Daniel bets big on Indian cinema

The British actor talks about his experience on Thangalaan

Western cinema, as British actor Daniel Caltagirone sees it, is “dying”, and Indians films are on the verge of supplanting Hollywood, which seems to have lost its way in the surge of streamers. The actor plays the antagonist Lord Clement in Pa Ranjith’s upcoming period drama, Thangalaan, starring Chiyaan Vikram, Malavika Mohanan and Parvathy Thiruvothu. 

Caltagirone, who has starred in films like Legionnaire (1998), The Pianist (2002) and The Fall (2006), feels “privileged” to make his Indian cinema debut at a time when stars like Deepika Padukone are presenting at the Academy Awards. “There is a shift. Western cinema is dying... Something is happening, I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it is because of streaming, but I urge people to not abandon cinema... Indian cinema is having an effect globally,” he pointed out. 

Daniel with his Thangalaan team. Pics/Instagram

Praising Indian cinema as “exciting, colourful, fun, and passionate,” Caltagirone added, “There is amazing old-school storytelling. It just throws you in whereas we have lost something in the West. It has become dull, it has become sort of too self-reflective. Indian filmmaking is close to superseding Hollywood.” 

The British actor, who has previously worked with Shekhar Kapur on The Four Feathers (2002), would like to reunite with Vikram, who plays the titular role in Thangalaan. Caltagirone elaborated, “We had this crazy understanding [on set]. He could be 200 metres away and he would look at me like that [and I would know what to do]. He is one of the few actors in my life whom I can trust... I know how exactly he is going to go when he is going to swing a punch at me. We had this trust with each other.”

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