British actor Hugh Grant took the stage at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) 2025 on Saturday to look back at the time spent in India shooting for a project in 1988 and reflecting on his connection with the country, saying he is most probably “half-Indian”.
Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025: Hugh Grant in conversation with Rahul Khanna. Hugh Grant on spending time in India
During a conversation with Rahul Khanna at the summit, Hugh spoke about his first visit to India back in 1988. He was in the country to shoot La Nuit Bengali (The Bengali Night) in Kolkata (then Calcutta).
“I shot a very arty film in 1988 in Calcutta. It never really had much of a release. I had to pay to see it myself,” he said while walking down memory lane.
Talking about his experience of filming in India, he said, “I thoroughly enjoyed being in Calcutta. People said, Hugh it will be a culture shock.. And it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed being in Kolkata. I, for some reason, got swept into Kolkata high society, cocktail parties and played polo… I didn’t know that life existed anywhere, but it existed… I had a lovely time.”
When it comes to Indian cinema, Hugh admitted that he isn’t very familiar with it, though he has watched many films made by Satyajit Ray.
“I have seen bits of Satyajit Ray as we were using his studio. He was a great genius. But I can’t pretend that I’ve seen a lot of Bollywood.”
On India connect
In a candid moment, the British actor revealed that his father was born in India, joking that it technically makes him “half-Indian.” He was a soldier, born in British India in 1928.
“My father was a soldier. In fact, he was born in India. He is now 97. I had to find his birth certificate for some visa application, and it was really tough. It was some obscure town in the north of India. It may well be Pakistan, now,” said the actor, adding, “He was born in either India or Pakistan. I guess that makes me half Indian, really.”
About Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant gained fame with romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, About a Boy, Two Weeks Notice, Love Actually and Music and Lyrics.
The actor quipped that he has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murderers, often to the greatest acclaim of his career, such as in Heretic.