SUNY Oneonta Welcomes Rajiv Surendra

ONEONTA, NY—Adia Watts

"I'm not very good at introductions," was how the audience in Hunt Union Ballroom was introduced to the speaker of the evening. 

Photo courtesy of SUNY Oneonta

Rajiv Surendra—also known as mathlete Kevin Gnapoor in Mean Girls—has been very busy since his debut in 2004. 

On Monday, the actor spoke to students at SUNY Oneonta about what he's been doing since the cult classic, as well as the best ways to chase dreams, reach goals, and find oneself. 

Surendra began with a story about how he pursued the role of Piscine Patel, the main character of Life of Pi. Being an Indian-Canadian man, he had been searching for roles he could relate to that were not the stereotypical roles most Indian people are subject to. These roles included characters like terrorists, employees of overseas call centers, and "nerdy math kids."

After reading the book, Surendra felt that he could relate to Piscine because of the similarities between them. He noted that they both grew up near a zoo, went to the University of Toronto, and had family from South India. Following this realization, Surendra immersed himself fully into obtaining this role, saying he wanted to "become Pi."

The audience followed Surendra on his wild journey as he spoke about dropping out of college to move to Pondicherry, India, where Life of Pi is set. He contacted the principle of the school that Pi attended in the book and attended classes there everyday.

While at the school, he befriended some Indian boys whom he studied in order to learn "what it meant to be Indian." Surendra watched the way they walked, spoke English, ate, and even how they sat in their classrooms when the weather was too hot. 

"Like any adventure," Surendra said, "you don't really know what your destination is."

Photo courtesy of Adia Watts

Following his long journey—which included tracking down survivors of being adrift in the ocean, a major part of the Life of Pi— Surendra was devastated to learn that the part he prepared for six years had been given to someone else, someone who wasn't even an actor. 

This news propelled him to run away to Munich, Germany and take a job as an au pair, or a foreign nanny. Surendra said that he had spent six years becoming Pi, so he used his time in Munich to "become me."

A sentiment that lots of college students have also struggled with, Surendra said he created this speech especially with young adults in mind. 

Photo courtesy of degrassi.wikia.com

"I felt like more than any other age group ... college kids would benefit from it the most because I embarked on this journey when I was in college. And it's a time of life when kids are trying to still figure out what they want to do with their life and when they finish college, they're kind of faced with the big open door of 'What now?'" 

Surendra wants college students to realize that life may take many different paths, but "eventually it will all come together."