British actor Daniel Caltagirone on observing director Pa Ranjith’s unflinching anti-caste gaze in Thangalaan, where he plays the antagonist
Daniel Caltagirone with Vikram and director Pa Ranjith
When Daniel Caltagirone’s agent informed him that an Indian director wanted to speak to him, the British actor thought this was his chance at a Bollywood film. “I thought it would be singing and dancing. I couldn’t wait,” he recalls. But the director in question was Pa Ranjith, and the film, Thangalaan, co-starring Tamil star Chiyan Vikram.
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Before getting into a meeting with Ranjith, Caltagirone —who featured in The Pianist (2002) and Tomb Raider (2018)—watched Sarpatta Parambarai (2021). “Ranjith is an incredible social commentator. I liked his style of filmmaking, how he utilised the camera and pushed his actors. His style reminded me of Spike Lee, there is a tiny element of [Quentin] Tarantino as well,” he says.
Over a Zoom call, Ranjith narrated the period actioner’s idea and his character of a British police officer. Caltagirone admits he had concerns initially, but they were quelled as soon as he heard the narration. “I thought I’d be portrayed as the cliché English character who plays an out-and-out bad guy and then disappears. But Ranjith wanted me to be the co-star to Vikram. I didn’t know who Vikram was at that point, but I assumed he was a big Indian star. Ranjith said, ‘I don’t want to go black-and-white with you. This will be a fleshed out character.’”
Thangalaan also became an opportunity for Caltagirone to understand the caste system prevalent in India. “Ranjith would talk to me about breaking the final chains of the caste system. We spoke about how it’s subtle in the West and that’s why we have no right to say that the West is ahead of others. It’d be easier for Ranjith to become this wealthy filmmaker, who does glossy films, but he has always made films about people who lead difficult lives.”
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