SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Carrie Golightly,” Season 3, Episode 3 of “And Just Like That,” now streaming on Max.
Seema Patel is, for the first time, ceding control. And that suits the actress who plays her just fine.
In Season 3 of “And Just Like That,” Seema — Carrie’s realtor and close friend, who Sarita Choudhury has to this point played as the absolute picture of confidence — is starting to feel a bit shaky. She ends what might have been a promising relationship after feeling unappreciated, meaning that she’s back on the dating market; she mulls her future at her steady job after the departure of her mentor leaves her less-than-amply appreciated there, too. Suddenly, Seema has a lot to figure out. It’s a moment of transition: Longtime viewers may have been shocked that a character who’s so fiercely independent is suddenly at such loose ends that she accompanies Carrie to visit Aidan in Virginia, just to have somewhere to be.
Choudhury, who’s been with “And Just Like That” since its first season, spoke with Variety about Seema’s steps forward and the joy of playing a character in transition.
Seema is a character who is so in control, personally and professionally — and that’s what we love about her. But between a breakup and changes in her professional life, she’s lost that control this season. What is that like to play?
I loved it. I’ve played confident in other seasons, and suddenly, i was like, Oh, who is Seema when she’s knocked off course? She can’t her guard down too much, because she’s got to keep cool; MPK [Michael Patrick King] helped direct it so perfectly. Because I was like — wait a minute, how? She’s so proud that she’d be embarrassed to to be pushed aside for any reason. It’s hiding embarrassment, hiding pride, and then saying the lines as Seema. It was tricky — layered.
It’s funny that in past seasons, she’s resisted being a fifth wheel — especially to Carrie and Aidan. But now, she’s so lost and confused in her identity that she agrees to go to Virginia.
You’re so right. In the previous seasons, I say my bit to Carrie, and am like, Hey, look at me! This time, I’m like, Hey, I need you. What’s crazy is that Carrie has so much on her plate. And what I love is that their friendship has grown into a place where now they can be in a car talking and not looking at each other. That’s deep friendship to me.
Similarly, the scene where they’re eating fried chicken together in bed struck me as true friendship — they’re just letting it all hang out.
When you’re in a cafe, sitting in front of each other, you’re still just saying, “This happened to me.” When you’re lounging and eating, [deeper] thoughts are coming — or you could just lie in silence.
I think, for many viewers, the distinction between the actors from the original “Sex and the City” and those who are new have largely fallen away; it’s all one ensemble. Does it feel like that to you as an actor?
It makes sense to me, because it is the third season. We’re all marinated now, and there’s an ease — you can’t buy that.
How did you feel when you realized that Seema was going to be striking out on her own professionally — leaving her work because she wasn’t being made a named partner. Was that a frightening thought?
Once we shot me moving to my new space, I had the opposite thought: Why didn’t she do this earlier? This is Seema being her own boss. The traditional part — maybe because she’s Indian, maybe because as a woman she needed investment first, whatever the reason — what I loved is that she played them fully when she was second to someone else. But once she’s in her new place and she’s the boss, I honestly was like, This should have been in Season 1, Episode 1.
I liked that she asked for a sign that she couldn’t return to her previous life, and saw (a bit too late for her tires) a literal “do not back up” sign on the road.
She’s so serious! Oh my God, the universe! It was a literal sign. What’s more clear than that?
This interview has been edited and condensed.
variety.com
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