Luck, bit of talent fetched me role in Ang Lee film: Adil

New Delhi: Actor Adil Hussain, who has been in news with his recent performances in films like ‘Ishqiya’, ‘Gangor’, ‘For Real’ and ‘Agent Vinod’ is excited about his role in Oscar winning director Ang Lee`s ‘Life of Pi’ and attributes it to luck and a bit of talent. "If success is measured by how famous I will be by working with Ang Lee, then I will attribute this to luck and a bit of talent," Assam-born Hussain, who will play the role of the protagonist`s father and Tabu`s husband in the film, told reporters. Starting his career as a stand-up comedian of Assam`s legendary Bhaya Mama group, Hussain rose to fame post his NS days with his role as Othello in the acclaimed production of ‘Othello: A play in Black and White’. The play by the Indian Shakespeare Company and directed by Roysten Abel won the Fringe First at Edinburgh in 1999, where The Scotsman critic rated his performance as "Othello, is bar none, the best acting I have seen in any Shakespeare play, including Peter Brook`s The Tempest". Asked how it feels, from working in Bhaya mama`s skits to an Ang Lee film, Hussain says, "Bhaya mama (who along with some members of his troupe died in a tragic accident some years ago) and Ang Lee are both highly creative persons, both are rare in their approach towards a subject in question. Their medium of expressions is different. I feel blessed to work with both of them." A 17-year-old Delhi boy Suraj Sharma has been cast as Pi Patel in the movie, which begins shooting next year. Tabu will play Pi`s mother and Irrfan Khan will enact the role of the adult Pi in the movie adaptation of Yann Martel`s Booker prize-winning book ‘Life Of Pi’. The story is about Pi who travels from an exotic zoo in India on a voyage across the Pacific, where he survives a shipwreck and is cast adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, a zebra and an orangutan as company. Hussain, who also conducts theatre workshops in the country and abroad, says his next is to "prepare perhaps a solo performance about finding magic in the apparently banal and mundane life". PTI