Nitin Ganatra “nearly acquired fired” from Charlie and the Chocolate Manufacturing unit after Johnny Depp acquired him “into bother”.
Nitin Ganatra on the Christmas Karma premiere
The 58-year-old actor portrayed Prince Pondicherry in Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s basic story and feared the worst after he went exploring on the set on the encouragement of his co-star – who led the solid as Willy Wonka – solely to by accident depart the realm he’d snuck off to lined in chocolate.
Talking completely to BANG Showbiz on the world premiere of his newest film Christmas Karma on Wednesday (12.11.25) evening at London’s Curzon Mayfair, he mentioned: “There are at all times humorous moments. Johnny Depp acquired me into bother — he gained’t even keep in mind this. I used to be doing Prince Pondicherry and I used to be lined in chocolate, my footwear, every little thing lined in chocolate.
“We had been sitting collectively and he goes, ‘Have you ever seen the vanishing hall?’ And I went, ‘No.’ And he mentioned, ‘Undergo that curtain. There’s a vanishing hall there.’
“So I did, and I went via the curtain. It was darkish, and I may see this crimson carpet that began to get additional and additional away till my head hit the ceiling. , that little vanishing hall that will get smaller and smaller.
“I hit my head, rotated, and realised I’d left chocolate footprints on the carpet. I ran out and went, ‘You nearly acquired me fired, Johnny…’
“He did — he nearly acquired me fired. We had enjoyable although. It was good to work with him.”
Regardless of not being invited to reprise his position in Paul King’s 2023 Wonka prequel, Ganatra mentioned he wasn’t disillusioned because it was “a special director.”
Nevertheless, he admitted he was upset about being killed off when he reunited with Tim for an episode of the primary collection of Wednesday.
He mentioned: “[Wonka] is a very completely different solid and a special director, however I did work with Tim Burton on Wednesday. I used to be upset I acquired killed off and didn’t get to be within the second season, which appears like such good enjoyable. I’ve labored with Tim Burton twice now. I auditioned for it like everybody else and I acquired the half.”
Nitin’s newest position sees him play a shopkeeper in Gurinder Chadha’s new festive Bollywood-inspired musical Christmas Karma, a contemporary tackle Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and he drew on his personal upbringing for the position.
He mentioned: “I play the shopkeeper — that’s my official title, the shopkeeper. That is the primary shopkeeper I’ve ever performed, which is a little bit of a breakthrough position for me. As an Asian actor, I’ve at all times averted taking part in shopkeepers — I’ve performed the occasional physician, by no means an accountant, thank God. However this one is particular. I feel Gurinder grew up in a newsagent, and so did I, so I acquired to make use of my very own story in there.”
Christmas Karma might be launched in cinemas on Friday (14.11.25).
