NYLON - November 2007 - (Page 104)

PERSONAL INVESTMENT One-time banker Amara Karan is cashing in on an entirely different set of talents. By Nick Duerden. Photographed by Will Sanders The Savoy, London’s swankiest hotel, seems to rather suit Amara Karan. There is a velvety, sumptuous quality that both share; a palpable air of rareﬁed class and inner calm. The up-and-coming British actress walks, chin forward, through its chandeliered lobby as if it were a red carpet, and greets me gracefully, extending a dainty hand in a manner redolent of old-fashioned gentility. “I’ve been here before, you know,” she conﬁdes in an exquisite cut-glass accent. “But that was in my previous life as an investment banker. We’d been working all night on closing a big deal, then came here to celebrate over breakfast the morning after. I must say, it’s nice to be back under more relaxed circumstances. Shall we have tea?” In Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited, not just her ﬁrst major movie role but her “ﬁrst movie, period,” Karan ﬁnds herself in illustrious company. The story of three brothers who travel through India on a train (the titular Darjeeling) in search of the mother that gave them up years before in favor of serving God, the ﬁlm stars Anjelica Huston, Adrien Brody, and Bill Murray, as well as the recently troubled Owen Wilson (“A curious but lovely person,” Karan says now. “I do hope he’s OK”). Karan plays Rita, a train stewardess who has an affair with one of the brothers (Jason Schwartzman). “It’s difﬁcult to fully explain just how amazing it is,” she sighs, a hand pressed earnestly to her chest, “to do what you love to do in a ﬁlm of this quality, and be surrounded by such acting talent. I was in heaven, 24 hours a day.” Not a bad start for a newcomer, I say. “Oh deﬁnitely, but do realize that I have worked hard to get here,” she stresses. “I very much deserve it.” Karan was born 25 years ago in a south west suburb of London to parents of Sri Lankan-Tamil origin. Her father, from whom she is now “estranged,” was a wealthy ﬁnancier, and so despite his absence during her upbringing, he nevertheless ensured that, ﬁnancially at least, she wanted for little. She attended a private school, then went on to Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics. “A very prestigious course,” she notes. “Tony Blair did it, as did many politicians. All the major banks came to lobby us for jobs, rounding up the new troops, if you like.” Upon graduation, she promptly went into mergers and acquisitions: “I wanted to understand it thoroughly because ﬁnance dominates the capitalist world, doesn’t it?” She lasted just 18 months, “but I learned a lot, not least how masculine and aggressive the industry is. I quit because I realized that acting—which I’d loved throughout my teenage years—was still an abiding dream. You might call it my vocation.” At 23, much to her mother’s horror—she wanted her daughter in a solid, dependable profession like, well, banking—she began to put out feelers for what sort of opportunities there were for young British Asian actresses: “I couldn’t help but think of it in commercial terms,” she says, “and I realized there was a distinct lack of talent in my area, so I went for it. But I like to feel I’ve already moved on from that, that my racial background won’t restrict me from all sorts of roles in the future.” Following Darjeeling, Karan can next be seen in an updated version of St. Trinian’s, based on the series of 1950s British comedy ﬁlms about a set of unruly teenage girls causing mayhem and uproar: “I play the posh totty,” she giggles. “It was such fun.” And so it’s unlikely she will ever return to ﬁnance? “To my mother’s dismay, I’m afraid it is.” stylist: nadine sanders. hair and makeup by shama using bumble and bumble and laura mercier. dress by basso & brooke, shoes and tights, stylist’s own, amara’s own necklace.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of NYLON - November 2007

Contents Editor's Letter Par Avion Behind the Scenes Contributors Stars and Stripes Forever Mass Appeal: Los Angeles Mass Appeal: Austin Mass Appeal: New York Mass Appeal: Sneakers Haute Stuff Private Icon: Slums of Beverly Hills Cult Of: Ralph Lauren Blue Label Memory Lane Nesting: Top of the Block Factory Girl: Road Rules Fashion Road Trip Fashion News Mania: The Price is Right Canned Heat Counter Culture: Universal Picture Private Icon: Jane Fonda Beauty News The Future is Now Smoke And Mirrors King of the Jet Set Rock America Country Death Songs A Fond Farewell Personal Investment Stranger Than Fiction Film Strips Culture Club En Route: The Grapes of our Content Miller's Crossing I'm Too Sexy The Perks of Being a Wallflower Tourist Attraction Star Maps: Fair Isle Shopping List Bag Check: Roam If You Want To

NYLON - November 2007

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