When British actor Daniel Caltagirone ThangalanPa. Ranjith’s film, starring Vikram, Malavika Mohanan and Parvathy Thiruvothu, was reportedly a three-month project. “Then it became a big dream for Ranjith, and I just went along with the journey,” says Daniel, who spent nearly a year in India for the shoot.
Gold foundry
“I know Ranjith was a bit hesitant about casting a British actor, as the process of moving into a new territory involved finding good actors and whether they would be able to withstand the conditions required for shooting. I was the first person he approached and we had long conversations,” says the actor. “He realised I was an adrenaline junkie and he had also seen my CV which showed me working in big, award-winning Hollywood films. I quickly realised that this was not the kind of role that a white actor living in India and working in Bollywood films could do; I also realised that my character was parallel to Vikram’s.”
Daniel Caltagirone and Pa Ranjith on the sets of ‘Thangalan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Though this is Daniel’s first Indian film, it is not the first time he has worked with an Indian director. “I have done Hollywood films with Shekhar Kapur(four feathers) and Tarsem Singh (decline)“I’m no expert on Indian cinema but whenever I watched an Indian film and there was a British actor in it, I would laugh out loud because of the bad acting or think the role was so clichéd it was awful,” says Daniel.
“Halfway through the shoot Thangalan, RRR “When Ranjit’s film came out, the white characters were again presented in a clichéd way. I spoke to Ranjit and he told me that these stories are India-centric and the idea was to bring in an English actor to play the British coloniser. British actors may have done some great acting in such films in the past, but what Ranjit has done with my role is something different.”
Clichés, chaos and manners
For Daniel, the homework began even before he reached the shores of India. “I was told that my character is based on someone whose name I can’t reveal right now, but it’s an ex-soldier who went to the gold fields to look for gold. Ranjit wanted me to keep that aspect of the role in mind. The character is an outsider; he comes from his British class structure because he’s a high-ranking officer who is probably also Irish. And the Irish have their own class structure, which is similar to the caste system and as a part of that system, he’s trying to better himself.”
Daniel Caltagirone on the sets of ‘Thangalan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“A lot of research was done and I learnt a lot about colonialism and its impact till today. I didn’t want my character to come across as a cliched British officer again, so I tried to make him tough. Basically, he is not a bad person. He is a good person who wants to do good for his family; he and Thangalan are two sides of the same coin. Recently, Vikram was telling me that there is no good person in this film. We are all bad and that was really interesting,” said the actor, who chose the term “controlled chaos” to define Indian filmmaking.
“It was crazy; there were huge speakers set up to hear what the director was saying and hundreds of people were running past me. Fans would come to watch the shoot and it was a totally different approach to what I was used to. It was heartwarming and exciting,” says Daniel, who was also surprised by how much research was done for the film. Thangalan What did the team do on that?
“I was stunned by the respect they gave me and the way they made me feel at home. In the West, it is more about big actors, but here they really believe in the artistry of the actor. In other parts of the world, they would ask me about this Friend working with or casting Jennifer Aniston or Leonardo DiCaprio. But here, they were discussing Pianist with me, And not about working with Angelina Jolie!” (Laughs,
Indian cinema on the verge of becoming international
The actor, who has worked with filmmakers like Danny Boyle and Roman Polanski, says the Indian film industry is on the cusp of its most exciting phase. “Indian cinema is going to be the most powerful film industry in the world. You have amazing talent, amazing directors, great stories and it’s vibrant, colourful and exciting,” says Daniel, adding that he still feels Indian films lack international essence.
“The moment the Indian film industry goes international, Hollywood will be in trouble because we have lost our cinema there. We are primarily dependent on streaming while you have (theatrical) cinema and as long as that is maintained, it can become a powerful industry that no one can match.”
When Ranjit reminded Daniel of filmmaker Spike Lee
returning back ThangalanDaniel has no qualms in admitting that it took him a few days to settle down on the sets. “I am a natural actor, but Ranjith wanted something else, which I found too much. We were going back and forth a lot and I was getting very frustrated. But then one day, he asked me to watch the monitor, where I noticed that my acting was not registering amidst the enhanced acting of the other actors. Something clicked that day and I was able to raise my level,” says the actor, who “had to balance a lot of things.”
Daniel Caltagirone | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I was lucky because I had wonderful co-stars. Pasupathi was amazing, gentle, generous and funny. Parvathy is a brilliant actress while I connected with Malavika instantly. Vikram and I became very close; he liked my style and I respected and liked the way he worked. Apart from having a great working relationship, he was also able to guide and help me because of the different approaches we took,” said Daniel who earlier witnessed the film Madras And Sarpatta tradition To know more about Ranjit. “I was shocked by his social observations Madras And for a moment, I was reminded of Spike Lee’s work. SarpattaI was reminded of Lee and Quentin Tarantino again. When I finally spoke to Ranjit about western filmmakers, the first name he said was Spike Lee and I found that fascinating as an artiste.
Art vs Artist
Ask him if an actor should understand and agree with the politics of a film, and Daniel says, “Understanding it is the same as understanding your co-stars, but it doesn’t mean you agree with it. I’m interested in whether they’re a great artist and if so, I want to work with them and then, I might disagree with them politically. Obviously, if the subject matter is something extreme then that’s a limitation for me. In previous years, it was about the quality of the work and the community was full of people with different views who still respected each other. I don’t know where that respect has gone internationally now.”
Citing the example of veteran filmmaker Elia Kazan, a Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was Marlon Brando’s breakout role, Daniel says, “When the McCarthy era prosecutions were going on, communists in Hollywood were blacklisted and people’s lives were ruined. Kazan was pressured and asked to name the communists he knew, which he regrets that he did. Many years later, he won an honorary Oscar and when he came on stage, a lot of Hollywood actors decided to remain seated because he had given names to the government at the time.”
Daniel Caltagirone in a scene from ‘Thangalan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Young Daniel, who saw this, was deeply hurt. “It’s because I thought, how can any of us judge what a person and his family have gone through? Where is the humanity in this? Is an artist’s work invalid just because he has made a mistake in his life?”
When asked if this applies? Pianist Of director Polanski, a convicted sex offender, Daniel says, “I don’t for one second condone his behavior, and I know he’s sorry. But can we get over it?” PianistOne of the greatest movies of all time? Can we please get rid of his movie? Rosemary’s Baby What is the best horror movie ever made? Because what haunts me is that it’s similar to George Orwell’s horror movie. 1984 Where you can no longer agree to disagree. That’s where the dilemma is. Where do you draw the line?”
He believes that in today’s world, we have lost the ability to listen to someone with a different point of view. “It’s okay if we don’t agree, but at least we can listen. That line between art and life can be blurred and it can be complicated. Ranjit is a social commentator who wants to break the caste system. I understand what he is trying to say and anyone who disagrees with it would be ridiculous. But I also know that there are more complex, deeper issues that I don’t know about.”
Thangalan will release in theatres on August 15
