Act 1, Scene 1: Improv with Brandon Hill

KOCHI: “Not possible? What do you mean, not possible? I own the Taj Mahal! You better open those gates before I fire you. Dismiss you.” Anyone would remember this ignorant foreigner who tried to buy Taj Mahal in ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. Actor J Brandon Hill, however, is everything but an ignorant foreigner. In fact, having lived in India for the past 11 years, he is very much part of India as butter is to a sandwich.
A theatre actor from the United States, Brandon has been active in the Indian cinema for the past 10 years. “I had done all kinds of theatre work,” he says.

“I have done Shakespearean theatre, improv and comedies, among others. I haven’t had a film experience outside Indian cinema. This is the only film industry I know. But I can say acting in a film is much more difficult than theatre work.”

Till now, he has acted in over 30 films in Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi and Hindi. For Malayalees, he is known for his British character Major Stephens in Pazhassi Raja. “But I have mostly worked in Hindi,” Brandon says.

Being a white man (not being a racist here, just merely pointing out facts), the roles he has done in all these movies are made out of the same cloth. “I either play the British guy who hates Indians or the totally clueless tourist,” says Brandon. “Either way, my roles are a bit stereotypical. But I always try to portray them so that they are unforgettable.”

Brandon has learned about India’s culture and people, having lived in the country for more than a decade. Meaning: Now he has an insight into the roles he wants to do in the future. “I don’t have any demand for any role. But I would like to take the role of a 21st-century man who lives in India. Unlike the stereotypes, this role has to be a grounded character,” he says.

He has been doing improv comedy in Mumbai for some time now. He was recently in Kochi for an improv comedy session ‘Comedy with a Twist’ with illusionist-comedian Karan Chauhan, organised by Chalta Hai Comedy, at Taj Malabar Resort and Spa here. “This was my first time out of Mumbai. I have performed with Karan in over 10 shows,” says Brandon.

He is currently in the work of a few regional films. “I can’t talk about them though. They’re all still under wraps,” he says. He is also shooting for the web series ‘Alive’, produced by Vikram Bhatt.
Brandon was involved with the Shakespeare theatre in New York. He has worked in more than 25 plays in the US.

So now what is an experienced theatre artist from the US doing in India? Yeah, that question haunted me too. Twelve years ago, when Brandon visited India the first time, he was a tourist. “It was Christmas and I loved the experience,” he says. That year, he went back only to return in the Christmas. “This time, I visited Mumbai, Delhi and Agra. And I was so in love with the country and the people in it,” he says.
Subsequently, he moved to India soon after that. “It was always my dream to not live in the US,” he says. “Everything has been going well. So far, so good.”