Hello Everybody,
After weeks of tiring you endlessly on the situation prevalent in India and over the world, today I have come up with an interesting post for you. You’d surely agree with me when I say that India has made a mark in every field be it science, technology, education, IT & computers etc and certain names like Lakshmi Mittal, Sabeer Bhatia, Indra Nooyi, Kalpana Chawla, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw are among the names that come to your mind when I ask you to enlist the people who have brought India on to the world map.
But today I’m going to talk of people in the area of performing arts, who have made a mark in the foreign soil but with a difference…yes they have an Indian lineage behind them, some of them may be Indians who have had a successful innings as a model, actor or actress etc in Hindi films first but have gone on to carve a distinct identity for themselves in Hollywood,whether they may have been successful or not…but their effort is certainly laudable because they dared to think out of the box and not surprising that today Hollywood actors are being directed by their Indian counterparts!!
Hollywood actors may be married to an Indian while some others may be simply fascinated with the Indian name, while India may be the next most preferred destination for Hollywood for shoots, locales, actors etc etc…confused!!…read on to know more!!!
But today I’m going to talk of people in the area of performing arts, who have made a mark in the foreign soil but with a difference…yes they have an Indian lineage behind them, some of them may be Indians who have had a successful innings as a model, actor or actress etc in Hindi films first but have gone on to carve a distinct identity for themselves in Hollywood,whether they may have been successful or not…but their effort is certainly laudable because they dared to think out of the box and not surprising that today Hollywood actors are being directed by their Indian counterparts!!
Hollywood actors may be married to an Indian while some others may be simply fascinated with the Indian name, while India may be the next most preferred destination for Hollywood for shoots, locales, actors etc etc…confused!!…read on to know more!!!
The point that comes home across....is THE INDIAN CONNECTION behind it and that's the title of my post today!!
Well, what I’m going to first reveal to you would be news of sort…but here we are…did you know that legendary Hollywood actress Vivian Leigh was born in Darjeeling (India) in 1913!!!
That further goes to remind me that the beauty of Darjeeling was captured in Hollywood film: The Darjeeling Unlimited (2007) starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman who were but of course in India during the filming. Also the Angelina Jolie starrer The Mighty Heart (2007) was shot in Mumbai (India) at the Gateway of India, Colaba and railway stations. (By the way in the 007 film Octopussy, the theme revolves around James Bond coming on a mission to India with Kabir Bedi as the sardar in tow!!!)
By the way another Indian actor who acted in both the films mentioned above is none other than our very own Irrfan Khan. A versatile Indian actor who has made a place for himself in the foreign shores by playing a variety of roles like – The Warrior, The Mighty Heart, The Darjeeling Unlimited and in films which are due for release like Shantaram, NewYork - I love you, Slumdog Millionnaire etc. (Psst... Do you know that Shantaram also stars Johnny Depp!!!)
And now that brings me to the director of Shantaram, yes she is none other than Mira Nair, yes the same director who gave us a platter of films with an added variety – Mississipi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair, The Namesake, New York – I Love You and of course two of her most awaited films which have the bigwigs of Hollywood, they are Amelia which stars Richard Gere, Ewan Mcgregor and Hillary Swank & Shantaram which stars Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan, who finally makes his debut in Hollywood!!!
Talk of directors, then we can’t possibly miss out the other two outstanding women who join the bandwagon of the leading directors overseas…yes they are none other than Gurinder Chaddha and Deepa Mehta. Gurinder Chadha’s films talk about the dilemma’s of Punjabi’s settled abroad (remember Keira Knightley who acted in Bend it Like Beckham!!!) whereas Deepa Mehta’s films interpret the elements of nature in the human form namely –Fire, Earth and Water (English film nominated for the Oscar….and John Abraham was in it too!!) etc.
