There was a time when anglo-saxon actors had very little to do in our films. The occasional villainous role that required a white-skinned actor went to that fine actor Tom Alter or to Bob Cristo, the erstwhile security guard to Sanjay Khan who would snarl their way through hammy roles.
But then the foreign invasion into popular art started. A few years ago Lisa Ray who’s half-Indian left Bollywood for the lack of comforting opportunities in spite of a hit like Kasoor to her credit. Settled in England she played the lead in Deepa Mehta’s Bollywood/Hollywood and is now doing the same in Mehta’s River Moon.
Ayesha Shroff (Jackie Shroff’s wife) and Amala (married to Telugu star Nagarjuna) are two other half-Indian actresses who couldn’t find a secure place in Hindi films.
The spunky Shroff played the lead opposite Mohnish Behl in F.C. Mehra’s Teri Baahon Mein (a remake of Brooke Shields’ success story The Blue Lagoon) while the lovely Amala was widely praised for her performance opposite Kamal Hassan in the silent film Pushpak.
Actors with gora antecedents were shunned for a long time. Lagaan changed the way Hindi cinema looks at anglo-saxon actors.
The actress Rachel Shelley, though not a top actress in Britain became the first truly acceptable foreigner in our democratic land of countless opportunities.
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