‘I Retain fond memories of shooting’

Kangana Ranaut’s historical epic, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, is running successfully in theatres. The period drama film, based on the life of Rani Lakshmi of Jhansi, introduced multiple fresh faces on the Indian big screen. One of them was British actor Richard Keep, who appeared in the film as General Hugh Rose — a formidable field marshal of the British Army who besieged the Jhansi Fort in 1858 and defeated the Indian rebels.

Richard, who has previously worked in the Hollywood film Arthur’s Choice and the TV show Nouvelle Maud, spoke to us about his experience of working in a Hindi film and his plans for returning to Bollywood more often. 

Audiences in India were impressed by your appearance as General Hugh Rose in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. How was your overall experience of working in a Bollywood production? 
I am truly grateful to see the positive reaction of the audience in India regarding the character. General Hugh Rose’ was a conflicted man whilst in India. Yes, he had orders to complete a mission. However, I believe he felt very much at home in India and all the wonders it had to offer. Let’s not forget he held the enigmatic, visionary Rani with great esteem, not to be underestimated under any circumstance and considered her the greatest threat to the East India Company. 

I retain only fond memories of this adventure. I am most grateful to be part of a historical Bollywood biopic of this magnitude, (and a film of such) importance for the people of India. I made five trips to various shoot locations in India, over the course of 18 months, and made many new friends along the journey.

The portrayal of British characters in Indian historicals are often considered caricaturish or one-note. You, however, brought in genuine menace as the dangerous company officer looking to capture the queen. What was the research and preparation involved for the role?
I think it was clear from the outset that this wasn’t going to be the case for Sir Hugh Rose, who in reality was an astute tactician in battle and a formidable commander in chief, who never lost a war previous to the battle of Jhansi. 

Much research went into the character preparation, both from an intellectual and physical standpoint. Did you know Hugh Rose never had children, neither did he get married? He was clearly obsessed in dedication to his country, single-minded in his ambition. In reality and as history depicts, Rani Lakshmibai got under General Hugh Rose’s skin and was just as, if not more cunning than him. What was revealing to me, as the film’s plot thickened, was the internal and external battle that this man had faced.

 From this came the mutual respect admiration, and perhaps first slithers of vulnerability within the power of this character. With all that was at stake historically, this was very exciting to explore as an actor, to create a nuanced, multi-faceted individual. Then there was the training with Action Director Nick Powell and his team in Hyderabad, over the course of several weeks where we got into the specifics of what was required for the action scenes as you see in the film. 

Would you like to continue your association with the Indian film industry and return for more future projects?
Absolutely! Let’s hope I don’t get type-cast though. How about an action thriller, or comedy?  Film noir is a favourite genre of mine. Food for thought!

You are a part of Maleficent 2, which releases in 2020. Tell us something about the film.
I am excited to be on board on Maleficent - The Sequel. 
We started filming last in the summer of 2018 and have more to shoot this year before it’s impending release.