Half- foreign, half- Indian heroines won’t do anymore. As Bollywood guns for global identity, the fad is to cast exotic beauties of wholly foreign origin in lead roles.
When Farhan Akhtar mooned over Spanish actress-model Ariadna Cabrol in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, their brief chemistry triggered off a fad. Bollywood was looking at a new formula-twister when it came to casting and the trend of introducing foreign beauties in entered the next level.
Half-Kashmiri, half-British Katrina Kaif may have kickstarted the fad of importing exotic stunners in Hindi films over the past decade, but the focus is shifting. With Hindi films increasingly getting westernised and gunning for global identity, our very Indian heroes want to romance girls with a 100-per cent foreigner tag.
Ariadna may have had a prop role in the multi-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, but what is following is a steady inflow of foreign-bred beauties in lead roles. Last week’s crossover comedy Speedy Singhs saw the debut of American-Canadian beauty Camilla Belle, a budding Hollywood actress who starred in 2008’s prehistoric adventure hit, 10,000 BC. South African model Candice Boucher makes her debut in the spy thriller Aazaan later this month. Half-Czech, half-Pakistani Nargis Fakhri has already created hype over her debut opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar, which releases in November. All this, despite Mexican beauty Barbara Mori’s debut in last year’s Kites flopping. What’s interesting is that girls of purely foreign origin were so far mostly acceptable only in item numbers.
Yana Gupta kickstarted that trend in 2003’s Dum with her Babuji dance. Spanish hottie Mayte Garcia was a hit in the Deedar de number of Dus. Brazilian beauty Bruna Abdalah did the Reham kare jig in Cash while Mariah Gomes raised the temperature with her item dance Neeyat in Teen Patti. That trend is changing now. Bollywood has come a long way since Raj Kapoor introduced Russian actress Kseniya Ryabinkina in Hindi films in Mera Naam Joker. RK’s decision to cast Kseniya as a trapeze artist in his 1972 opus created hype, but it was a one-off instance that hardly started a trend. This time, the trend seems here to stay.
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