Tenet star Denzil Smith on how clutter-breaking content on OTT platforms helped reduce stereotypical roles.
Denzil Smith
Tenet star Denzil Smith, 60, believes the world of cinema is operating without any geographical and cultural barriers today as there are more opportunities for actors out in the West. The actor, who has been part of the global hits such as The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Viceroy's House and Gurinder Chadha's series Beecham House, said audiences have started noticing incidents of crossover because of streaming platforms. "The barriers have broken down as the crossover has been happening now. We see it more now because of the emergence of the OTT platforms. So, it has been happening for quite a while and I feel good to see many parts of the world coming together through cinema. It is a unifying medium for all humanity."
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Indian actors have often been cast in stereotypical roles in Hollywood but Smith believes this aspect is changing gradually. "There was also the stereotypical portrayal of people from the West in Indian cinema. It happens everywhere in all countries, across cultures. But everything has changed now. Fortunately, we're moving away from that."
A still from Tenet
In Christopher Nolan's Tenet, Smith played businessman Sanjay Singh, husband to veteran actor Dimple Kapadia's character Priya Singh, who is an arms dealer. Billed as a globetrotting game of international espionage with a time-bending element at the centre, the film stars John David Washington in the lead alongside Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Michael Caine and Clemence Poesy.
"It's a great film and we have the genius Christopher Nolan who is a master at his craft. I hope this one will bring back people to the theatres because this is a big, grandiose film that needs to be seen in theatres," said Smith.
The actor said working with director Nolan was "fabulous and fantastic". "Nolan is a genius at his craft and knows how to take control of the medium. He is a master manipulator of time, space, reality, all of which is in this film."
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