Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan says he did not just want to come and shoot in India, but bring out the true essence by having an Indian character, and that is the reason Dimple Kapadia became an important part of his latest film, Tenet.

"I've always been struck with the spy genre, one of the things that is really fun about the genre is as an audience member, you get to travel the world, be it places you would never normally go and see things you would never normally see," Nolan told IANS while breaking down the reason behind the diverse cast of his latest film.

"One of the ways in which you make that meaningful and real is to have a very international cast, and have people who are from all over the world, or actors playing different nationalities," he added.

He continued: "For example, I didn't want to come to India and just use American actors and use Mumbai as a backdrop. I wanted to have an Indian character. So Dimple Kapadia in the character of Priya became a very important part of the film."

"Taking the audience on a journey, and giving them the feeling of having people (from) all around the world, it's fun. But it also adds to the stakes of the story because we are making a story that ultimately is about a threat. So the more of the world you get to experience, the more you get to engage with in the film," he shared.

Nolan's new film is a spy thriller that takes one on a thrilling time-bending mission with two secret agents, essayed by Robert Pattinson and John David Washington.

In the film, Dimple is seen as Priya, who is crucial to the narrative. Her character emerges as a deadly person, with various shades of grey.

The film also stars Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Clemence Poesy. It has been shot across seven countries -- India, the US, the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, and Norway. The Warner Bros. Pictures film released in India on December 4.