Benedict Garrett describes the chaos of being a Britisher on a Telugu film set; trauma from Ranabaali role almost making him cry | Interview

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Benedict Garrett talks about his upcoming film Ranabaali with Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna.

If you have seen the trailer of Rahul Sankrityan’s Ranabaali, there’s a character who must have made an impression on you right when he shoved a child alive into a cauldron. That’s Mumbai-based British-born actor Benedict Garrett playing a character that he describes as cruel and nasty. The film explores how a famine caused by colonial rule in 19th-century India led to starvation in Andhra Pradesh. Talking to Hindustan Times, the actor explains his experience on a Tollywood film set, working with Vijay Deverakonda after missing a chance earlier, and more. Excerpts.

Benedict Garrett plays a British coloniser in Rahul Sankrityan's Ranabaali.

Benedict Garrett on his cruel role in Ranabaali

Benedict recalls how he was supposed to star in a film with Deverakonda even before Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu, his first Telugu film. But it fell through. “Here’s another chance to work with him again, as well as actors like Rashmika,” he says of Ranabaali, adding, “I often play quite cruel, nasty characters from pre-Independence times. But I must say, this character is particularly nasty. I quite liked the challenge of that and also feel there’s a responsibility on my part as well.”

Explaining what he means, Benedict says that his time in India since 2022 has taught him more about Colonial rule than what most Britishers are taught at school. “I feel a sense of responsibility to India and the film industry to help portray some of her stories from her own perspective. So, I don’t mind playing these roles. But there was one time I almost started crying because of the things my character had to do; it was quite traumatic,” he adds.

The actor says Ranabaali explores the man-made famine in which grain was exported from India even as locals starved. “Some people were saying, oh that’s unnecessary, or that’s a bit violent,” he says of the visuals in the trailer. “But, well, unfortunately, it was a violent time. The British did do some despicable and nasty things. So, what’s worse, the violence in the film, or the violence of reality?” he questions.

Working in Telugu without knowing the language

Since his time in India and his work in Bollywood, Benedict has picked up Hindi, but Telugu has admittedly left him baffled. “When I worked with Pawan Kalyan…wow, they weren’t the most organised people,” he says of team HHVM, adding, “They would say to me, you’ve got to say these lines in Telugu and just blurt it out. I would ask them, can you just give me 30 minutes to try and get it right?”

The actor says that most of the time, his characters in Indian films speak English. And this was the first time he was on a Telugu film set, where he was expected to repeat the lines. “It was all fine in the end. But thankfully, in Ranabaali, all my lines are in English. English is a standard language on a Hindi film set, it’s not in Telugu. The language is just more colourful, more poetic, like Italian. So there have been times when I have been, sorry, can you just explain that again?”

Benedict jokes that he has given takes when he feels like he doesn’t fully understand what he’s doing while working in Tollywood, but he has heard no complaints from the filmmakers yet. “I love the process, but it also makes me nervous. The directors can be quite short with the crew. But with the actors, they always try to keep them calm. They don’t want to upset actors, you know, because we’re trying to get in our zone,” he rounds off laughing.

Ranabaali, directed by Rahul Sankrityan, stars Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna and Arnold Vosloo in lead roles. It will hit screens on October 16.