Annual review

While some veteran actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri had bridged the gap long ago,the last decade had seen some Indian names cross over to the West. Tannishtha Chatterjee’s Brick Lane was popular at various festivals and Irrfan Khan starred alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart. His The Namesake with Tabu,directed my Mira Nair,established the actor’s credentials in Hollywood. His minor role as a cop in Slumdog,says Khan,helped keep his visibility in Hollywood afloat.

A R Rahman may have become the poster boy of the post-Oscar cheer,but one actor who has indeed benefited is Anil Kapoor. After a successful run of three decades,he rejuvenated his career by debuting in Hollywood. A major role in the popular American television series 24,the 54-year-old is also part of Boyle’s next directorial project. He,naturally,has Slumdog to thank for it all. “The exposure it gave me has widened my horizons—now,the world is the arena. I have an agent in Los Angeles now and there are some good offers coming by.”

While Kapoor’s international career was initialised by the Academy Award-winning film,Neha Dhupia started from scratch to become a known name in the US through her series,

Bollywood Hero. Her friendship with Jessica Simpson,whom the Indian diva hosted in Mumbai while she shot for the segment in her television series Price of Beauty,became tabloid news. Dhupia feels that our industry suffers from a fixation with the West. “My stint with Hollywood has benefited my career here as well,” she says.

An Indian artiste whose visibility is currently limited to international premieres and award nights is Mallika Sherawat. From a small town in Haryana to Los Angeles,the actress didn’t care for what people thought of her. She set her eyes first at the Bollywood to use it as a stepping stone. Now,Hollywood is where you will find her. Active on Twitter,Sherawat’s boasts of “lunching with Russell Simmons” on one day and “Dinner at Graham King’s” on another. Currently the lead actress in Love,Barack,a film on the American president Barack Obama,her tweets announce that she might bag another couple of prominent projects.

Freida Pinto,on the other hand,seems to have hit a jackpot with Slumdog where she didn’t even have to go via Bollywood. Today she spends more time in London and LA than in her hometown Mumbai,adorns the covers of prominent international fashion magazines and will be seen in Woody Allen’s next film You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.

We often overlook people who aren’t at the forefront of filmmaking. But every now and then,their work,phenomenal in quality,thrusts them onto the centre stage. Prime Focus,a global entertainment services group,has worked on animation,VFX and post-production work for prestigious films like Wolverine,Harry Potter,The Twilight Saga and Watchmen to name a few. However,it wasn’t till their latest project Avatar became the biggest hit of Hollywood that their efforts were noticed.

The way Anurag Kashyap changed the perception of Bollywood locally,with his highly acclaimed Dev.D and Gulaal,didn’t skip Boyle’s attention. Having spotted potential,he is now producing Kashyap’s next,Bombay Velvet,and is busy trying to rope in Aamir Khan. Kashyap smiles at the suggestion that he has now transitioned. “I’m right here; it’s Hollywood that has come to India,” he says.

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