'Optics' Star Bali Padda Talks Playing Cody, Representation & More

Unlike many in the entertainment industry, Bali Padda says he “did not have an artistic upbringing whatsoever.” But what he did have was something beautiful. Growing up in Western Sydney as the child of Sikh Punjabi immigrants, Bali’s everyday life was immersed in storytelling and music. From primary school to his days at Blacktown Boys High, Bali’s parents kept his cultural connections alive teaching him to dance and play the tabla, unknowingly instilling in him a joy for performance he would discover later in life.

Now, he’s a series regular in Optics, the witty, fast-paced ABC series from Freudian Nip-sters Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst as well as comedy legend Charles Firth. Bali chats to us about his portrayal of the sycophantic but loveable assistant Cody, his unconventional path to acting and why he’ll never stop championing diversity, representation and inclusion.

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I always start off asking about names – is there a meaning or story behind yours?

Bali: Bali is not my real first name. I’m a fraud! It’s actually a nickname I’ve had since I was a kid. It’s very common in India to shorten names. So my actual first name is Gurbal and my dad came up with that. If you were to break it down into two words, there’s “Gur” which is short for guru and can mean your teacher, your leader, your god. And “Bal” means child, so basically, a child of god. And Bal is the masculine so it’s like son of god. So, I am the Messiah! (laughs) I was like, ‘Dad, who did you think you were, naming me the son of god?’ And then if you look through Hindu mythology, Bali was a character in the Ramayana stories where he was quite a powerful warrior. So it’s a name that also signifies strength and power. I’ll take a little bit of all of those!

That’s beautiful. So did people call you Bali through school too?

Bali: It’s the name that always stuck. It’s interesting, I’ve had a complicated relationship with my actual first name and I think it’s because there was a lot of shame growing up in Western Sydney in the 80s and 90s, just feeling like I was such an outsider. My name was butchered whenever roll call happened. It was pretty awful! (laughs) So I remember going through school just being called Bali. My full name is Gurbal Singh Padda. It’s a Sikh Punjabi name, but Bali is what I love.

Bali Padda on the set of Optics, he's sitting at a table in a suit

Photo courtesy ABC

So you grew up in Western Sydney. Tell me a bit about your childhood and teen years.

Bali: I was the child of Punjabi migrants. My dad was brought over here in the late 70s to preach to the growing Sikh community. He’s a Sikh priest and quite well known around the world. I grew up the youngest of four, the first Australian born in my family. I did not have an artistic upbringing whatsoever! But there were things about creativity that was dotted throughout our lives. So there’s obviously folklore and songs and music. My mum was very into song and dance and tried to teach us as kids so we could be involved whenever there was a gathering or party. And my dad, being a Sikh priest, he had to study Indian classical music. So he taught me the tabla, the Indian drum, when I was about 12 or 13 because it was convenient to have his own son around to help with the task! (laughs) I wasn’t good at it but I did it for him.

At what point did you decide to pursue a career in entertainment?

Bali: It wasn’t until my early 20s when I had done media studies, focusing on multimedia, that I wanted to do something creative. My brother was a computer scientist and my family expected me to go down that path but after two years of trying design and multimedia, I wasn’t sure if this was my jam. So I did a little mini exercise for myself. I just thought, if anything was an option, what could it be?

I thought about all the things I found joy in throughout my years as a kid and young adult and all the things that I reflected back on were things like primary school choir, MC-ing a comedy sketch in the 5th grade. In high school, I really loved music as a subject and then when I was around 18 or 19, I started training in Brazilian martial arts. I did capoeira for about eight years, I became an instructor, I taught myself Afro-Brazilian percussion so I’d be involved in these shows. I was also doing some professional development seminars and I would stand up in front of a group of sometimes 200 people and lead conversations. And I think the common factor here is that I love an audience! (laughs)

So the performance side drew you in! Congratulations on “Optics” – it’s such a clever and funny series and the way it explores PR and intergenerational relationships is so good. What do you think audiences can take away from the show?

Bali: Well, I really appreciate that. It’s great that audiences have been loving it. It is such a clever show written by Jenna Owen, Vic Zerbst and Charles Firth. There’s a couple of layers to it. You’ve got Jenna and Vic who are Gen Z, me who is the Millennial, Charles who’s Gen X and then Belinda Giblin who is the Boomer. And it’s about that intergenerational confusion and conflict but also how do we help each other? Just because they’re not up with TikTok, it doesn’t mean they don’t know anything and vice versa. Just because they’re scrolling on phones doesn’t mean they don’t know how the world works.

And then obviously the world of PR and crisis management. It’s very zeitgeist-y and “Optics” gives you a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of those decisions that get made and the moral ambiguity that has to be generated in order to do your job effectively. It’s also about this world where people from a marginalised background, in this case, young women, are immediately promoted into a leadership position. And you go ‘Yay! That’s awesome!’ But ultimately they are being set up to take the fall.

Your character Cody seems to be the only one with any moral integrity!

Bali: Yeah, it feels like he’s got the heart of the show. And I felt really blessed playing that character.

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What was it like to work with Jenna, Vic, Charles and amazing guest stars like Kate Walsh?

