Phillip Noyce was surprised to see critics' 'totally different' reaction to Fast Charlie between US, India | Exclusive

Phillip Noyce is 74 years old. He has been making films for almost 50 years now, and he has no plans of stopping. The Australian filmmaker is back with a new film – Fast Charlie – which released in India earlier this month. Noyce spoke with DNA in an exclusive chat just after the film’s release where he spoke about the film’s reception and his longevity.

Noyce has made thrillers like Clear and Present Danger and Salt to name a few. He says that like them, Fast Charlie too, took a new life in India. “I was just looking at some of the critics’ entries yesterday. For Fast Charlie, and it wasn't like reading the American news. This was a totally different viewpoint, which was refreshing,” says the director, before adding, “It's still early times for me. I mean, only basically I'm waiting to see what the reception is in India.”

Noyce also has a lot of love for the Indian cine audience, calling them ‘the hungriest, the most enthusiastic, the most over the top, the most appreciative audience, anywhere on this planet’. He explains, “It’s not just for Bollywood, not just for Hollywood, but for all sorts of movies is quite amazing.”

He watched two of his films at film festivals in India in the past and he recalls the energy levels. “It's like watching them a new. It's like seeing things you never saw. Because they see such subtleties. They respond to all the jokes, they respond to the humour to the tension, you know, the very vocal,” says Noyce, adding, “The Indian audience consumes films in almost a manic way. It's not a leisure activities, because it's almost like a religion. If I can use that word lightly because it is. The crowd is very passionate here. No matter what the film is, it could be a Bollywood film an American film.”

Noyce is part of the Australian New Wave of filmmakers that also includes other celebrated names like George Miller, Peter Weir, Paul Cox, and Gillian Armstrong. Both him and Miller are still active in their 70s. Miller, 79, recently saw the release of Mad Max: Furiosa. Ask him the secret to this longevity and Noyce replies, “It's a privilege to ask Australians this. We grew up with all the cinemas being owned by American and British interests. So they played their movies. They didn't want to play or distribute Australian films. And so we developed an inferiority complex. We call it a cultural cringe where we thought, ‘Oh, that's too hard to make movies’. So when I grew up, not seeking not hearing the Australian accent, up on the big screen, no Australian stories made it to the big screen. Even television was all imported from America, and England. So when we started to make films and in the 70s it was a gift and a soldier. And we're making up for that time where we didn't make films at all. So there's still a ways to go.”

Fast Charlie stars Pierce Brosnan, James Caan (in his final film appearance), and Morena Baccarin. Brought to India by Panorama Studios andPVR Inox, the action thriller is running in select theatres across the country.

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