I had to fight for my role in 'Lion', says Dev Patel

Los Angeles: Dev Patel feels audience are annoyed with him for only playing Indian-origin roles and it was not easy for him to land his part in the film “Lion”. 

The 26-year-old actor, who essays the role of Saroo Brierley, an Indian man who is adopted by an Australian family and grows up in Tasmania in the Garth Davis directorial believes diversity is double-edged sword, said in podcast with Variety.

“I was too obvious for ‘Lion,’ coming off ‘Slumdog (Millionaire)’, so I had to fight for it. I just hope people don’t look past the struggle it (diversity) takes for us. They’re doing us a bigger injustice that way,” Dev said. 

The actor said it is still difficult for him to get “good scripts” but is proud of landing those five scripts that he had selected. 

Dev added, “It confuses me sometimes because I feel people are mad at me for playing (Indian-specific roles). When I look at ‘Lion,’ I want people to look at the transformation I went through. I don’t want them to look at me as an Indian guy.