In recent years we have been seeing a lot of white faces in Bollywood. From back up dancers to cameo roles going onto lead roles. I remember in a Govinda movie back in the day Samantha Fox made a cameo role and the Indian public loved it. This shows Bollywood is expanding on a huge scale, and keeping up with the growth of Hollywood. Although I’m still unaware of why most back up dancers are of western origin, maybe because they look good on screen as it’s good viewing pleasure for Indians, they’re cheaper to pay, I don’t know. But I do think it’s a very positive approach. Some may argue that it creates a lot of competition for female Indian back up dancers, but I don’t think so, Bollywood is so big that it caters for everyone.
What I loved to see was Hollywood actors taking interest in Bollywood. In the recent movie Kambakkht Ishq starring Akshay Kumar, we saw the likes of Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh aka Superman, and Holly Valance all playing cameo roles. These are very big names in the western world, and it’s a nice approach Bollywood have made to increase viewers of all ethnic backgrounds including white people.
In the movie Salaam-E-Ishq we saw Shannon Esra playing opposite Govinda. She did a great job as the confused westerner in this Indian culture. In Love Aaj Kal, Florence Brudenell-Bruce, former girlfriend of Jenson Button, played opposite Saif Ali Khan. She again did a great job showing off her blonde hair, looks very attractive and went well with the movie Love Aaj Kal as it’s a pretty modern script. We saw Liza Lazarus more recently in Veer, she again played a little part, and probably will disappear. I feel that these are the girls along with a few others that aren’t really in the industry for a career.
On the other hand we have actresses such as Hazel, and Gita Soto, both from England who are working hard to cling onto a career in Bollywood. Hazel has featured in MP3: Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar, and continues to work which also includes modelling. I’m not sure if she has landed a lead role yet, but I’m sure she probably will at some point. On the other hand Gita Soto has just went and did that, she’s playing a lead role in the movie Sale upto 50% with an all new cast. The movie is set to release some time this year. Gita Soto, who was seen in Salman Khans Veer, is playing a big part in revolutionising Bollywood by bringing in the western crowds into the cinema. This is definitely a big step for Bollywood in a very positive direction.
