Here’s How Ibu Hatela Aka Harish Patel Broke Stereotypes With His Role In ‘Eternals’

Akanksha Bhatia

It doesn’t matter if you’re desi or not, Harish Patel was definitely the best part of Eternals. His character, Karun Patel won hearts across the world and there is a reason behind it – he was unapologetically Indian. 

Screenrant

In an industry where Indians are constantly stereotyped and expected to have an accent, speak fluent English and look like ‘one of them’, Harish Patel broke the mould. 

Screenrant

His dialogues in Hindi didn’t have an American accent, instead, he was as Indian as they get, and nobody tried to put on a tikka and make him wear a kurta in the film. He prayed at a Hindu funeral pyre, thanked the Eternals for trying to save humanity – in Hindi and spoke in English without trying to sound foreign, because why would he?

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Unlike many other token Indian characters we see on-screen, Harish’s Karun wasn’t a blink and miss performance. He was in almost every scene that Kingo was a part of, except the fight sequences. And to think that out of all the humans in the world who could have kept their secret and been a part of their team, it was this one Indian man – that makes his character pretty special. 

In an interview, Harish shared that he told the cast beforehand during a reading that he wasn’t good at English and not very fluent, and they all smiled at him. Because that didn’t matter, he was playing an Indian after all and he shouldn’t need to know English to communicate, a fact that Harish has proven time and again with his various roles in the American and British movie industry. 

Still from ‘The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’/ Republic World
Tribune

All in Good TimeRun Fatboy RunMy Son the FanaticThe Buddha of SuburbiaThe No. 1 Ladies’ Detective AgencyCoronation StreetMr StinkGangsta GrannyThe DriverThe Boy in the DressMapp and LuciaBillionaire Boy and Four Weddings and a Funeral are just some of the foreign films and TV shows that Harish Patel has been a part of. And we’re so glad that after being in international projects for over 20 years, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves. 

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