We use cookies for a variety of reasons detailed below. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored however this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the sites functionality. This document describes what information they gather, how we use it and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. "The roles of Indians in Hollywood are still fairly stereotypical for the most part."Īs is common practice with almost all professional websites, our site uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your device, to improve your experience. "Right now it's a "post 9/11/Obama/Slumdog Millionaire world and even though India is becoming a major economic power in the world, we should not got too carried away," he told Reuters in an email. comedian Asif Mandvi, who played the lead role of an Indian chef in "Today's Special," believes there are more roles for Asian actors than before, but admits that ethnicity will always be a roadblock. In this year's big hit "The Social Network", director David Fincher chose British actor Max Minghella to play the role of an Indian character. Pinto also has endorsement contracts and is working on three more Hollywood films, with actors such as Antonio Banderas and James Franco, but industry observers including Chopra pointed out that she didn't have much of a career in India to begin with.īut limits remain. While the big 2009 Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire, which was released in 2008, changed things a bit by ensuring that the West looked at India for stories, and Indian actors got noticed, plum roles for Indians in Hollywood remain illusive.įrieda Pinto has bagged top roles, first in Slumdog Millionaire and then Woody Allen's "You will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger" and Juliet Schnabel's "Miral." Indian actors have made sporadic appearances in Western films, but most of them have been bit parts in films that didn't really gain attention.įormer Miss World Aishwarya Rai, a Bollywood superstar, acted in a couple of films, as did several other mostly male stars such as Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, but none garnered much acclaim. "Indian audiences would watch a Hollywood film with a Bipasha Basu, rather than one that doesn't have an Indian connect," she added, referring to both Indians in their homeland as well as the Indian diaspora.Īn actor would be unable to balance a flourishing career in India with one in Hollywood, especially since it would be tough to shuttle between Mumbai and Los Angeles.Ĭhopra also said that while the growing Indian market will mean that there will be more roles for Indians in mainstream Hollywood, the scope of these roles will remain limited. "The Indian audience is increasing every day, not just in India, which is one of the fastest growing movie markets, but also in the US," said casting director Uma D'Cunha, who helped Joffe zero in on Basu. Bipasha Basu, who as one of Bollywood's most popular leading ladies also has her eyes set westwards, has won a role in Academy Award winningdirector Roland Joffe's next film, "Singularity." "Slumdog Millionaire" actor Anil Kapoor has landed a role in the next Mission Impossible film, while Irrfan Khan, who worked with Angelina Jolie in "A Mighty Heart," has bagged roles in both the next Spiderman film and Ang Lee's forthcoming "Life of Pi," Indian media reported. From "Spiderman" to "Mission Impossible," Bollywood actors are increasingly finding their way into mainstream Hollywood films.Īs Hollywood brings more Indian and Asian characters into its stories, established stars in India are now looking for a career in the West, hoping to make it big in an industry Bollywood looks up to for inspiration.
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