It’s not been a walk in the park: Sweta on working in H’wood

SNo one knew me or my long history on Indian TV, and no one cared.

weta Keswani rose to prominence after starring in hit TV shows such as Abhimaan, Kahaani Ghar Ghar

Kii and Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, and she has been working on establishing a career in Hollywood for the past 11 years, which is beginning to come to life. She will star alongside actors Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever, and Alison Brie in the series Roar, and will also be seen in the comedy film As They Made Us.

She tells us, “I’ve been living in New York (USA) for the last 11 years, raising my daughter Ismara, collaborating with actors, writers, and other creative people, and honing my craft. Nothing I’d done in India career-wise translated to [getting] work here.”

Keswani, who has had guest roles in series such as The Blacklist and New Amsterdam, continues, “No one knew me here or my long history on Indian television, and no one cared. I was barely on social media. The shift happened gradually after hundreds of auditions and hours and dollars of accent work and coaching with different acting coaches in Los Angeles and New York. Traction has just been gained in the last two years. It’s not been a walk in the park, as you can see.”

Aside from acting, Keswani has co-written and co-produced a web series about the pre-pandemic times that won an award of excellence at the Vegas Movie Awards. She also regularly works in plays with local theatre companies.

The actor says that she wouldn’t take away the hustle in retrospect: “If I worked the long hours I had in the past in India when I first moved here to New York, I would’ve never got the time with my one and only child.”

SWETA KESWANI,