BAFTA-winning actor Hugh Grant has recalled his visit to India in 1988 for the shooting of a French film and he opened up about an interesting incident during his visit to Kolkata. (Also read: When Supriya Pathak had an East-meets-West romance with Hugh Grant in controversial French film The Bengali Night)
What Hugh said about India
He recalled meeting an 11-year-old boy who introduced himself as a driver and how his revelation was shocking to the actor.
During his recent appearance on the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hugh said, “In my early career, in my 20s, I did some very strange films. I did this French film in India in 1988, and it was a bit of a weird film. I arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) by myself and was told, ‘driver will pick you up’. I went to the baggage carousel and everyone else picked up their bags and left. And it was just me in the end, left alone with my bag, very sad. And then the little boy came up and said, hello, sir, I am your driver. And he was maybe 11 years old. I said, are you sure? He said, yes, ‘I am your driver for the whole film’. And I said, oh, can you drive? ‘yes, very well, sir, very well’, he replied.”
However, Grant has his own doubts after looking at his age, as he mentioned, “I had my doubts, but he did drive me, and sure enough, within four days, crashed quite badly. Oh, no! Well, he was 11..”
The actor was talking about the French film La Nuit Bengali, which also starred Soumitra Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak and Shabana Azmi in supporting roles. Directed by Nicholas Klotz, the family drama was filmed in Kolkata in the winter of 1987.
‘India was a strange place in 1988…’
He shared his experience of visiting the country and said, “India was a strange place in 1988. He was fired, poor chap. And then I bumped into him right at the end of the shoot. It was about two months later. I bumped into him in the street in Calcutta. I said, ‘ how are you? What’s happening? Are you all right?’ He said, oh, yes, sir, now ‘I’m driving a school bus’.,” he laughed.
Recently, Grant has provided intriguing insights into the forthcoming film ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’, set to hit theatres on Valentine’s Day 2025.
Speaking during an appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’, Grant described the film as having a tone that is both humorous and profoundly emotional, stating, “As well as being extremely funny, it’s very, very sad,” as per Deadline.
This new installment marks the fourth film in the beloved ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ series, with Grant reprising his role as the charming yet flawed Daniel Cleaver, alongside Renee Zellweger in the iconic title role.
Interestingly, Grant did not participate in the third film, ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’, but expressed that the filmmakers were eager to include him in the latest project, despite the lack of an obvious role.
“I wasn’t initially happy with my character’s story in the fourth film,” Grant admitted, noting that he collaborated with producers to develop a more fitting narrative for Cleaver..
“He’s in his 60s now; you can’t just have him smoothing his way down King’s Road eyeing up young girls,” he added.
The screenplay for ‘Mad About the Boy’ is penned by Helen Fielding, the original author of the ‘Bridget Jones’ novels, and is based on her latest book published in 2013.
(With inputs from ANI)
