When the West met the East
Exotic yet earthy, they are quite a special lot.
Born out of mixed parentage, these Bollywood stars get the best of both worlds. Be it half-Anglo Indian and Burmese Helen or part-Irish, part-Bengali Amla Akkineni or Mrs Nagarjuna. rediff.com takes a look at offshoots of this peculiar mix: Katrina Kaif Born in Hong Kong to a British mom and Kashmiri dad, Katrina Kaif was raised in Hawaii before she came to London and dabbled with modelling.Eventually, the Welcome beauty found her true calling in the make-believe world of Bollywood.
Dino Morea
His Italian hunk looks are no flash in the pan! While his father hails from Italy, Dino's mother is Indian in origin. The model-turned-actor wasn't sure his unusual name would click in the age of Khans and Kumars.For his debut, the dynamic Sagittarian rechristened himself Siddhant. Good sense, however, prevailed and Dino is back to being Dino.
Dia Mirza
There's more to Dia Mirza than her Hyderabad roots. When the former Miss Asia Pacific was six years old, her Bengali mother and German father, Frank Handrich, filed for divorce.After the latter's demise, Dia's mom remarried and the petite actress adopted her step-dad's surname, Mirza.
Lisa Ray
Her peaches 'n' cream complexion and light eyes tell stories of her European roots. But her surname 'Ray' is clearly Indian in origin. The Toronto-bred Lisa Ray is indeed half-Polish, from her mother's side, while her dad is a Bengali.Though her work in the Oscar-nominated Water was widely appreciated, the low-profile Ray is happy doing a handful of films at a time.
Despite so many languages to choose from, the Dor star prefers to converse in the Queen's tongue at home.
Celina Jaitley
The green-eyed sex symbol of Bollywood, Celina is part of the 'mixed' bandwagon as well.While her Punjabi father served in the Indian army, Celina's mom, a child psychologist, is of Afghani descent.
Tulip Joshi
On face value, Tulip Joshi is a pukka Mumbaikar. The star of Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai and Matrubhoomi, however, boasts of an interesting lineage.During one of his overseas business trips, Tulip's Gujarati daddy fell for her mom, a Lebanese local. As a kid, Tulip grew up to practice both Hinduism and Christianity.
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