Now the reverse is coming true, talk of female directors, can male directors be left far behind?? No and that’s precisely am coming to…take Manoj Night Shyamalan, Shekhar Kapur and Tarsem Singh!! Manoj Night Shyamalan is one of the most successful directors in Hollywood who has worked with the likes of Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Adrien Brody, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg in The Sixth Sense, The Unbreakable, Signs, The Happening etc and many other films. When you talk of Shyamalan, you cannot possibly miss out our very own Shekhar Kapur who avowed the international audience with his Hollywood directorial debut in the much acclaimed film Elizabeth which may not have earned him an Oscar nomination but the leading lady in both his films, Cate Blanchett was nominated for the Oscars on both occasions! His next film The Four Feathers may have been a dampener but once again he came with a bang with the sequel of Elizabeth. And talk about Tarsem Singh, his film The Cell won him critical acclaim world wide and two more are in the pipeline!
Now that we have spoken of directors, can there be a situation where we don’t have a producer!!! Uh certainly not….Ashok Amritraj, is one of the most successful Indian producers in Hollywood…now if I go on to list out the films it’d take up the whole blog (run a google search and you’d know what I’m talking about!!)
That further goes to remind me that the beauty of Darjeeling was captured in Hollywood film: The Darjeeling Unlimited (2007) starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman who were but of course in India during the filming. Also the Angelina Jolie starrer The Mighty Heart (2007) was shot in Mumbai (India) at the Gateway of India, Colaba and railway stations. (By the way in the 007 film Octopussy, the theme revolves around James Bond coming on a mission to India with Kabir Bedi as the sardar in tow!!!)
By the way another Indian actor who acted in both the films mentioned above is none other than our very own Irrfan Khan. A versatile Indian actor who has made a place for himself in the foreign shores by playing a variety of roles like – The Warrior, The Mighty Heart, The Darjeeling Unlimited and in films which are due for release like Shantaram, NewYork - I love you, Slumdog Millionnaire etc. (Psst... Do you know that Shantaram also stars Johnny Depp!!!)
And now that brings me to the director of Shantaram, yes she is none other than Mira Nair, yes the same director who gave us a platter of films with an added variety – Mississipi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair, The Namesake, New York – I Love You and of course two of her most awaited films which have the bigwigs of Hollywood, they are Amelia which stars Richard Gere, Ewan Mcgregor and Hillary Swank & Shantaram which stars Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan, who finally makes his debut in Hollywood!!!
Talk of directors, then we can’t possibly miss out the other two outstanding women who join the bandwagon of the leading directors overseas…yes they are none other than Gurinder Chaddha and Deepa Mehta. Gurinder Chadha’s films talk about the dilemma’s of Punjabi’s settled abroad (remember Keira Knightley who acted in Bend it Like Beckham!!!) whereas Deepa Mehta’s films interpret the elements of nature in the human form namely –Fire, Earth and Water (English film nominated for the Oscar….and John Abraham was in it too!!) etc.
Now the reverse is coming true, talk of female directors, can male directors be left far behind?? No and that’s precisely am coming to…take Manoj Night Shyamalan, Shekhar Kapur and Tarsem Singh!! Manoj Night Shyamalan is one of the most successful directors in Hollywood who has worked with the likes of Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Adrien Brody, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg in The Sixth Sense, The Unbreakable, Signs, The Happening etc and many other films. When you talk of Shyamalan, you cannot possibly miss out our very own Shekhar Kapur who avowed the international audience with his Hollywood directorial debut in the much acclaimed film Elizabeth which may not have earned him an Oscar nomination but the leading lady in both his films, Cate Blanchett was nominated for the Oscars on both occasions! His next film The Four Feathers may have been a dampener but once again he came with a bang with the sequel of Elizabeth. And talk about Tarsem Singh, his film The Cell won him critical acclaim world wide and two more are in the pipeline!
Now that we have spoken of directors, can there be a situation where we don’t have a producer!!! Uh certainly not….Ashok Amritraj, is one of the most successful Indian producers in Hollywood…now if I go on to list out the films it’d take up the whole blog (run a google search and you’d know what I’m talking about!!)
Uh...and you thought this was the end of it then hold it.....wait on for more....but next week, same day!!! Read the concluding part of this post next week.
Love, Sonyaa
(P.S. Till then do write in and share your precious views and comments with us!)
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