Rajiv Surendra

Rajiv Surendra (born 1985/1986[1]) is a Canadian actor, artist, and writer. He wrote a 2016 book, The Elephants in My Backyard, a memoir of his failed attempts to win the lead role in the 2012 film Life of Pi.[1] The book was a longlisted candidate for the 2017 edition of Canada Reads,[2] and Surendra was nominated for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in 2017.[3]

Rajiv Surendra
Born1985/1986 (age 34–35)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
  • Actor
  • artist
  • writer
Years active2000–present

As an actor, Surendra played Chuck Singh in the third season of the YTV sitcom System Crash, and had a small part in Mean Girls as rapper and mathlete Kevin Gnapoor.[2] He tried to land the lead role in Life of Pi after reading the book and noting many parallels between his own life and that of the novel's lead character, including the fact that Surendra himself grew up in a home immediately adjacent to the Toronto Zoo.[1]

He is currently based in Manhattan, where he works as a potter, painter, calligrapher and chalk artist.[1] He is gay.[4]

References
  1. "Memoir by Rajiv Surendra traces actor's parallels with Life of Pi". The Globe and Mail, November 18, 2016.
  2. "The Elephants in My Backyard". CBC Books, November 18, 2016.
  3. "Teva Harrison, Rajiv Surendra nominated for $10K Kobo Emerging Writer Prize". CBC Books, May 1, 2017.
  4. Lee, Nicole (November 15, 2016). "Rajiv Surendra traveled from 'Mean Girls' to chalk artist". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 4, 2019.


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