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Western actors become stars too
Kaif is the latest in a long line of foreign-born Bollywood stars Thousands of Westerners arrive in Bollywood every year hoping to make it big. Many make it on to the set as extras. But this is not a new phenomenon.
Perhaps the first foreigner to attain cult status in Bollywood was Australian-born Nadia, also known as the "Fearless Nadia" or "the Hunterwali" (the woman with the whip).
She arrived in 1935-36 and became Bollywood's first stunt queen.
Film historian Jaiprakash Choksi says Nadia, who acted in about 35 films, was his "favourite heroine" in his childhood. "She would ride a horse wearing a mask, jump onto a moving train, whip 25-30 men single-handedly and beat them up with her bare hands if needed."
And an Italian actress by the name of Signorina Manelli played a vamp in the 1922 silent-era film Pati Bhakti - a film which advocated that women should be devoted to their husbands.
Over the years, there were others too. Indian-born American Tom Alter acted in about 60 films and made a career playing the "white man" who spoke in English-accented Hindi.
Alter is an Indian actor of American origin Then, of course, there was Helen, who floored generations of Indian film-goers with her sensuous dance moves. In her skimpy clothes, she found her way into the hearts of generations of Indian men with her belly dances and pelvic thrusts.
In recent years, perhaps no one has made it quite as big as the current reigning queen Katrina Kaif, who is half-British and speaks Hindi with a foreign accent.
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