Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) He may have just “thoda thoda” understanding of Indian cinema, but Academy Award-winning star Colin Firth is confident that the growing confluence between Bollywood and Hollywood will prove beneficial for both.

“Well, I understand Indian cinema ‘thoda thoda’! My perception is very simple — world is filled with creative and intelligent people, so every industry is meant to be blessed with growing future and so is Indian Cinema,” Firth told IANS in an email interview from the US.

“We see the (Indian) films in the festivals and we are glad to share the platform with them (Indian filmmakers). They are also coming up with good and real cinema,” he added.

Of late, the Indian entertainment industry has witnessed an increased number of co-productions and collaborations with foreign studios. Firth, 51, whose “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” released in India Friday, feels “it is beneficial”.

But is he game to work in an Indian collaboration?

“Let’s see, nothing on my mind on this yet. If I am approached, will definitely think about it,” said Firth, who has India on his wish list of travel destinations.

“India is a very vast country, I haven’t been there but there are lot of places to be explored, lot of delicacies to be tasted…Indian heritage…phew huge list…one of the seven wonders (Taj Mahal),” he added.

Firth, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of a stammering monarch in “The King’s Speech”, made a name for himself in the movie industry with films like “Bridget Jones Diary”, “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, “The English Patient”, “Love Actually”, “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mamma Mia!”, and the acclaimed TV series “Pride and Prejudice”.

In his latest outing, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, the big screen adaptation of John le Carre’s iconic 1974 spy novel of the same name, he plays a spy. The movie follows a hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of a British secret service.

Firth is nonchalant about the reaction of his fans to the film but admits he followed the book closely to add to his character, Haydon.

“One of the frightening things about the film is taking on an adaptation of the famous book and it’s dense. Obviously, I’ve read it now, more than once. The series is one of those things that had such an impact that you were aware of it even if you weren’t watching it.

“The book has lot of information that’s conveyed through complex dialogues, and a lot of detail. The difficult task was to pare it down while maintaining the essence of the intrigue. It’s amazing to me how well that worked,” he said.

As an actor, does he feels free or restricted while essaying a character in a book adaptation?

“Well, you don’t feel restricted; neither you feel liberal while enacting. A book adaptation gives you a chance to broaden your imagination, to how you can live up to the character which is in the book and also in several readers’ mind. You get a responsibility of matching up to the imagination of masses or readers. It’s more like a challenge and I love to perform on challenging roles,” he concluded.

(Radhika Bhirani can be contacted at radhika.b@ians.in)