Parminder Nagra is currently starring as the title character in the second season of the British crime drama DI Ray, airing on PBS, for which she received a Royal Television Society award. She is perhaps best known to audiences worldwide for her role as surgeon Neela Rasgotra on ER, as well as her star-making performance as Jess in the feelgood movie Bend It Like Beckham. Her other recent TV credits include the UK medical drama Maternal, the limited series Intergalactic, JJ Abrams’ Alcatraz, Fox’s hit show Psych, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, and playing CIA agent Meera Malik on The Blacklist. Her additional film roles include the Netflix phenomenon Bird Box and the romantic drama Five Feet Apart.
Three Great Things is Talkhouse’s series in which artists tell us about three things they absolutely love. To mark the second season of the popular PBS show DI Ray, the British detective series starring Parminder Nagra as the title character, the actress – who broke through two-plus decades ago in the crowdpleaser Bend It Like Beckham – shared some of the things she gets the most joy out of. — N.D.
Cooking
I cooked a lot a while back, but I just kept doing the same old recipes and wasn’t into it anymore. During lockdown, though, I was reminded of how much I enjoy having different types of food and trying new recipes. I ended up going down a huge rabbit hole on Instagram, finding one recipe after another that made me say, “Oh, that sounds fun!” I have a kid and sometimes I don’t want to spend three hours in the kitchen, so I’m always looking for something that’s tasty and healthy and that I can make quickly. Recently, I’ve started following people and then trying out their recipes and being surprised by them. They’re usually not that difficult, and it’s nice to eat a tasty meal that takes literally 25 minutes to cook.
When I’m at home in Los Angeles, I’ll have BBC Radio 2 playing in the background. My son will ask, “Why are you listening to the traffic news about what’s happening on the M25? Are you not more concerned about what’s happening in L.A. on the 405?” But I love putting Radio 2 on and getting out all my cooking stuff, especially my knives. (I love my knives.) When I’m cooking, I have some time to myself and don’t have to think about a million different things. All I am concentrating on is the recipe, so all of the other stuff that’s happened during my day or my week goes out of the window. I get into a zone when I’m in my kitchen domain.
It’s always interesting trying to find different things to cook each night, but for some reason, Tuesday has become lamb chop night. Tacos are in the rotation too, because they’re quick and easy – take a bit of turkey and put a bit of lemon seasoning over it and add a bit of guacamole and salsa. I make Bolognese sometimes and I also love a one-sheet recipe; the most recent one was cod with roasted tomatoes and roasted broccoli or asparagus. Very simple, just olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika – shove it in the oven. I’ve got a real taste for potatoes, so I love banging roast potatoes in the oven. And if I start missing Indian food, I’ll just go and make a chicken curry!
Being on Set
Over the past three years, I’ve been on British sets a lot, and I love the banter. It’s very soothing to me, like white noise. (Maybe I should record it one of those times, so I can put it on to go to sleep!) If I don’t have to go to my trailer to learn my lines, I’ll hang out while the crew put lights up and listen to the banter between them: “Where the fuck does this go? Why is that light over there?” It’s often a lot of technical talk, but I really enjoy it. I’m not even particularly listening, I just like sitting there and doing my own thing while it’s going on in the background.
I think when I first really discovered that I loved being on set was on Bend It Like Beckham. We were in a studio where people were lugging sides of walls around, and for some reason I thought, “This is my favorite place.” I loved all aspects of being on set. I loved watching the crew doing what they were doing. I loved learning about the camera.
A few years ago, I would have said I was absolutely happy to stay in my lane and had no interest in producing or directing, but last year, when we filmed the second season of DI Ray, it felt a little bit different. I got more involved, because I suddenly realized I was one of the older people on set. I started feeling like people were looking to me for answers or wanting me to set the tone. I really enjoyed having a bit more input in scenes, like how things were blocked, or whether we should lose or add dialogue. There’s a lot of responsibility when you’re directing or producing, but it is starting to interest me more and more, so who knows if it will be part of my future? Watch this space!
Listening to Music in the Car
I love listening to music in the car, especially when I’m in Los Angeles. (For some reason, though, I have to turn it down if I’m reversing!) I’ve always loved having music playing in the car. Back in the day, I would stick a cassette in or have the radio on.
I have a very eclectic taste in music, so what I listen to depends on what mood I’m in. I can go from classical music to ’90s pop. Some days, I’m quite happy to just put on Spotify and let the algorithm kick in. I could go down a Van Morrison rabbit hole, and then go to full-on Indian music. Now with streaming platforms, you can play literally anything and I’ve discovered so many new bands, like Lake Street Dive. The singer’s voice is just beautiful. I drop my son off at school quite a lot, and by the time we get close to his school, he’ll tell me to turn my music down. I’ll say, “What do you mean? I’m cool!”
Sometimes a really good song will come on and I decide to sing along to it. But when I’m suddenly screaming it and my voice is screwed because I can’t hit the note that the singer made sound so easy, I’ll realize how difficult the song actually is! There’s so many people around Los Angeles who I’ve seen completely rocking out too. The other day, a woman on the 405 with her hand out the window, vibing along to the music and having a really good time. And then I looked in the back and saw her two kids in their car seats!
I think it makes most people smile when they see someone in their car having a party on their own. It brings a smile to people’s commutes, which is good, because most of the time people are grumpy, busy getting nowhere. Music is important for me and is very powerful in setting the tone for my day. It can change my mood very quickly if I have a good piece of music on.
