Indian filmmaking close to superseding Hollywood: ‘Thangalaan’ actor Daniel Caltagirone       

New Delhi, August 28

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 Tamil period drama ‘Thangalaan’, fronted by Vikram in the title role.

Caltagirone, whose Hollywood film credits include the Oscar winning title ‘The Pianist’, ‘Legionnaire’, ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life’ and ‘The Fall’, said he 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...

“Indian cinema is exciting, colourful, fun, and passionate. There is amazing old-school storytelling. It just throws you in whereas we have lost something in the West. It’s become dull and sort of too self-reflective. Indian filmmaking... you are one step away; you are so close to superseding Hollywood. Big Indian stars like Deepika... They are now presenting at the Oscars... This is unreal,” he said in an interview.

This is not his first time working with an Indian filmmaker.