Foreigners in Bollywood

How accepting is the bollywood industry and the Indian public with foreigners who want to work in bollywood films?

Katrina Kaif seems to be the only (that i can think of at the moment) foreigner who has been successful and even then her talent is debated.

So many others ie Angela Zaveri (who made her debut with Akshaye Khanna), Upen Patel, Geeta Basra - am sure there are many more!

I've noticed alot times that ppl often criticise foreigners working in bollywood, over there accent when speaking hindi. But why is it ok for an Indian actor/actress to portray a Brit or an Amercian, yet have an Indian twang when speaking english but its not ok for a foreigner to speak hindi with a western twang?

When Hollywood can accept non-Americans with various accents from around the world ie Brit, Italian, Spanish etc then why can't Bollywood and Asian accept foreigners as well?

If any of the big Bollywood stars were critiscised for there accent and background like that in western countries, im sure some people would cry racism and discrimination.

To answer your question on why an actor or actress is ripped apart for their hindi,...well since they are in the hindi film industry, I expect them to have a grasp of the language just as foreign actors in hollywood should have a grasp on english

Now about an Indian playing a Brit or American, yes I agree with you there. These actors and actresses should take vocal lessons to limit or in some instances eradicate their Indian accent if they're playing the part of a foreigner. I watch movies where the top stars have been living in Britain or the US for all of their lives and laugh when I hear them speak. It's only fair that they also learn the language and its dialects.

Hollywood does accept non-Americans, but mostly whites (sorry but true), and those who do have an accent are limited in the roles they can play. Some like Javier Bardem are being recognized though👍🏼 (but he's Spanish so I don't know if that counts)

And yes, there would definitely be a cry of racism and then unfortunately US politics would get involved

I think the main thing is that an Indian/Spaniard with their accent does attempt to play a caucasian character like say a southern red neck in Hollywood. If they did their accent would definetly be criticized. There was a huge lashback when M Shaymlan cast a white boy to play the leas in The last Airbender since the character was an Asian kid. Simlarly for Prince of Persia. Its important that the artist fit the character he or she is playing.

Katrina had a lot of fans and people who dislike her. On pinkvilla people say cheap comments like why is she here and she shouldn't be here because she is not fully India, etc. But what is the problem in that? If Aish can work in Hollywood then why can't Kat work in Bollywood? Some people are extremely racist.

To be honest, I didn't even realise it was Javier Bardem in No country for old men. God he gave me the shivers in that!

urm....i dunt think i have a problem with accents...everyone has been bought up in a different society and hence , they have their own way of speaking.....but the problem occurs when the dialogue delivery/language is butchered because of the accent...ive seen tht happen with kangana and katrina.....the emotion/weight a particular phrase or word is not conveyed in the right way and hence, it becomes awkward...even unintentionally funny sometimes....with english...most indian actors pronounce and deliver english dialogues fairly well...so i dunt seem to have tht big a problem...

I think Bollywood is pretty accepting with foreigners working in bwood. u can't blame bollywood if a lot of these foreigners don't make it big . The public, i think is accepting as far as the actors/actoresses have talent and skill. I personally don't mind them as long as they can talk in proper hindi and can act. If they can't act, and can't talk in hindi, then im sorry but they shud take some acting classes and learn to speak hindi and deliver dialouges proper and with emotion.
No offence to katrina fans but when Katrina was giving tht speech in rajneeti, she barely had any emotions and she couldn't deliver her dialogues properly. it wasn't about the accent but one could tell she had no idea wat she was saying 😕 and as a viewer i can't help but critisize. (she's been in bwood for abt 3-4 years right?)

Originally posted by: anu-pre4eva

I think Bollywood is pretty accepting with foreigners working in bwood. u can't blame bollywood if a lot of these foreigners don't make it big . The public, i think is accepting as far as the actors/actoresses have talent and skill. I personally don't mind them as long as they can talk in proper hindi and can act. If they can't act, and can't talk in hindi, then im sorry but they shud take some acting classes and learn to speak hindi and deliver dialouges proper and with emotion.
No offence to katrina fans but when Katrina was giving tht speech in rajneeti, she barely had any emotions and she couldn't deliver her dialogues properly. it wasn't about the accent but one could tell she had no idea wat she was saying 😕 and as a viewer i can't help but critisize. (she's been in bwood for abt 3-4 years right?)

No lol 8 years, she debuted in the same year as Priyanka, in 2003 I think!

Originally posted by: lovePC

No lol 8 years, she debuted in the same year as Priyanka, in 2003 I think!

REALLY? and she still acts like that 😕 8 years is a longggggg time

Originally posted by: anu-pre4eva

REALLY? and she still acts like that 😕 8 years is a longggggg time

Yeah, she first release was Boom(2003)!I think she really needs acting classes😆!