'Blindspot' actor Ami Sheth says headscarf should be a woman's 'personal choice'
Ami Sheth stars in the NBC series 'Blindspot' as Indian-Muslim FBI lab technician Afreen who helps the team decipher the mysterious tattoo case. Her role has been upgraded from a minor character in seasons 3 and 4 to a major one in the final season.
Talking to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about her journey on the show, she said, "When I started the show, I had a much smaller part. In time, my role became bigger. And now my role is very vital to the storyline this season, which is very, very exciting."
The actress, who has played significant parts in 'Dietland', 'Elementary', and 'Bull,' spoke about where her character will be at the end of the season. "My character got a promotion and will be basically the right-hand woman to Patterson (Ashley Johnson), who is the head of the lab. In season five, my character will be even more important than the lab and more important to the functioning of the team."
"The character of Afreen is very different than anything I've portrayed earlier as she is technologically savvy and smart. In real life, I'm not very technologically savvy. But I had to learn a lot and it was really challenging to understand the technical terms, ethical hacking, and codes. For me, just getting to be in that world was exciting because it's nowhere close to who I am."
One similarity with the character is that Ami is also really "analytical" like Afreen. "I have played several Muslim characters but this is the first character where I had to wear a headscarf."
Shedding light on the recent debates around wearing headscarves, she added, "I think that women should be empowered to make decisions about what they dress or how they look. Putting a ban on wearing a headscarf or enforcing it upon someone is like saying women shouldn't wear short skirts, women shouldn't do this or that. I think it should be a personal choice."
As the final season airs, should fans look forward to an unexpected twist in the series? "Usually we have 20 plus episodes every season but this season, it is only 11. Because of that, every episode will have more shocking plotlines. I think the writers have really stepped up in the writing and direction department with several visual effects, more action, and drama. Moreover, the storyline will move very quickly with a cliffhanger at the end of each episode."
Calling the final episode "outrageous" and "amazing," she added, "The ending of the final episode of this show is going to be really exciting as it's not just the end of the season but the end of the show and it is really amazing. Hopefully, the fans will be very satisfied with the ending because it is a culmination of all the seasons put together. I don't think fans are ever really ready for a series to end because they fall in love with the characters. But hopefully, we did it right."
She also spoke about her experience to be on the set with the ensemble cast. "Every time we get together for a script reading session, everyone is really caring and kind and it's a great set to come to every day. I think one of my favorite people to hang out with on set is Ennis Esmer because he does a lot of improvs and he would say really funny, ridiculous things while we're shooting, and he really keeps a lively environment on the sets and makes everyone laugh."