Bali: It was so fun, such a great vibe. It felt like such a family unit. It was the first time I’ve been a series regular. I’ve done lots of bits where you come in to shoot for one or two days, doing one or two scenes and it feels like you’re this intruder onset when everyone knows each other. So it was nice to have that experience where I was part of the family. And because I’ve had the “outsider” experience, I’ve made sure that anytime someone new came in, I tried to include them and make them feel like they knew everyone.

I do also remember the first day of shooting feeling so overwhelmed because Vic and Jenna were just moving so fast! They talk really fast and I was like –

Wait! They’re that fast in real life too?

Bali: Yes! They finish each other’s sentences. They talk over each other but they’re saying the same thing at the same time. It’s actually fascinating!

Ok, back to Kate Walsh.

Bali: Kate Walsh was super funny. A lot of her stuff was improvised. She was so, so good. It’s scary how great she was. There’s this moment – the bit with the USB fan. It was so funny. That fan was specifically on my desk, on Cody’s desk. At one point between takes, Kate was wearing this amazing full-length, woollen dress. And because there’s not much ventilation, someone ran over to Cody’s desk and borrowed the fan. Kate ended up stuffing it in her handbag, and pulls it out during her scene and points it at Ian who’s played by Charles. And it’s so funny because her character was so grossed out by Ian, that she’s fanning herself and then fanning the air that he leaves behind. It was perfect timing. And I was like, you’re welcome. I facilitated that amazing moment with my fan!

I bet there were a lot of fun scenes to shoot. Which was your favourite?

Bali: I did have fun with the cockatoo scene. It’s sort of a blur now but we were in this office location for a few weeks and so it was a novelty to go up these stairs of a dingy, grungy house. Then seeing these hectic bikies – who are super lovely in real life. The cockatoo was hectic as too! It was trained to attack and to hate men. The wrangler or handler said he’d been trained to be aggressive because he needed to do that in another film. So trying to hold this cage without him attacking me or biting me through the cage was very funny. I also danced and played with him a lot. I have these videos of me and the cockatoo screaming and dancing together. And there was that hospital scene with the clowns too. That was really fun.

What also stood out to me is that Cody is the only ethnically diverse person in the office. I’m wondering if that’s something you can relate to?

Bali: I don’t often find myself working in office environments but yes, it’s definitely been so in the arts and entertainment industry. I’ve definitely had that experience and sometimes in social settings as well, especially when I used to wear a turban. I’d rock up and scan the place and I wouldn’t see other people that look like me. Do I feel comfortable or safe? What kind of mask do I need to put on to make sure I don’t stand out? Things have improved since I started acting almost two decades ago but there’s still a way to go.

Bali Padda in a plaid shirt, speaking to others

Image Supplied

You mentioned wearing a turban in the past, and now you don’t – how did that impact you and your sense of belonging in the industry?

Bali: Interesting because when I was wearing a turban, I remember feeling like it was something that was special and unique about me. I was respected and loved and had great relationships. It was like, yeah, I get to be the only one! With that said, I did stick out. I had to really work hard to find a way to fit in and to feel like I belong but also to signal to others that I belong. I think that’s where my comedy and my fun factor and perhaps a bit of charm had to be developed.

I chose to stop wearing a turban just because religion wasn’t for me. It took several years for me to work through and to speak to family about it, do a lot of research and make that choice for myself. And yeah, I probably would not have had access to the same kinds of opportunities if I was still a practicing Sikh. I think we’re too short-sighted as a society and as an industry and still now, many casting directors will only see me because a role is specifically written for a person of colour or as Indian. That’s quite frustrating.

And, of course, there are so few roles for people of colour, right?

Bali: Exactly. We’ve gone in an interesting direction. We’ve had conversations about representation but also the authenticity of representation. Who has the right to represent a community? There’s this historic exclusion of people from actually participating and having the power to tell their own stories. But then we’ve kind of now pushed it to a point where it’s hyper-specific. I’m Punjabi, North Indian, so should I specifically only play that? What if we’ve got a Sri Lankan or Pakistani or Bangladeshi role? And it’s like, hang on, someone like Mel Gibson can play a Scotsman, Australian and American or Cate Blanchett can play a Russian, Norwegian and Scandinavian. They’re all different cultures and language groups. Why don’t the same things apply in that respect? It’s a balance. It is very tricky because we want to make sure people that have been excluded from participation can play roles representing them.

I know you’ve spent a fair part of your career championing diversity and representation in the Australian screen industry. What do you think we get right here?

Bali: I remember when I stepped into this space to make a difference, we specifically were only talking about multicultural representation. That was 2009 and within four years, that conversation broadened to include gender and gender diversity, sexuality, orientation, disability, age and social class. It’s a discussion that is continually evolving. It’s never safe or set in stone and we can only look at the politics of the world today and, it’s like, what on earth? This is why the conversation needs to keep going.

I have to say that I’m in a privileged position to be able to have those conversations because I have worked a lot in this industry and behind the scenes. I’ve worked as a film financing executive. I’ve spoken up and demonstrated expertise and skill, but a lot of people don’t feel empowered to do that. And so I have to make sure that if I’m the most empowered person to talk about it in a space, that I do keep talking about it or help empower those around me to do so.

Catch Bali Padda on ‘Optics’, now showing on ABC iView

And follow Bali on Instagram: @balissimo

*This interview has been edited for brevity.

(Feature Image Credit: Supplied)