The grapevine has it that singer Akon will appear in an Anubhav Sinha film with Shahrukh Khan. Ben Kingsley was seen in Teen Patti recently, Kylie Minogue appeared in a track in Blue. Every time an international celebrity is roped in to appear in a Bollywood venture, there is immense hype that surrounds it. But on watching the film, you realise, disappointedly so, that the star has a teeny (almost insignificant) role to play in the film.
News of Akon’s entry into B-town seems to be generating excitement. “I am thrilled to hear this. The world is getting smaller and it’s nice to see Hollywood and Bollywood merging. Snoop Dogg and Akshay Kumar made magic with the song in Singh is Kinng. Ash also appeared in The Pink Panther 2. The trend works the other way around too,” says model Radhika Rao. “I won’t be surprised if Sandalwood follows suit.”
It can be annoying though, when the celeb is used as a bait for the audience and the ‘role’ is nothing to write home about. Says actor Aditya Singh, “It is all a marketing gimmick planned by the film producer. At times, the celeb’s role is completely unnecessary. What role did Kylie Minogue have to play in Blue? Her facial expressions in Chiggy Wiggy were silly and she has no clue how to dance to Indian music. Thankfully, Ben Kingsley had a key role in Teen Patti. That is how it should be.”
Others feel that using these stars to publicise the film can’t be such a bad thing. Says music director Gurukiran, “The appearance of big league international stars in Indian films, however brief it is, will open up doors for the Indian industry internationally. Bollywood is already quite popular the world over and I’m sure international celebs must be thrilled to be part of Indian projects too.”
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