Indian actor Nalneesh Neel, who has been a part of many acclaimed films such as Gulabo Sitabo, Chhichhore and Raees, is now taking his craft to the global audiences with his Hollywood debut ‘The White Tiger’, directed by Ramin Bahrani, also starring Priyanka Chopra, Rajkummar Rao, Adarsh Gaurav and Mahesh Manjrekar. The film is based on Aravind Adiga‘s novel of the same name.
Describing his role in the film Neel shares, “I’m essaying the character who is the head of all drivers and assigns work to other drivers. He trains the main protagonist Balram and influences him to learn to dominate others and to become cunning and opportunistic. My character teaches the main protagonist Balram Halwai played by Adarsh Gaurav to use his wit and escape from poverty. Mine is a very interesting character who is suffering from Vitligo. I got a call from the casting company for the role. There were 3 rounds of audition, where 2 and 3 round was taken by director Ramin Bahrani himself. My character is a little bit dark and has his own unique attitude and style. It has that rusticness and rawness.”
Sharing details about his working experience with the director Neel says, “I have been a great fan of Ramin Bahrani. I believe he has made some truly world class films such as 99 Homes and Chop Shop. He always made me feel comfortable during the shoot. His presence on the sets urged me deliver the best each and every time. He was very particular about minute details. Since my character has Vitiligo he sent me to London for the make up and look test. So the make up was done in that way and initially they took 3 to 4 hours for the same during the look test.”
Sharing his joy on making Hollywood debut Neel adds, “It was a great experience for me to mark my debut in Hollywood. The best part was when the director praised my work and said that ‘You don’t know how much I love you in this film. You enhance the character and the film.’ He really inspired me and motivated me in journey of my life. It was awesome working with Hollywood crew and I was very grateful to work with them. This is my first international project and through this project, I got to learn the difference between working in Hollywood and Bollywood. The best part was all the actors were treated equally and got so much respect and it enhanced my learning about the different aspects of the filmmaking process.”
