‘I Had No Worry About Getting A Bad Name’

‘I
enjoyed
my
fiery
exchanges
with
Akshay
Kumar,
who
was
extremely
gracious
and
generous
when
the
camera
was
not
rolling.’

‘I
enjoyed
locking
horns
with
him
in
court.’

British
actor

Simon
Paisley
Day plays
the
despicable
Brigadier-General
Reginald Dyer
in

Kesari
Chapter
2:
The
Untold
Story
Of
Jallianwala
Bagh.

In
a
candid
interview
with

Subhash
K
Jha,
he
says,
“I
am
ashamed
to
share
the
title
of
Englishman
with
him
and
would
urge
our
government
to
do
what
is
right
and
issue
a
proper
apology.”

How
did
the
role
of
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer land
in
your
lap?

I
auditioned
for
it!

Casting
Director
Des
Hamilton
had
previously
helped
to
cast
me
in
an
important
piece
of
British
television
drama
called

This
England,
which
dealt
with
the
UK
government’s
failures
during
the
COVID
pandemic.
I
had
played
Dominic
Cummings,
special
adviser
to
then
Prime
Minister
Boris
Johnson.

Des
invited
me
to
send
a
self-tape
audition
and
as
a
result
of
that,
I
had
a
Zoom
meeting
with
(Director)
Karan
Singh
Tyagi.
He
then
offered
me
the
role.

I
had
to
read
many
lines
in
Hindi,
a
language
of
which
I
was
entirely
ignorant.

I
was
provided
with
a
script
that
was
written
out
phonetically.

I
speak
French
and
German
—
as
well
as
my
mother
tongue,
English
—
so
I
was
fairly
confident
that
I
would
be
able
to
master
the
lines,
which
I
did.
But
it
was
only
with
the
help
of
the
wonderful
Vivek
Saini,
my
dialect
coach.

I
also
studied
Hindi
on
Duolingo,
so
that
I
could
understand
what
I
was
saying.

Dyer
was
a
fluent
Hindi
speaker,
having
grown
up
with
Indian
children,
so
I
had
to
work
very
hard
to
make
it
sound
authentic.

Were
you
worried
that
the
role
wouldn’t
make
you
Mr
Popular
among
Indian
audiences?

I
have
no
profile
in
Indian
cinema
or
popular
culture,
so
I
had
no
worry
about
getting
a
bad
name.

But
even
if
I
had
a
reputation
there,
I
would
still
have
jumped
at
the
role
because
the
only
reasons
not
to
accept
it
would
have
been
if
the
script
was
badly
written
or
the
film
was
painting
Dyer
as
anything
other
than
what
he
was
—
a
brutal,
cold-blooded
murderer.

I
know
there
are
actors
out
there
who
need
to
be
adored
and
who
only
want
to
play
heroes
and
lovers
but
I
have
never
been
cast
in
that
way.
Indeed,
I
often
get
cast
as
baddies
and
I
enjoy
it.

I
spend
most
of
my
life
trying
to
be
a
decent
person,
to
say
and
do
the
right
thing,
to
get
people
to
like
me,
so
it
is
actually
quite
releasing
—
purging
even
—
to
play
characters
who
behave
in
a
way
that
you
would
never
allow
yourself
to
behave.

I
don’t
mean
to
suggest
that
I
would
ever
behave
like
Dyer.

I
have
never
entertained
a
single
murderous
thought.

But
as
an
actor,
one’s
job
is
to
forget
oneself
and
be
immersed
in
the
body
and
head
of
another
person
and
to
enjoy
the
extremes
of
that
experience,
knowing
ultimately
that
it
is
only
make-believe
and
that
when
the
camera
stops
recording,
one
returns
to
reality.

You
brought
a
steely
will
to
the
character. 

Dyer
served
for
over
40
years
in
various
regiments
in
India.

I
have
no
military
experience
but
from
watching
war
films
and
speaking
to
the
older
generations
of
my
own
family,
I
have
come
to
understand
that,
without
rigid
discipline,
an
army
will
never
succeed.

Dyer
believed
in
discipline
above
everything,
and
he
was
effective
in
getting
his
men
to
do
his
bidding.
But
he
was
leading
his
troops
to
engage
in
the
absolute
opposite
of
a
fair
military
endeavour.

He
acted
cruelly
and
inhumanely,
disregarding
all
the
accepted
rules
of
engagement,
firing
on
unarmed
protesters,
failing
to
issue
warning
shots.

During
the
filming
of
the
massacre,
I
chose
to
play
Dyer
with
a
zealous
enjoyment
of
what
he
was
doing.

He
had
been
bullied
as
a
boy,
taunted
for
being
a
stutterer,
and
this
was
his
moment
for
revenge.

As
a
human
being,
how
do
you
feel
about
his
actions
on
that
fateful
day
in
Jallianwallah
Bagh?

I
am
appalled
at
what
the
man
did,
particularly
as
it
was
premeditated.

