Dipika Kunwar Talks The BBC’s Black Narcissus Remake

An Auspicious TV Debut

Dipika Kunwar plays Kanchi in the BBC’s Black Narcissus remake and here she talks about it…

Have you enjoyed working on Black Narcissus and how did you get involved?

I’ve enjoyed every moment of this, it’s my TV debut so everything has been magical. I auditioned for Kanchi and then met Charlotte (Bruus Christensen) and spoke about the role. I guess she liked me for the part!

Were you familiar with the book or the film?

I had watched the movie, and when the BBC first announced that they were commissioning this as a TV show I just thought it sounded amazing.

Where do we first meet Kanchi and how did you approach playing her?

Mr Dean introduces Kanchi to the nuns and asks that they help her study. She is very inquisitive in that she wants to learn. I watched the movie initially, but it doesn’t have a lot to give when it comes to Kanchi’s character development. When I auditioned for this one, I was told that there was more to her. When I read the script, I thought about how I would feel if I was Kanchi and took it one scene at a time.

What it’s been like working with the actors and Charlotte Bruss Christensen?

It’s been amazing. Everyone is more experienced than I am but it’s a very warm cast and crew and it feels like more of a collaborative process, so it’s been amazing. They have all been lovely as they know it’s my first television role. The team have been very welcoming and also forgiving in some ways because there are a lot of things I don’t know, that I’m learning, and they allow me to have that space where I can learn.

Tell us a bit about the costumes and the set design.

I’m from Nepal, so a lot of this is very familiar in terms of architecture. It’s like what I’ve seen growing up, but the fact that they have created it with so much accuracy blows my mind.

Could you give us a broad premise of what audiences can expect from this adaptation of the story?

My character didn’t have much of a part in the original film and no dialogue. In this adaptation I get to speak in my own language (Nepali) as well as English. It’s developed more with intricate details, and there are lots of layers to the characters. Audiences can expect a thriller, a romance, types of romance in difficult cultures; at the end of the day, although you might be a different religion, have different traditions and cultures, some things are innately human that you can’t get away from.