What did Hugh say about India?

He recalled meeting an 11-year-old boy who introduced himself as a driver and his revelation was shocking for the actor.

During his recent appearance on the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hugh said, “In my early career, in my 20s, I did some very strange movies. I did this French movie in India in 1988, and It was a bit strange film. I reached Calcutta (Kolkata) alone and was told, ‘The driver will take you.’ With my bag, very sad. And then the little boy came and said, ‘Hello, sir, are you sure? Driver for the whole movie’ and I said, ‘Can you drive?’ ‘Yes, very good, sir, very good’, he replied.”

However, Grant has his own doubts after looking at his age, as he noted, “I had my doubts, but he drove me, and of course, within four days, crashed quite badly. Oh, no! Well, he was 11..”

The actor was talking about the French film La Nuit Bengali, which also stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak and Shabana Azmi in supporting roles. Directed by Nicholas Klotz, the family drama was shot in Kolkata in the winter of 1987.

‘India was a strange place in 1988…’

He shared his experience of visiting the country and said, “India was a strange place in 1988. He was fired from his job, poor guy. And then I bumped into him right at the end of the shoot. It was about two months I bumped into him on the road, ‘How are you?’ He said, ‘Oh, yes, sir, now I’m driving a school bus,'” he laughed.

Recently, Grant provided interesting insights into the upcoming film ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’, which is set to release in theaters on Valentine’s Day 2025.

According to Deadline, speaking during an appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show,’ Grant described the film as having a tone that is both comedic and deeply emotional, saying, “While being extremely funny, It’s very, very sad.”

This new installment is the fourth film in the beloved ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ series, with Grant reprising his role as the charming but flawed Daniel Cleaver alongside Renée Zellweger in the iconic title role.

Interestingly, Grant did not take part in the third film ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’, but he revealed that despite the lack of a clear role, the filmmakers were keen to include him in the latest project.

“I was not initially happy with the story of my character in the fourth film,” Grant admitted, adding that he collaborated with the producers to develop a more suitable narrative for Cleaver.

He said, “He’s 60 now; you can’t just let him walk down the King’s Road to keep an eye on young girls.”

The screenplay for ‘Mad About the Boy’ is written by Helen Fielding, the original author of the ‘Bridget Jones’ novels, and is based on her latest book published in 2013.

(With inputs from ANI)