House of Haleth

[MithLuin]

New suggestion for a not-the-shortest Haleth:
Jessica Lucas. She was in Pompeii and Gotham, and typically acts in horror films (so I am assume these are somewhat physical roles?) Her father is black; her mother is white - she's Canadian.

Jessica Lucas | Actress, Producer, Soundtrack

Known for: The Covenant, Cloverfield, Evil Dead

www.imdb.com

She's 35 and 5'6"



...I'm assuming she's a villain. Her character's name is Tabitha Galavan.

She is also Ariadne in Pompeii:



My problem with actresses born in India is that they tend to be 5'3". Which...doesn't seem right. There's over a billion people on the subcontinent; surely some of them have the build we're interested in for Haleth and an interest in acting!

But for whatever reason, the actresses I find when I look are people like Karen David, who was in Galavant, Once Upon a Time, and Fear the Walking Dead. She's 42 and 5'3".

Karen David | Actress, Producer, Soundtrack

Known for: Galavant, Fear the Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time

www.imdb.com

My assumption is that I can find an actor for Haldad in the 5'6"-5'8" range without any difficulty, but that it will be tricky to find an actor for Haldad who is 5'3".

 

[MithLuin]

Okay, so I did find a guy who is 5'4" with a rather long acting history. I haven't seen him on film, so have no idea what sorts of characters he typically plays. But he is Indian, short, and old enough to be Haleth's father.

Piyush Mishra

Piyush Mishra | Actor, Music Department, Writer

Known for: Gangs of Wasseypur, Ghajini, Gulaal

www.imdb.com

I've found a couple of guys who are 5'8", but in their late 60's, early 70's. Annoyingly, many of these actors do not have their height or age or really anything listed on their imdb pages.

Finally, a guy who is 5'3 1/2"!
Raghuvir Yadav

Raghubir Yadav | Actor, Music Department, Writer

Known for: Panchayat, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, Dil Se..

www.imdb.com

He's 63, so a little older than intended for Haldad, but not too bad.
And at least he appears in trailers/promo videos, so you can see his acting style!

In Panchayat, he seems to play an 'I run this village' sort of role. Very much the barking orders, guy who knows everything. As you can see from the photo, his wife is not impressed with him.



I guess he has played a goat farmer before? This was in Peepli, in 2010.



See if you can spot the 5'3" guy in this lineup from 2001's Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India


He has the title role in this year's Jamun; you can watch the trailer for that on his imdb page.

 

[MithLuin]

That 'lineup' photo is quite useful. I estimate the height of Raj Zutshi to be roughly 5'5" based on that. He's 60 years old, and has a scrappy look to him. He was in 'Once Upon a Time in India' and he directed 'Slumdog Millionaire', so he's not exactly an unknown. He has a hundred acting credits stretching back to 1985. And yet...there is a whole one headshot of him on imdb. This is infuriating!

Raj Zutshi | Actor, Additional Crew

Known for: Slumdog Millionaire, Lakshya, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

www.imdb.com

He can be seen as the driver in the opening of the trailer for Dev Bhoomi (Land of the Gods)

As a side note, I can NOT with these Indian horror movies, but I suppose women acting possessed by demons is at least somewhat atypical of what is expected....

Adah Sharma appears in 1920, a haunted house film that is a mix of some sort of British period drama and the Exorcist. I don't even know. But the point is, she's the possessed person. And she's 5'5"! She doesn't look like a pushover, and she's a dancer. She has an action/martial arts role in Commando 3, which doesn't have English subtitles on the trailer, but does have some nice shots of her in fight scenes. At 29, she's within the age range to play Haleth, so I'm gonna have to say...close enough for me to at least consider her.

Adah Sharma | Actress

Known for: The Kerala Story, Sunflower, Heart Attack

www.imdb.com

 

[MithLuin]

Okay - I have nominated 3 Indian actors who are between 5'3" and 5'5" in height to play Haldad, and one 5'5" Indian actress to play Haleth. I do not know the work of these actors, but this was the best I could do to select people who met the criteria. If anyone has actually seen Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (it's about a...cricket match?), input would be appreciated on the three actors for Haldad - they're all in that!