Interview with Joanna Vanderham, who plays Laura
Interview with Joanna Vanderham, who plays Laura in The Boy With The Topknot.
Published: 7 November 2017
It’s a film about family and growing up, love and secrets; it’s heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time and it’s been shot in a beautiful way
Tell us about The Boy With The Topknot
The Boy With A Topknot is based on the memoir of Sathnam Sanghera and it’s about a second generation British Indian Sikh who wants to marry a white woman, Laura, and has to tell his family that this is his decision. In doing so, he realises something about his family that was kept from him. It’s a beautiful story about love and family and growing up.
What made you want to play Laura in The Boy With The Topknot?
There were a few things that made me want to get involved with this project. Primarily the fact that it’s a story about interracial couples and mental health in the Indian community, and intergenerational communication, making sure that everyone is on the same page and fighting for the same thing. I think it’s really important, and it’s a heart-warming story with so many moments of sadness but also so many moments of joy. So yes lots of reasons!
This is a story based around a real person’s life - have you met the real Sathnam?
I have met Sathnam. I think it must be very weird for him to have his memoir dramatised and I do feel as though there’s a responsibility to be respectful but also a responsibility to tell the story and to be truthful to the characters - hopefully we have managed to achieve both.
The fact that it's based on real, living people doesn’t affect my character Laura quite as much as it affects the other characters because, even though there has been a Laura in the real Sathnam’s past, my Laura has been imagined for the story.
Tell us about your character Laura
Laura is the woman that Sathnam wants to marry. They are in a very supportive and equal relationship. He wants to tell his family that he is going to marry her, and it’s only when he lies about it and essentially doesn’t tell his family that Laura starts to question whether the relationship is going to be what she thought it was and whether he is the man that she thought he might be.
What I love about Laura is that she is not someone who sits there and tells Sathnam what he has to do - she’s not needy, she’s not nagging him - everything seems to be about wanting what’s best for him. She’s got a life beside him, she is his intellectual equal, and she chooses the relationship, as opposed to needs it.
What’s it been like working with Sacha?
I love working with Sacha! After our first rehearsal, we decided that it would be best to go for dinner because we didn’t have much time together before we started filming. It’s always best when you feel comfortable with someone, like you’re on the same page and working towards the same thing and that happened really quickly with us. And from then on it’s basically been constant jokes between us! But I’m the one laughing so I suppose I encourage him... No, but seriously he’s so great, so talented - I’m really lucky I get to play opposite him.
What do you think audiences can expect from The Boy With A Topknot?
There are so many reasons to watch The Boy With A Topknot - it’s a film about family and growing up, love and secrets; it’s heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time and it’s been shot in a beautiful way. The other actors involved are world class, so when you merge all of those things together you’ve got something that people need to tune in for!
