Scottish actor James Cosmo makes no plans, trusts the universe to send him stuff—no, not space junk but things that keep him up in the cosmos of popularity, success and satisfaction. Like the Game of Thrones, or Wonder Woman, or Jagame Thandiram of south Indian star Dhanush, his latest. Lachmi Deb Roy spoke on Zoom with the 73-year-old Cosmo in Budapest where he is shooting his next movie. Excerpts:
Your Indian experience: I was there only for a week, sadly. I wanted to stay for a month. It’s an extraordinary country with so many cultures, traditions and languages in each and every state. Nobody, no matter how many times a person visits India, will be able to say he/she is familiar with India. It’s totally fascinating. And being from Scotland, I love the food of India.
Curry tales: Curry is the generic name for Indian food. But curry is Scotland’s national dish. We have Indian restaurants in Scotland and UK and Indian cuisine is one of my favourites. The seafood curry, especially the prawn curry, is something I enjoyed. It was just off the scale. In fact, it was probably a good idea that I wasn’t in India for too long because I would have exploded. I wouldn’t have fitted into any of my clothes.
You stayed in Rajasthan: It’s an absolutely stunning place. There was a terrace in our hotel that looked over to the forts. It was like watching a movie. So much culture, architecture and art to explore it would take a lifetime.
The Indian film industry: That was one of the reasons why I wanted to do Jagame Thandiram. I always trusted the universe to send me stuff and it has and it does. I had this opportunity to be in this story and I told myself why not? This is a great opportunity to see how another culture makes a product that I am familiar with in the West. We shot quite a bit of it in London, where I live. I observed that the Indian film industry doesn’t use sound recording during shooting. The one thing that struck me in India is the manpower. I mean, there are a lot of people involved in making a film. It’s hands-on. What I understood is that films in India is majorly a director’s medium and he is much in charge. I can’t say I have watched a great many Indian films, but I am interested in a different perspective of filmmaking. In Indian filmmaking there is a constant mystic quality to the storylines. And it is at least 10 per cent brighter than reality. That makes it more exciting.
Preparing for the role: The script was well-written, the storyline sharp. I simply loved it. For me it is a subliminal process. I learnt the lines well and then got into the character gradually. The character I play is interesting because he is dreadful. There is a kind of mutual admiration that Surali played by Dhanush and I share.
Working with Dhanush: He is highly professional and secure in his space. Very down to earth and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.
Dancing in the movie: During my meeting with the director in a London club I asked him if I get a chance to dance. I did, a little bit. Not the proper Indian dancing. I hope next time I get to dance a little more.
Favourite from Jagame Thandiram: I think the dancing scene where Dhanush and I come out after killing our rival gang leader.
Future Indian films: I would love to work more in India because there is so much to absorb about Indian culture. I am ashamed to say that I know so little. The Indian film industry has a huge history as big as, or probably bigger than, the Western film industry.
