Daniel Caltagirone: My role in 'Thangalaan' is more than a token villain

BRITISH actor Daniel Caltagirone, who portrays the antagonist Lord Clement in Pa Ranjith's highly anticipated film Thangalaan, says his role is far from a typical "token" villain often seen in Indian cinema.

Set in the 19th century within the Kolar gold mines, Thangalaan features Tamil star Vikram in the lead role and promises to be a captivating drama.

Caltagirone, known for his roles in Hollywood films like The Pianist, Legionnaire, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, is making his Indian cinema debut with this film.

The London-born actor said he had a long conversation with Ranjith about his character arc before boarding the film which marks his debut in Indian cinema.

"When I first got hired by Ranjith, we had a long conversation. I didn't audition for him, he just called my agent saying 'This guy is interesting, I want to work with him'. When we had the chat, I wanted to know about Tamil filmmaking. I had some knowledge about Bollywood, but not Tollywood.

"I said, 'Listen, I know how you guys portray English people, it's ok. But I'm not sure I'm interested in (a role like that).' Ranjith said 'Let me stop you right there. You don't know me as a filmmaker. You and Vikram are like the different sides of the same coin. You are not to be that cliched British actor that comes in'," Caltagirone told PTI in an interview.

Praising Ranjith, known for films such as Madras, Kabali, Kaala and Sarpatta Parambarai, the actor said the director wanted him to be "one of the first British actors to do something different" in Indian cinema.

"If that works, that would be amazing for me as one of the first (British actors) in the lead in a film that's just not going to be a token," Caltagirone said, adding that he was not interested in portraying the cliched bad guy roles like the British characters in RRR.

The 52-year-old said his character of Lord Clement and Vikram's Thangalaan are two sides of the same coin.

"In the film, you'll see flashes of the character trying to fight because he's had this rough existence. Life has dealt these bad hands to him. What you see is the product of that but what you also see is the man being turned bad. Then, you've got the same with Vikram's character but obviously I'm not going to spoil the ending. Our characters become possessed by the desire, need and greed to obtain gold. I hope I've done my job well."

According to the makers, the story of Thangalaan captures “the actual history” of the Kolar Gold Fields (KFG). “Over two centuries ago, the Kolar Gold Mine Field was discovered by the British, who exploited and looted it for their own purposes,” they added.

He said Ranjith, whose films are an extension of his ideology as someone who is bringing the perspective of the Dalits to the silver screen, works on the "psychology" of the people.

"He was a bit nervous about hiring a British actor... He (Ranjith) comes from a hard place; he understands local communities, the streets and the people... He said to me 'You strike me as someone who is strong and different'. He was looking for someone who is a bit more (strong)," he added.

Caltagirone said he got lucky with his co-stars.

"I was nervous about how the big Indian stars would treat me. Everyone sort of got down really well... I have this huge amount of respect for Indian actors because they do things above and beyond a lot of time than their western counterparts, who have their stunt guys step in straightaway or they can't get their hair messed up and stuff. I was told I was going to be doing a lot during stunts and I was like 'Yeah, let's do it!'"

The shooting of Thangalaan has been a time-consuming process, said the actor who worked on the movie for a year and two months.

"About 100 years ago! That's how long it took to shoot the film," he quipped.

"I arrived in India in the beginning of October 2022 and I finished in November 2023. There was a little at the end when I came home. We really pushed ourselves beyond. We all split off for three months because Chiyaan and I had sustained a lot of injuries in this film," he added.

This was not the first time Caltagirone came to India.

The actor shot for India-born American director Tarsem Singh's film The Fall back in 2001 in Rajasthan. He has also worked with Shekhar Kapur, whom he counts as a "big influence" in his life, in 2002's "The Four Feathers". Both were international productions.

"Every time I've come to India, it's never been a short span. There's this weird connection with India, I don't know what it is, but India or Indian filmmakers have formed a major part of my life... You either come to India and embrace it or you don't. There's nothing in between. This for me just feels like home."

Thangalaan will release worldwide on August 15 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. It also stars Malavika Mohanan and Parvathy Thiruvothu. (PTI)