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Even for Americans unfamiliar with Telugu-language cinema,the recent Tollywood filmRRRprovides a handful of familiar faces.
The blackhearted colonial governor is played by Ray Stevenson of HBOsRome.
His bloodthirsty wife, former Bond girl Alison Doody.
But their black-suited henchman might be new … unless you have an intimate knowledge of Indian pop culture.
As he explains, It was always a dream I had, to be an evil British colonial bastard.
Sonnenblicks story begins witha fateful viewing ofLagaan, the historical epic that became an Oscar-nominated crossover success in 2001.
I didnt really see myself succeeding in worldly life.
Sonnenblick saw a glimpse of a whole new world.
The singing, the dancing, the sense of community he had never seen anything like it before.
So he immersed himself in Indian culture, mainlining more than 150 Bollywood movies, even learning Hindi.
I just felt there was something over there that I needed, he says.
He visited for the first time in 2005.
Like generations of Westerners before him, his entrance to India came as a backpacker seeking spiritual enlightenment.
I love the camp of the entertainment just as much as I love the spiritual legacy, he says.
Its the sacred and the profane all at once.
He stayed for eight months.
When he returned to California, it no longer felt like home.
He knew he needed to go back.
Back home, acting was something of a hidden ambition.
I never really had the guts to go and struggle in Hollywood, he says.
But he was also making a business calculation.
The horrific legacy of British colonialism had made redcoats a stock villain in Indian cinema.
He thought back toLagaan.
A white actor who was already in India, and who already spoke the language?
Well, they could expect to be booked and busy.
I could see there was a niche for someone like me, Sonnenblick says.
However, the first years were tough.
Shes now his wife.
It aired five nights a week and was a top-10 program in the ratings.
They realized they didnt have anyone as good as me to bring on, Sonnenblick says.
All told, he was in around 200 episodes, and he got to die twice.
You know youve had a good character when the death is appropriately macabre, he says.
Since then, nearly half of his onscreen roles have been British baddies.
Known as Tollywood, the Telugu industry is based in Hyderabad, 450 miles southeast of Mumbai.
Things happen a little more smoothly in the south, Sonnenblick says.
Theres less yelling and cursing on set.
Director S. S. Rajamouli is an auteur who has a vision for every inch of every frame.
As an actor, Sonnenblick says, your job is just to surrender completely.
Around 2017, Sonnenblicks career started to pick up.
Its like the stock market: You stay invested and you end up doing okay in the long run.
His British accent is pretty good, by the way.
Theres not a lot of Americans who can do a good British accent while speaking Hindi.
It comes in handy, he says.
Over the years, he has become close with the handful of other Western actors working in Indian cinema.
Oddly enough, theres not a lot of actual Brits; most of them are American.
Theres a lot of camaraderie.
Their biggest concern is losing parts to backpackers on tourist visas who are willing to work dirt cheap.
There is an irony here.
Im benefiting from a lot of white-male-foreigner privilege by being here, Sonnenblick says.
I had just thought I was kind of a schmuck, he says.
(He has given a TEDx Talk in Ahmedabad on the subject.)
Sonnenblick still returns to California every few years to visit his family.
Even before COVID, it felt deserted and quiet, he says.
Theres nothing going on on the streets.
I just feel like its hugging me.
