India has a special place in my heart: Drew Barrymore

Hollywood star Drew Barrymore says she has a "deep connection" to India and cannot wait to visit the country again.
"I have been to India two different times and I actually wrote a chapter on it in my book 'Wildflower' last year. India has a very dear place in my heart. I love it and I can't wait to come back. I have a deep connection to India," Barrymore told PTI over phone from Los Angeles.
The actress, who has a huge fan following in India thanks to her roles in films like "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", "50 First Dates", "The Wedding Singer" and "Blended", is back on the screens with Netflix comedy "Santa Clarita Diet".

Barrymore, 41, says she decided to do the show because she could relate with the story of a "family going through stuff".
The 10-episode series by Victor Fresco, which premiered on February 3, came to the actress at a time when she was going through a difficult time.
She and husband Will Kopelman, who share two daughters together, separated early next year after four years of marriage.

"I was in a very heavy and dark place in my life when this came to me. I read it and it made me laugh and forget about my problems. I thought 'This is a good thing'. I wanted to do something that was not overtly emotional. This story was close to real life but had a certain lightness to it."

The actress says she could relate to the story when Fresco first narrated the idea to her about this ordinary husband and wife real estate brokers with a teenage daughter, whose lives turns upside down when the wife becomes a zombie and starts craving human flesh.
"My character may be killing and eating people but it is just a family going through stuff. I like watching people figure their way through life. I don't like violence but I thought it was an interesting backdrop to talk about a suburban family."
Barrymore believes like her character she too was waiting for jolt.

"I guess I was waiting for one of those in my life. I had become complacent. I felt sad, confused and a little lost. Victor and me talked about it. I was just so attracted to the idea of it."
Playing Sheila Hammond was challenging for the actress as she did not want the character to be "gimmicky" given the unique premise of the story.
"In real life we don't change overnight. But if you work at it, you can change and if you are sad you can change the way you feel. A lot of times, people go through big changes but their lives remain the same. Change takes place in real time and around the same people.

"When you see Sheila episode 10, she is different. But you don't see the changes episode to episode because we didn't want it to be gimmicky."
Barrymore says she loved every moment of working on "Santa Clarita Diet" as she likes playing strong women.
"It did bring happiness in my life. I like being a bit of feminist. The show is a metaphor and I like playing a woman who had something happen in her life that really shifted her inside.