Even
if
it
had
been
a
knee-jerk
reaction
to
some
sudden
riot,
the
level
of
violence
would
still
have
been
unacceptable.

But
evidence
suggests
that
Dyer
had
planned
the
whole
thing
as
a
cold-blooded
slaughter
in
order
to
give
a
warning
sign
to
the
people
of
India
to
back
down
from
the
British
rule.

I
am
ashamed
to
share
the
title
of
Englishman
with
him
and
would
urge
our
government
to
do
what
is
right
and
issue
a
proper
apology.

The
word
‘regrettable’
simply
ducks
responsibility.

Yes,
the
act
was
regrettable
but
in
saying
that,
are
we
acknowledging
that
we
actually
regret
it?

Or
are
we
simply
describing
the
act
as
‘able
to
be
regretted’?
We
need
to
take
responsibility
and
say
sorry.
And
mean
it.

What
was
it
like
shooting
with
an
Indian
cast
and
crew?

It
was
unlike
anything
I
have
ever
done
before.
Acting
in
Hindi,
working
in
sometimes
unbearable
heat,
battling
stomach
troubles
—
all
these
things
were
challenging.

But
the
positives
outweighed
the
negatives.

I
enjoyed
my
fiery
exchanges
with
Akshay
Kumar,
who
was
extremely
gracious
and
generous
when
the
camera
was
not
rolling.

I
enjoyed
locking
horns
with
him
in
court.

R
Madhavan,
who
plays
my
lawyer,
was
enormous
fun.
We
had
many
moments
of
merriment
in
between
takes.

Filming
a
courtroom
battle
takes
days,
so
many
hours
of
sitting
on
hard,
wooden
chairs.

With
Madhavan
on
one
side
and
my
friend
Michael
Parr
(Major
Briggs)
on
the
other,
we
managed
to
jolly
each
other
along.
Michael
and
I
played
silly
word
games
and
did
crosswords
to
kill
time.

I
want
to
make
special
mention
of
my
new
friend
Karan
Singh
Tyagi,
without
whom
none
of
this
would
have
happened.

Not
only
did
he
come
up
with
the
idea
and
the
script,
he
captained
the
ship
through
sometimes
choppy
waters
and
always
with
humour,
patience
and
understanding.

He
gave
the
actors
constant
and
gentle
encouragement
and
was
respectful
and
appreciative
throughout.

I
think
he
is
an
incredibly
nice
man
and
an
even
better
director.
He
has
made
a
truly
superb
film
and
has
such
a
bright
future
ahead
of
him.

Did
you
get
to
see
India?

Not
nearly
enough.
My
daughter
Beatrice
joined
me
in
Mumbai
at
the
end
of
one
filming
stint
and
we
flew
to
Kerala,
where
we
enjoyed
a
week
at
the
coast
and
then
travelled
up
into
the
mountains
for
a
week
at
a
spice
plantation.

We
even
got
chased
by
elephants
in
the
forest!
Unforgettable
in
every
way.

Another
stint
of
filming
happened
in
Delhi
and
my
oldest
friend
Richard
flew
out
to
join
me.

We
had
a
lovely
week
visiting
the
hill
stations
north
of
Dehradun,
where
the
air
was
beautifully
cool
after
the
heat
in
Delhi.

I
know
that
my
wife
would
love
for
me
to
work
more
in
India
so
that
she,
a
bear
scientist
and
fabric
designer,
can
explore
India’s
extraordinary
biodiversity
while
I
stay
in
the
cities,
playing
more
baddies.
We
shall
see.

As
a
Shakespearean
actor,
do
you
prefer
theatre
to
film?

A
balance
is
nice.
I
miss
the
immediacy
of
performing
in
front
of
a
live
audience.

Generally,
theatre
is
all
about
the
actors
and
the
words,
so
you
feel
a
greater
sense
of
ownership
of
the
project.

When
you
are
filming,
you
are
aware
that
your
performance
is
only
going
to
be
as
good
as
the
editor
allows
it
to
be.

Ultimately,
it’s
the
visuals
and
the
soundtrack
that
carry
so
much
weight
in
cinema.

But
I
really
loved
filming
this
piece.
It
is
an
experience
I
shall
never
forget.

What
are
you
working
on
next?

I
am
playing
a
wizard
in

The
Witcher
for
Netflix.
I
have
to
ride
a
horse.
Another
new
challenge!

Would
you
like
to
do
more
Indian
films?

Yes,
if
I
am
to
stay
married.
My
wife
is
a
very
determined
woman.

And
I
do
love
Indian
food
more
than
any
other
world
cuisine.

Who
are
your
performing
idols?

Ralph
Fiennes
is
a
great
film
actor.

I
love
Jeff
Bridges,
Cate
Blanchett,
Judi
Dench…

But
the
ones
I
really
revere
are
all
dead,
like
Paul
Scofield,
Peter
Sellers,
Alec
Guiness,
Audrey
Hepburn…

I
think
I’m
a
bit
old
school.