Lucknow resident Zarine Viccajee (pictured) who plays a small role in BBC television’s mini drama series A Suitable Boy says she landed the role as a result of a misunderstanding. "I was driving back from Nainital after my summer break there when I got a call 
from a girl who claimed she was speaking on behalf of a production house that required people who spoke good English. She clarified it was for the series based on Vikram Seth’s novel” to be filmed in her home town. "Presuming that it was something to do with speech and diction I agreed to go to the address which she gave me.” A past president of the Lucknow Parsi Anjuman, Viccajee serves as president of the Awadh Girls’ Post Graduate College. When she came to know that the call was for a small role in the series, "totally unsure of my acting prowess I might have excused myself and come away…My younger sister Ruuddi who was accompanying me said the experience of auditioning would be worth a shot. So I gave an audition and came away,” she wrote in response to Parsiana’s queries.
Of series director Mira Nair, who she "admires greatly,” Viccajee stated that the duo "struck a chord” at many levels. The director loves Parsis, she said. "We are both staunch Loretoites (Nair in the School in Calcutta and Viccajee in both the School and College in Lucknow) and she loves dhansak… She said she would like to cast me in a small role in the series for BBC One. Of course I accepted...
"My role definitely has a hint of being catty and gossipy,” she said. Viccajee essays the role of "Mrs Batlivala,” a friend of the pivotal character Rupa Mehra played by the New York based Mahirra Kakkar. Mehra is the mother who is searching for the eponymous suitable boy for her daughter Lata. "My interaction is with her on screen and one other character who is also a friend of Mehra. I have a scene with Ishaan Khattar playing the role of Maan Kapoor.”
The seven-day shoot "was possible only because of the unstinted support of my niece Sunnaeya and my sister Ruuddi, who took turns in accompanying me each day to help negotiate steps and distance on my arthritic knees.” She appreciated that "in spite of the small role,” she received "tremendous warmth and welcome” from the crew. "All my memories are pleasant interactions with each one on the locations and sets.”
Viccajee has earlier played a role in Monica directed by Sushen Bhatnagar. "I played the role of the owner of a guest house in Nainital where the protagonist played by Divya Dutta comes for shelter,” she stated.
A Suitable Boy premiered in the UK in July this year and will be available on Netflix.