Yuvraj Singhs wife Hazel Keech starred in 3 Harry Potter movies, struggled after coming to India
She made her Indian debut in the 2007 Tamil film Billa, and then appeared in a few other films like Bodyguard, Maximum, where she often appeared in dance numbers. But years before her journey in Indian films started, Hazel first made her debut in the movies with the Harry Potter franchise. In an earlier chat with Oaktree Sports, Hazel spoke about her experience of the sets of Harry Potter, her Indian heritage, which has a Bhojpuri influence and her struggles with mental health. ‘I was in three Harry Potters’ Hazel revealed that she was actually a part of three Harry Potter films – Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. “I was in three Harry Potters,” she said and candidly admitted that she was an “extra.” “The word that no one likes to say is ‘extra’ but I was an extra,” she said with a laugh.ALSO READ | Raj & DK reveal dark alternate ending of Shor in the City, how they almost cast Ethan Hawke: ‘He might have been dead’ She shared that it was an “amazing experience” where she witnessed a “professional” work culture. “They have teachers and tutors because kids under 16 have to do their lessons. You have to bring your homework. So we didn’t do very much shooting because of the children and the legalisation but everyone is so nice and professional,” she said and added, “I got paid and everything.” She recalled that every child who was shown to be a part of Hogwarts had a look that was followed to a T. “For each child, they would have a polaroid to make sure your hair and make-up were exactly the same,” she shared and recalled that everyone would wear floor-length robes and every robe had two inner pockets – one for the wand, and another one for the broom. “Everyone was so respectful. Everyone was so happy to be a part of this project. The best experience of my professional career. I can easily say it,” she said.
Bhojpuri influence on Hazel Keech In the same chat, Hazel also opened up about her heritage and revealed that she didn’t know for many years that she had Indian heritage. She shared that her mother was born and raised in Mauritius, and her father is English. She then spoke about the Indian influence in Mauritius, as that too was a British colony. Hazel shared that since many Indians were brought to Mauritius to become farmers, which had been a French colony before, they started developing a new culture there, which was a “bit of French, Bhojpuri, and that became a language called Creole.” ‘Severe depression’ when Hazel moved to India As Hazel opened up about her past, she also touched upon the experiences she had in India when she moved here to be a part of the entertainment industry. Hazel faced many mental health challenges, which motivated her to become a therapist. She is now a professional therapist. “When I moved to India, I had a lot of challenging experiences, and slowly, they chipped away at me personally, my mental health, and it got to a point where I had severe depression and I was terrified to leave the house and to meet people,” she said.
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