Birva Pandya’s character in The Testaments carries an unsettling symbolism. In the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale(based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name), Pandya plays Miriam, one of the ‘Plums’: the carefully groomed daughters of Gilead’s elite, raised to marry and serve without ever knowing life before the regime.

Insecure, shy, and uncertain of who to trust, Miriam faces mounting pressures from those around her, which leads her to ignore her gut instincts and trust in the rigid patriarchal system she’s been born into. Could she be a quiet portent for the girls who now grow up in a society becoming increasingly defined by macho politics and the modern-day manosphere? 

Thankfully, Miriam is worlds apart from Pandya herself who is speaking to me from Los Angeles, her confidence beaming across the Atlantic through to my laptop screen. The 20-year-old Canadian has been acting for a long time, starring in TV series such as Northern Rescue and The Institute. Though I recall the young girl riding a bike in her sundress, admitting to Klaus that – as a visual representation of God – she created humanity precisely so she could pick her favourites in the first season of cult superhero series The Umbrella Academy. Despite the growing portfolio of intense dramas, there is clearly space for more comedy in her future.

The Testaments, Pandya tells me, is one of the shows she’s most proud to have worked on. Set in Gilead 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale, it follows promising young ‘Plum’ Agnes (played by rising star Chase Infiniti), a dutiful teenager who begins to question the totalitarian regime following the arrival of rebellious outsider, Daisy (BAFTA Scotland winner Lucy Halliday). Just under a decade on from The Handmaid’s Tale premiere, sadly the parallels between Gilead and the US today are all the more pertinent.

In conversation with 1883, Pandya talks about how The Testaments sets itself apart from its predecessor, her love for Bollywood films, and why she won’t be returning to dancing any time soon.

Dress Alisa Dudaj

Hi Birva, how are you? How is your week going?

I’m good, thank you! It’s been really exciting – I feel like this is kind of the first time that I’ve been able to do press like this and I’m just so glad it’s for a show that I’ve loved for so long.

So tell me a bit more about the show – how would you describe your character Miriam?

So Mariam is one of the ‘Plums’, who is a wife in training. She really struggles throughout marriage season, specifically because all the girls have really been brought up knowing that they have one purpose in life, which is to marry a commander. That is really the best life that they have in store for them. 

And she faces a lot of pressure – internal pressure, but also from her parents, and then also from the competition between her and her friends which really gets to her because she’s someone that is really loyal to her friends. She’s also someone that places a lot of trust on the people around her, rather than trusting her instincts and her gut, because Gilead is a world where they teach women not to listen to their internal voices, but to rather trust in their system and in the people that are are made to control them and manipulate them. So she really is trying to believe in this system that she’s been born into, because she doesn’t have anything else to fall back on.

Obviously when The Handmaid’s Tale first came out, it was just as Trump was going into his first term and before the overturning of Roe v Wade. Whereas with The Testaments, there’s a certain poignancy with this sequel coming with all the misogyny we’re witnessing now. Was that something that was on people’s minds while you were filming?

For sure. I think that since The Handmaid’s Tale, the first season was shot in 2016, and the producers and everybody involved have been consistently surprised at just how many parallels you can draw from the show and to real life events. 

And I think just as you said, it’s very transparent in The Testaments and I encourage viewers and fans to continue to draw those parallels. I’m so proud to be a part of a series that speaks out about injustices and the abuse of authority and things like that. And I think that it’s one of the ways that you’re able to speak out against all that’s happening in the world, especially at times when you feel helpless or feel like there’s nothing that you can do. 

Issues on women’s rights remain so relevant, and I think such a strong point of our show is to demonstrate that even when women and young women feel like they don’t have power, there’s always a chance for you to listen, not only to yourself, but also listen to your friends who have your best interests in mind. And that aspect of girlhood and unity, there’s a lot of power in that. So I think knowing those core themes of this story made just everyone feel so much more comfortable to be able to be a part of the show, and it created such a safe space for us to all do so. I’m so proud of that.

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What was the atmosphere like on set? Obviously you’re working with actors like Chase Infiniti, and Elizabeth Moss was executive producing as well. Was there a real sense of girlhood and cohesion on set?

Yeah, absolutely. I remember the first day that I met everybody, and it was just such a welcoming environment. And to speak on all the women at the show, I think everyone is such a natural born leader, and that really changes the set dynamic – it makes us all feel safe, mentally and also physically. 

There’s a bunch of challenges that can come out of filming the show, so you’re lucky when you get to work on a project of this caliber with people that you really love and look up to. I saw a piece of my childhood friends, and my friends now, in all of them and all of their characters. So I think that is what makes the chemistry on the screen feel so real, too. Casting was such a big part of it, and everybody just really nailed their roles and their characters.

Speaking of casting, what was the audition process like?

I got the initial email for it in early March, and I gave a couple of auditions before I got moved to callbacks. They had a working title for the show, so I didn’t know that it was for the sequel of The Handmaid’s Tale. And when it was hinted at, I really tried not to let that get to me, because I didn’t want to psych myself out. 

As I was auditioning, I really found myself living in this world, and there was so much freedom. Because when you’re auditioning, it’s the one opportunity that you have to bring your version of this, of this role in this world to life. 

When I first found out that I got the role, I was so excited and then I was really nervous. I was trying to figure out how I was going to be able to manage school and then also be filming in Toronto. But I just felt so honored and so humbled to be a part of a show that’s important to me, because also, I grew up around The Handmaid’s Tale; I studied it in high school, and it’s been such a big part of my life. So it just felt like a full circle moment.

