QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD
Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.
In the post-British era, many foreigners made India their home as they fell in love with the country and its rich culture. Quite a few of them entered the Hindi film industry as character artists or dancers. Of course, some like Tom Alter, Bob Christo, Suzanne Bernert, Alex O’Nell, etc made a name for themselves. One such actor, who made India his home and acting his profession, is J. Brandon Hill.
The name might sound like some old British officer but Hill is known for portraying mostly negative roles in Bollywood since the last two decades. He invariably, plays a ‘firangi’ henchman or a smuggler, a fraud businessman to even a pre-independence British officer that his name resembles. Having said that, he didn’t attain celebrity status like his seniors Tom Alter and Bob Christo.
Brandon Hill’s journey to India and Bollywood is quite interesting. One of his earlier hits, where he played a small cameo, is still remembered till date. We will disclose its name later to retain some suspense element in our readers. So, let’s get going with Brandon’s background.
J. Brandon Hill was born in the United States in 1970. He developed interest towards theatre since childhood. Even as a kid, he was attracted towards India and never thought that one day, this country will become his permanent home.
It is this love that brought him to India as a visitor and at that point, he had no plans of becoming an actor here, though he was active in plays in the US as well as England. Actually, Hill had no filmy background until he got his first break in Bollywood. He considers himself lucky that he bagged his first film with the biggest production house of Bollywood: Yashraj Films (YRF).
His debut movie was YRF’s Bunty Aur Babli (2005), which remains his most memorable role till date. Hill plays a billionaire foreigner, who tries to purchase the Taj Mahal on lease from the con-couple Bunty and Babli.
The way Brandon bagged Bunty Aur Babli is also quite interesting. While in Mumbai, he was strolling down the streets of Colaba, when someone approached him and asked if he would like to do a Hindi film.
Next, Hill got a chance to meet the director, Shaad Ali. After a casual hi and hello, he gave an audition at Flimcity and his tape was sent to Yash Chopra. During the audition, Brandon Hill was informed that Yash Chopra was the Steven Spielberg of India. It was only later that he realized that Chopra was actually the king of romance in Bollywood.
After the audition, J. Brandon Hill met Shaad Ali at his home. He was distracted by his two dogs, who would jump on him. However, this visit was fruitful as Shaad confirmed to Hill that he was doing Bunty Aur Babli.
While shooting his scene with Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, Hill noticed that the lead pair were improvising every scene. Hill understood their point of view and contributed in his own way.
His testing time came when the crew was slightly tensed while shooting with Bollywood’s biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Brandon had never met Bachchan Senior but had heard about his stardom and expected him to come late on the sets and throw tantrums. Surprisingly, Amitabh not only arrived on time but also asked for multiple rehearsals.
The success of Bunty Aur Babli lend due recognition to J. Brandon Hill. Earlier, he would be stopped him on the road and asked if he is WWE wrestler ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. After the film hit theatres, people would stop him and ask him in jest if they could help him buy Taj Mahal or Qutub Minar.
Not many know that Hill had appeared in a Rasna commercial with superstar Hrithik Roshan. He played a wrestler while Hrithik reprised his character from Koi Mil Gaya (2003). At first, Hrithik is afraid of him but after having Rasna, defeats him in the wrestling match.
After Bunty Aur Babli, Brandon’s next project was the television serial Hotel Kingston, in which he played a chef. Later, Hill worked as an ‘Angrez’ in various languages apart from Hindi. His filmography comprises notable films like Awarapan (2007), Kailashey Kelenkari (2007), Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009), Tum Mile (2009), Veer (2010), Crook (2010), Dum Maro Dum (2011), Double Dhamaal (2011), Desi Boyz (2011), Agent Vinod (2012), Yaariyan (2014), Lingaa (2014), Gang Of Ghosts (2014), Sandook (2015), Phantom (2015), Calendars Girls (2015), etc
As aforementioned, Hill mostly played a foreigner with negative shades, but his characters weren’t as impactful as Bunty Aur Babli. It was only in 2015 that he played a short but impactful real-life character in a Marathi film. The movie was Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush starring Subodh Bhave. It was a biopic on the great freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak, in which Brandon Hill played the British Officer W. C Rand.
History connoisseurs will remember W.C Rand as the British officer cum plague commissioner in Pune during the pandemic. Rand is said to have misused his post and treated the innocent Indians badly. Later, he was shot dead by Chapekar Brothers for this injustice. This remains an important yet underrated chapter in history of India’s freedom struggle. Thus, when Brandon Hill played Rand, he received due appreciation for that villainous character. Another memorable role was in The Dark Secrets Of Tonhi (2014), which was based on black magic.
After being away from theatre for long time, Hill returned on stage in 2014 with Preeta Mathur and the Ank Theatre Group in the Shakespearean play Much Ado About Nothing. Apart from Bollywood movies and television shows, J. Brandon Hill made a mark on the OTT platform as well with popular series like Bose: Dead/ Alive (2017), and Rocket Boys (2022).
Besides his acting profession, Brandon Hill also works for a social cause and has contributed towards the rehabilitation and welfare of sex workers. Being actively involved with SAI, he makes it a point to visit the red-light area of Kamathipura, Mumbai and interact with the sex workers.
Today, J. Brandon Hill is active in films, television and web series but his first love remains theatre. The American born actor, who made India his home two decades ago, dislikes being asked if he misses the US. For him, India is his home!!
© 2024 chitravedh All rights reserved.
All images courtesy Internet
COMMENTS