Sir Ben Kingsley is a Sikh Cabbie in Learning to Drive
Sir Ben Kingsley hopes this film Learning to Drive will encourage sympathy toward the Sikh community
[Sorry, the video of this interview is no longer available]
Jimmy Fallon: Let's talk about your film "Learning to Drive", this is a great film. I love it, Patricia Clarkson is in it as well and it's basically two strangers that...
Sir Ben Kingsley: Very unlikely meeting between two people who live in their own bubble and they meet and learn a great deal from each other. I think it's a very tender story and it was wonderful to be in it. Actually the first person I saw as I turned the corner coming here was a Sikh cab driver very proudly getting into his cab. It was a very strange piece of serendipity to see him.
I hope, I hope after the film that the next Sikh that you see, with their great turbans and everything, you just maybe give him a second look and think about the past and his exile and where he's coming from.
You know that Sikh drivers after 9/11 turned off all their meters and were slowing down and asking people "Where is your loved one, I will help you find them." All the Sikh community in New York. Beautiful.
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For more information on the film 'Learning to Drive' where Ben Kingsley plays a Sikh character named Darwan, click to articles below: