<p>Four decades have passed since the late Amrish Puri played Mola Ram, the murderous priest in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984). The film, set in fictional parts of colonial India, drew on all things stereotyped about the country in western popular culture of the time. Puri’s antagonist, ripping hearts off victims to the chants of a raving cult, was a loosely imagined composite, a product of that time. The film was banned from release in India.</p>.<p>The hype around actor Dhanush’s big Hollywood entry – the Russo Brothers directed ‘The Gray Man’ – reflects a different time that is defined by calls for inclusiveness in creative expression. The National Award-winning actor had already broken into the international scene with the 2018 comedy, ‘The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir’. A US$-200 million Netflix original helmed by directors who made two ‘Avengers’ films, though, is a whole new level.</p>.<p>Dhanush plays Avik San, an assassin also known as Lone Wolf, in the film starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The build-up and arc make this an intriguing character despite a brief runtime. The film has had mixed reviews but the actor does work his understated charisma to make San at once ruthless, enigmatic and believable.</p>.<p>Late actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor was prolific in his collaboration with the Merchant-Ivory Productions, making a series of English films between the 1960s and 1980s. Rajinikanth was one of the few major Indian stars to have worked in a mainstream English-language film in pre-liberalisation India, in the very forgettable ‘Bloodstone’ ( 1988). Parts of the film, directed by Dwight H. Little, were also faithful to the Indian-exotica playbook – a princess, a curse and a stolen ruby among them.</p>.<p>All that has changed. Priyanka Chopra’s casting as Alex Parrish, the FBI recruit in the ABC series ‘Quantico’ (2015-18), was lauded for the diversity it inspired in other shows. Chopra herself said, in a Vanity Fair interview, that the half-Indian, half-American character could’ve been from any country – she was “ethnically ambiguous”. </p>.<p>In Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013), Amitabh Bachchan played Jewish gangster Meyer Wolfsheim, leaving some of the critics curious about this casting choice. The promotion for Deepika Padukone’s Hollywood turn opposite Vin Diesel in ‘XXX: Return of Xander Cage’ (2017) was also more in line with her star wattage than her character in the film or her Indian origins.</p>.<p>“Why Dhanush?” could, still, be a question. T he introduction that San gets from the Chris Evans character – “my Tamil friend” – apart, there’s nothing Indian about this hit-man. There’s nothing on offer with the accent either; the man has only a few lines in the film. </p>.<p>So, what’s a Tamil character doing in a film about CIA power-play? Unlike Puri in Spielberg’s India or Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Anupam Kher and Om Puri in English films where their Indianness was organic, or at least not disruptive, to the plot, the peg here appears to be the ethnicity of the actor and not necessarily the character. This could still be a good thing, a forced but necessary start that, with time, could make these casting decisions naturally inclusive.</p>.<p>The greater assimilation of Indians into western societies and their increasing presence in mainstream media have together contributed in debunking the older, flawed constructs of India. The Indian star in the cast could now be a natural addition, a sales pitch, or both.</p>.<p>Alia Bhatt (Netflix’s ‘Heart of Stone’) and Samantha Ruth Prabhu (‘Arrangements of Love with Downton Abbey’ director Philip John) are set to make their international debuts. Ali Fazal starred in ‘Death on the Nile’ this year, in a cast led by Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer. ‘Foundation’ (2021), the Apple TV series based on the Isaac Asimov novels, featured Kubbra Sait. The definitive superstar crossover could happen with Hrithik Roshan’s rumoured spy thriller.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, ahead of the release of ‘The Gray Man’, the film’s makers said San could still return in future f ilms set around the principal characters. Dhanush’s major-league entry is largely seen as the result of a new focus on diversity in the way the west tells its stories on film. The prospects it brings to the Indian market and the talent import it inspires will be a story told in sequels.</p>
<p>Four decades have passed since the late Amrish Puri played Mola Ram, the murderous priest in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984). The film, set in fictional parts of colonial India, drew on all things stereotyped about the country in western popular culture of the time. Puri’s antagonist, ripping hearts off victims to the chants of a raving cult, was a loosely imagined composite, a product of that time. The film was banned from release in India.</p>.<p>The hype around actor Dhanush’s big Hollywood entry – the Russo Brothers directed ‘The Gray Man’ – reflects a different time that is defined by calls for inclusiveness in creative expression. The National Award-winning actor had already broken into the international scene with the 2018 comedy, ‘The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir’. A US$-200 million Netflix original helmed by directors who made two ‘Avengers’ films, though, is a whole new level.</p>.<p>Dhanush plays Avik San, an assassin also known as Lone Wolf, in the film starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The build-up and arc make this an intriguing character despite a brief runtime. The film has had mixed reviews but the actor does work his understated charisma to make San at once ruthless, enigmatic and believable.</p>.<p>Late actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor was prolific in his collaboration with the Merchant-Ivory Productions, making a series of English films between the 1960s and 1980s. Rajinikanth was one of the few major Indian stars to have worked in a mainstream English-language film in pre-liberalisation India, in the very forgettable ‘Bloodstone’ ( 1988). Parts of the film, directed by Dwight H. Little, were also faithful to the Indian-exotica playbook – a princess, a curse and a stolen ruby among them.</p>.<p>All that has changed. Priyanka Chopra’s casting as Alex Parrish, the FBI recruit in the ABC series ‘Quantico’ (2015-18), was lauded for the diversity it inspired in other shows. Chopra herself said, in a Vanity Fair interview, that the half-Indian, half-American character could’ve been from any country – she was “ethnically ambiguous”. </p>.<p>In Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013), Amitabh Bachchan played Jewish gangster Meyer Wolfsheim, leaving some of the critics curious about this casting choice. The promotion for Deepika Padukone’s Hollywood turn opposite Vin Diesel in ‘XXX: Return of Xander Cage’ (2017) was also more in line with her star wattage than her character in the film or her Indian origins.</p>.<p>“Why Dhanush?” could, still, be a question. T he introduction that San gets from the Chris Evans character – “my Tamil friend” – apart, there’s nothing Indian about this hit-man. There’s nothing on offer with the accent either; the man has only a few lines in the film. </p>.<p>So, what’s a Tamil character doing in a film about CIA power-play? Unlike Puri in Spielberg’s India or Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Anupam Kher and Om Puri in English films where their Indianness was organic, or at least not disruptive, to the plot, the peg here appears to be the ethnicity of the actor and not necessarily the character. This could still be a good thing, a forced but necessary start that, with time, could make these casting decisions naturally inclusive.</p>.<p>The greater assimilation of Indians into western societies and their increasing presence in mainstream media have together contributed in debunking the older, flawed constructs of India. The Indian star in the cast could now be a natural addition, a sales pitch, or both.</p>.<p>Alia Bhatt (Netflix’s ‘Heart of Stone’) and Samantha Ruth Prabhu (‘Arrangements of Love with Downton Abbey’ director Philip John) are set to make their international debuts. Ali Fazal starred in ‘Death on the Nile’ this year, in a cast led by Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer. ‘Foundation’ (2021), the Apple TV series based on the Isaac Asimov novels, featured Kubbra Sait. The definitive superstar crossover could happen with Hrithik Roshan’s rumoured spy thriller.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, ahead of the release of ‘The Gray Man’, the film’s makers said San could still return in future f ilms set around the principal characters. Dhanush’s major-league entry is largely seen as the result of a new focus on diversity in the way the west tells its stories on film. The prospects it brings to the Indian market and the talent import it inspires will be a story told in sequels.</p>
