Dimple Kapadia to play a very small role in Nolan’s Tenet

It is no secret that Dimple Kapadia is set to make her international debut in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. For those who may not know, Nolan has directed some of the most revered contemporary classics, including Interstellar, Inception and the good (albeit slightly overrated) war film Dunkirk.

Kapadia, who has long given up on acting, decided to be part of an international project like Tenet is both amusing and revealing. Amusing because her indifference towards her career is well-known — she became India’s youngest heartthrob at age of 15 with the sensational Bobby, retired early to marry superstar Rajesh Khanna, returned to acting in the early 90s and gave some remarkable performances in Rudaali, Lekin and Drishti, and spent the rest of her career doing sub-standard work just to keep her kitchen fire burning.

“It has to be something inviting or fun for me to give so much time to it,” she had said once while promoting one of her films. Well, it looks like she found something in Tenet.

However, it remains unclear how prominent her role will be in a film that stars icons like Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Robert Pattinson and Aaron-Taylor Johnson. Chances are that the actress will have an extended cameo, much like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra had in The Great Gatsby, Mission Impossible and A Kid Like Jake, respectively. But Kapadia seemingly isn’t complaining.

Meanwhile, Nolan must be given due credit for ending Kapadia’s extended sabbatical. All that remains to be seen is whether her role in Tenet justifies her presence in the film, or whether it only reinforces the trend of Bollywood stars playing marginal roles in international films to make a fat paycheck.