Divgikr, is now among the first few members of the LGBTQIA+ community, to be inducted into the Marvel Extended Universe. They voice the Rigellian Recorder – Cora, who documents the journey of the Guardians of the Galaxy as they venture into the Black Vortex.
In an exclusive interview with ETimes, Sushant got candid about living every Marvel fan’s dream, playing Cora who they dub as ‘Alexa’s cousin in the MEU’, the importance of representation even in Indian films and drops hints about a Bollywood film debut. Excerpts:
Sushant, how excited are you to be a part of the Marvel Extended Universe?
Sushant: I have been such a Marvel fan. I grew up with brothers, so they used to chat about these characters and, of course, I got intrigued and slowly, started reading about them. Back then, we didn’t have audio series or podcasts, so, of course, we had different mediums through which we got to know about these characters. But I would never have fathomed that one day I would actually be one of them and play them in such a beautiful way.
It was tough playing a Rigellian Recorder. It’s like I’m Alexa’s cousin but in the Marvel universe. I have to say that the entire team was so helpful because they made me understand the intricacies of how you use your speech and how you alter my voice. It was a very beautiful experience, but it was tough.
You mentioned your brothers, can you tell us what was their reaction when you told them that you bagged the role of Cora?
Sushant: I’ll honestly tell you, they were jealous, and I loved it! When we were kids, our aunts used to get action figures for my brothers and I used to get dolls. Of course, now I came out as trans, but they never expected that I would also be interested in Marvel. So I purposely made him drop me to the studio. That was like me rubbing it in. This is the closest he would get. So, of course, they were jealous. There’s no denying that.
What were some of your favourite characters growing up?
Sushant: You know, I would say, that after playing Cora, she is one of my favourites, but, then again, this character is gender-neutral because it’s a recorder. How beautiful is that?
What I really loved about this is the representation that a character like Cora was played by somebody like me who doesn’t identify within the binaries of gender. I thought that the casting was so beautifully done.
But, if you had to ask me my favourite, I would say ‘Ms. Marvel’. In fact, I love Star-Lord because he is a very beautiful character. I think through this series, he’s going to get his moment of glory and you’ll get to know the essence of Star-Lord.
And also, of course, can we just be honest and say Black Widow?
Would you have loved to voice Black Widow instead?
Sushant: We’ll let Kareena Kapoor Khan do it. I’ll take Cora for now.
What was it about Cora’s story that inspired you the most? In the comics, the Rigellian Recorder just observes the multiverse and isn’t really one to interfere in the flow of things. Do you relate to this character?
Sushant: Well, if that’s what meets the eye and the ears in this case, because it’s an audio series, well, then I would like the listener to believe that. Because I don’t want to then spoil it. I would let them believe that I’m only an observer.
But yes, what I did like about Cora the most was that in today’s day and age when everybody wants to talk over each other, she’s a listener. And she lends all her time to listening and actively listening and recording. Of course, recording is her job, but the fact is that when the listeners will hear this, they will feel vulnerable at times. I hope that message comes across, that it’s time we heard each other out.
I am an industrial psychologist, so I think we are taught to listen actively. That, for me, was just very beautiful. It was not planned, but it just so happened that we both have that in common.
While Cora is a mystery now, she has a much bigger role to play in the future of the MCU. How excited are you to possibly continue this role if it gets a big screen cross-over like Paul Bettany’s Vision?
Sushant: I’ve just been so invested in my work whether it is my riyaz and my vocal exercises for nearly four hours a day, or my acting workshops. I think that it will be a deadly combo here and it will be lovely. They’ll get two in one. I’ll sing all the songs and all also act for them. I’m just putting it out there and manifesting it.
Since this role of a Rigellian Recorder relies so much on dialogue delivery, how did you, Saif Ali Khan and other cast members help each other fully sink into your roles?
Sushant: The beauty of an audio series is that even if you’re not actively there at all times, the people involved in it are helping you all the time. The Audible team did something so phenomenal because they were recording each and every nuance of every character’s conversation or communication in that episode, how they delivered a line or how they reacted. Then they played their rough notes. I thought that they coordinated it better than we could ever. Like if it was left to us artists, I think we would never release it. So I think that kudos to the Audible team for doing such a great job.
How does it feel to be among the first few LGBTQ stars in the Marvel Extended Universe? And do you think it’s high time we see more representation, even in Indian films?
Sushant: Ah, yes! Now we’re talking, aren’t we? But I think it’s so beautiful that I get to play this character also because we have been seen and heard. I think that it’s beautiful because so many kids that watch me or listen to me or just know that I am present and breaking all these barriers. I hope it gives them the courage to go out there and conquer whatever and wherever with all their heart. I think that it is very necessary that we have people in the forefront.
And I’m just lucky I’m alive and working and being able to give my best. For me, it’s a very, very big deal and I definitely think that representation should spill over to the films as well, whether it is the cinematic universe or whether it is the audio platforms. I do think that it is very, very essential that queer people get the representation they deserve.
How long do you think this waiting line will be, especially in the Indian film industry, where people from the LGBTQ community are reduced to comic roles?
Sushant: Well, I will share my Bollywood debut date that’s coming up. I will share that information very shortly and that’s going to change the game, my dear.
It is high time that people got confused also as to which category to nominate us in also. It’s male or female because we’re neither. So it’s beautiful. I’m waiting for that. That’s the next conversation that we’re going to have.
I think that, yes, it’s happening. The change is happening around the corner. It’s just we’ll holler at you and we’ll let you know.
Based on the popular English series, the new Hindi adaptation has leading Hindi actors including Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharad Kelkar, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Vrajesh Hirjee, Masaba Gupta, Mithila Palkar, Sushant Digvikr, Prajakta Koli, Yashaswini Dayama, and Anangsha Biswas, among others, voicing roles of iconic Marvel Super Heroes, artistically directed by Mantra Mugdh.
The audio series features Marvel’s most iconic and beloved heroes as they fight to regain order and justice in a post-apocalyptic future where supervillains have been in reigning for more than three decades after a tragic event that nearly wiped out all Super Heroes.
The official synopsis reads, “In a shadowy alternate future of the Marvel Universe, the villains have finally won and heroes are nothing but a bad memory. The series finds Peter Quill (Saif Ali Khan) and Rocket (Vrajesh Hirjee) a little paunchier, a little slower, and a lot saltier than they were during the glory days of the Guardians of the Galaxy. They quickly discover the Earth isn’t what it used to be either when they crash land 30 years after Doctor Doom takes over a barren, desolate wasteland and all the world’s super-villains seized control, including outlaw Ghost Riders and the bloodthirsty Kraven the Hunter. The former Guardians are accompanied by a Rigellian Recorder, affectionately dubbed ‘Cora’ who documents their mission to find the Black Vortex–an ancient relic reported to yield cosmic powers–before guillotine collars bestowed upon them by The Collector, snaps their necks.”