Dress Alisa Dudaj

Was there anyone in particular on set who you looked up to?

There are a couple moments in the show between Miriam and Aunt Estee. Ava Foote, who plays Aunt Estee, is such an amazing woman. I looked up to her so much. I don’t even know if she knows it. But she had a comforting energy; she was so funny, she made me laugh so much on set. And I think that’s needed – to laugh through it and smile through it. And it’s so great when you get to do it with people you like to work with.

I think one of the things that surprised me was the colour and cinematography. The Handmaid’s Tale has very dark, grey tones, but in The Testaments, it’s so light and summery, saturated with bright purples, blues and greens. Was there anything that particularly surprised you about the interpretation when you were filming?

When I first got the scripts, I found myself surprised at how many times I laughed out loud. It reminded me of when I was a teenager hanging out with my friends when we were younger. 

And just how real these experiences were, even though we’re living in this world of extremes and that really surprised me because it was a different feeling of relatability than The Handmaid’s Tale. It wasn’t as morbid, and [there] wasn’t this sense of anxiety all the time. There was a bit of levity to it. And I love that because I think it totally makes sense that if you’d be seeing this world through the eyes of like teenage girls that have been born into the world and have not known anything else, then you’re seeing the world through rose colored glasses.

In terms of the cinematography and the direction style, it was so visually stunning. Even with the scenes that I wasn’t in, I would always be right by where the monitors were because I just could not take my eyes off of all the shots. It was amazing. 

You’ve been acting since a very young age – I remember you from The Umbrella Academy. How did you first get into acting?

I started officially acting when I was nine for film and TV, and then I did theatre in high school, because I went to a performing arts high school. Ever since I could remember, I’ve always been performing in some way, whether it was just to myself or to my peers. 

I have so many home videos of me and my sister reenacting movie scenes, especially from Bollywood movies too. Growing up, that was something that my parents really embedded into me, even though they aren’t performers. We’re just a family of movie lovers and I think that really allowed me to see a place for myself in the industry. I’m really lucky to have parents that have supported me throughout the entire journey. And, yeah, I feel like that was kind of the only path for me; I never considered anything else.

I’ve only really just discovered Bollywood films. Are there any in particular you’d recommend?

There’s this era of old Bollywood movies – Om Shanti Om is such a classic movie. You have to see it. It’s like a love letter to cinema, it’s just such a good Bollywood movie. 36 China Town is such a good rom-com. It’s so funny. It’s a murder mystery. You could take any movie from that era, and it’s so good. 

There’s a sense of nostalgia I feel too, watching those movies now, because it takes me back to  my old house in Canada, having those movies play in the background while I was picking up a camera and filming myself singing and dancing. There’s a song in Om Shanti Om that I was dancing to when I was five years old, jumping on the couch. I fell off the couch and I broke my arm, and my mum screamed, like “Birva, what are you doing?” [laughs]. But that’s a really good movie. You should definitely watch it.

So no future career in dancing then?

No – I think I’ve broken enough bones!

Was there any particular performance that made you want to be an actor?

I do have a core memory – which is kind of an inbetween of Bollywood and Hollywood – of watching Life of Pi for the first time with my parents, and that movie just holds such a special place in my heart. I love Irfan Khan, who passed away sadly but he’s one of my favorite actors of all time. He did a movie called The Lunchbox which I love. 

A great way of unifying communities globally is through storytelling and through film and TV. And that’s what I really love about the movies.

Are there any types of projects you’d like to work on in the future?

I’ve done a lot of drama, and I love drama –  my parents called me a drama queen while I was growing up, so it’s very fitting. But I think I’d like to do a comedy, something that’s super fun. I love White Lotus. That’s another dream project of mine to do. I’m excited for the fourth season. I’m a film student, and so I’m producing my own film right now which is super exciting. 

I’ve seen on your Instagram you’re also really into fashion – what sort of role has that played in your life?

It goes back to me as a kid; I would always scoop through my mum’s closet and steal anything that I could. My mum has such a great closet, especially some hidden gems from India, like her scarves and her heels. I would take all my favorite heels and pieces of clothing to the garage and just have a mini fashion show by myself, and in my garage. She’d find me in the garage and I’d have her skirt that doesn’t even fit me. 

When it comes to acting, it’s definitely an attitude and [fashion is] a huge part of the way that you play a role. Speaking for The Testaments, costumes were so important, they really do shape the way that you walk and the way that you talk and the way that you move as the character.

My mum is my biggest fashion inspiration; my mom and my nanny, who’s my grandma on my mum’s side, they’re both fashion icons that I definitely look up to.

If you could be the face of a particular fashion house, which one would you pick?

I love Sabyasachi – that’s such a huge South Asian brand and designer, and I love that they’re coming more and more to light, especially in Hollywood. That would be a dream come true for me.

And who are you listening to right now?

For a couple months now, Beach House has been on repeat. I just love their vibe. Do you know the song Lemon Glow? That was on repeat when I was filming The Testaments. I feel like it fits the vibe of having the rose coloured glasses until things get darker. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Lana Del Rey as well. 

Thank you so much for your time, Birva. I hope you have a fun weekend ahead?

I’m actually going to see a friend from another project that I was working on, so I’m excited for that. It was so nice to meet you, thank you!

The Testaments is now streaming on Disney+

Interview Anna Jane Begley

Photographer Tiziano Lugli

Makeup Carissa Ferreri

Hair Bradley Leake

Styling Adena Rohatiner and Rikki Menlo

Top image credits

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