Apart from Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra, no other major Indian actor has been given substantial roles in American or European cinema. Om’s peer Naseeruddin Shah disgraced himself in A League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Anil Kapoor was seen in a clownish cameo in Mission Impossible and when I had asked him if he would do something so silly in a Hindi film, he admitted he wouldn’t.
Even the mighty Amitabh Bachchan did a glorified cameo with Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 misfire The Great Gatsby.
The latest Indian actor to succumb to the firangi bait is Ali Fazal. The actor from Metro In Dino is seen for no more than five minutes in the new American film Rulebreakers directed by Bill Guttentag, about a bunch of girls from Afghanistan “daring” to compete in international competitions for robotics engineering.
Ali Fazal barely gets glimpsed in this chick flick.
What prompts our actors to agree to do fleeting appearances in international projects? Irrfan Khan, who did some notable films outside India like The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, and A Mighty Heart, never allowed himself to be lured into doing peripheral parts in international projects.
“Why should I be flattered for being offered bit roles in international projects when I am doing pivotal parts at home?” Irrfan told me.
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Irrfan almost didn’t do Shoojit Sircar’s Piku as a film by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner) clashed with the Piku dates. He preferred Shoojit Sircar over Ridley Scott. In 2014, Irrfan opted out of the Ridley Scott sci-fi spectacle The Martian, which later released to raves.
Irrfan even met the director Ridley Scott, who had seen Irrfan in The Lunchbox. Scott offered Irrfan the role of a NASA scientist. It was eventually played by the British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor. This was not the first time Irrfan was offered a role by Ridley Scott. He had earlier offered Irrfan a part in a film with Russell Crowe.
In an unpublished conversation, Irrfan said to this writer, “I never prioritize my international projects over my Indian commitments. If there is a clash, then the Indian project gets my priority. I won’t allow myself to get carried away by some attention in the West. Every project is equally important. But when it comes to choosing an offer at home over an offer abroad, there is really no choice.”
Salman Khan has the last word on Indian actors in the West. “I’ve had quite a few offers from the West. But nothing that would tempt me to abandon my commitments at home and run to Hollywood. Why should I? I am very happy being loved in India.”
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