Australian actress Nicole Kidman, who’s worked in blockbusters like Moulin Rouge and Eyes Wide Shut, might be seen in a Bollywood production before long. Rumy Jaffry, who’s directing Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai, is reportedly interested in getting a foreign face for a particular sequence, and it might be Kidman who becomes the latest Hollywood actress to get wooed by our desi filmmakers.
This week’s big budget release Rockstar also features a foreign face — Half-Czech, half-Pakistani Nargis Fakri; Brazillian model Giselli Monteiro acted in Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal, while Gemma Atkinson might also be seen in a Bollywood venture.
It’s not just actors and actresses though; from Akon to Kylie Minogue, even singers have lent their voices to our productions, and as boundaries diminish further, more artistes are expected to happily go desi. Filmmakers, though, insist it’s not just to add star value; it’s the script’s requirement that makes them get a foreign face, they say.
“It is the requirement of the story that makes a filmmaker attach a foreign name to his film. Everything is global today, even our films, so boundaries have faded,” says Jaffry. “And secondly, anything that is unique and has a good fan following sells with the masses. So yes, we want an international artiste for a particular sequence for our film, and talks are on with a few candidates, but I can’t disclose any details at this point.”
This viewpoint is seconded by Bhendi Bazaar Inc. director Ankush Bhatt, who also believes the script must take priority over hype. “One must go in for an international face only if the script demands it. The fact that your film features a foreigner alone won’t help it sell. People will like it only if it is relevant,” says Bhatt, who himself had roped in international model Caterina Lopez for a song in his film.
While Jaffry and Bhatt feel it’s the script and script alone that should justify the presence of a foreign face, Shah Rukh Khan says they can also be used to market a film better.
“I wanted to get Lady Gaga to sing for Ra.One, but our schedules didn’t match unfortunately. I’m sure we’ll work together sometime in the future though. Having an international celeb like her adds to the song, and it was completely our loss the deal didn’t work out,” SRK says.
Also, while filmmakers were reluctant to loosen their purse strings a couple of decades ago, even that is no constraint these days where budgets are as big as the stars they feature. So while SRK missed out on Lady Gaga, he did get Akon to croon Chammak Challo, so what if it cost him more than a crore.
“Akon was demanding `2 crore, and SRK wasn’t willing to shell out that much money for one song. So he convinced Akon that the song would make him an overnight star in India. The remuneration was then re-worked by Akon’s manager,” informs SRK’s spokesperson.
(with inputs from Reena Kapoor)