thursday, 30th June, priced £4.99, DWM take a fond look back at the life of the actor and his popular portrayal of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in Doctor Who, with contributions from Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant and more.
There’s also the latest on Doctor Who and the new series of Torchwood, Miracle Day.
“We all mourned the passing of Elisabeth Sladen, which is still a shock to me, and also the passing of the programme,” he said. “I loved that show. I thought we made a beautiful, beautiful drama, and it’s so sad that it’s gone. We’ve got 6 episodes that’ll be shown in the autumn, and it’s Lis at her finest. It was such a shock, and I’m still speechless.”
He also briefly mentioned plans for the Sarah Jane production team to work together on another series in the future, but states that it wouldn’t be a Doctor Who related project.
The nominations for the 2011 Portal Awards have been announced recently, with Doctor Who included in many of the categories, and we wish all concerned the best of luck!
Matt Smith is up for the ‘Best Actor’ award with Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Andrew Lincoln (Walking Dead), Joshua Jackson (Fringe) and Eddie McClintock (Warehouse 13), while Karen Gillan is shortlisted for ‘Best Actress’ alongside Summer Glau (The Cape), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Paula Malcomson (Caprica) and Anna Torv (Torv).
Elsewhere, the series itself is in the running to be named the ‘Best Television Series’, in which it’s facing competition from Fringe, Game of Thrones, Stargate: Universe and The Walking Dead, and will The Doctor’s Wife be able to beat episodes of Caprica, Fringe, Stargate: Universe and Game of Thrones to the ‘Best Television Episode’ title? We hope!
Plus, both Michael Gambon and Alex Kingston are up for the ‘Best Special Guest’ award for their respective portrayals of Kazran Sardick and River Song, and the late Elisabeth Sladen has been nominated for the Gene Roddenberry lifetime achievement award.
Voting opens on 25th June. Fans will have the chance to vote once per day for 30 days.
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