Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Reality check for Dev Patel

I read Dev Patel's comments regarding racism in Hollywood with great interest. What our Bachchoo Patel has failed to understand is that Hollywood is almost completely controlled by Jews and their white associates. There really are no roles for Asians and that's it! How many roles would Bollywood offer Tom Cruise ( if they could afford him in the first place?). The poor Patel boy must have got really carried away after the world wide success of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and expected Hollywood agents to line up with hot scripts for him to pick. Someone should have told him gently... very gently... that Boyle cast him in the movie because it was a great fit - that's it. Patel is not a matinee idol and no matter how talented he is, his choice of roles will remain restricted to ( as he has accurately figured), terrorist, cab driver, smart geek. It really doesn't get much better than that. He is naively hoping that casting directors will be less focused on colour - dream on, darling. Even the great Omar Sharif had to look for a regular day job once Hollywood was done with him.
Which is why we must respect our top stars for not crawling all the way to Hollywood, begging for breaks. If Hollywood has nothing substantial to offer SRK, Bachchan, Salman and Aamir - it is Hollywood's loss. These guys are superstars in Bollywood with a fan base of millions across the world. Why should they settle for stereotypical roles designed to project Asians in a certain light ( I am not using the word 'negative'). Poor Patel. He is really stuck - like the proverbial dhobi ka kutta - neither here nor there. I mean, Bollywood isn't queuing up to sign him, either. If you ask me, the smartest 'import' around is 'Omi' - the Chatur from 3 Idiots. He figured out fast enough his future is here. Today the guy anchors tv shows, has bagged several desi roles, lost weight, is losing his accent.... SMART! Perhaps Patel's new film, 'The Last Airbender', will do the trick. But hey - it doesn't help the cause if Patel keeps up the racist charge against Hollywood honchos. The doors will slam on his face real hard. Then what? Taiwanese cinema , maybe?

46 comments:

Mystical Taurean said...

Congratulations on your 100th blog this year...
Yes, i guess Patel is too obsessed with Hollywood, It doesn't work. He might be better off working in india :)

anamika said...

De!!! This is news to me...but interesting one:D

http://www.wiseshe.com

Anonymous said...

Indians should stop using race card for everything.Freida pinto who is also an indian is doing much better than most of the white actress career wise.she is playing lead role in 2 big budget films like Immortals($80 mill),Rise of apes($95 mill) and has already worked with best directors like woody and julian schnabel.

Sudhanshoo said...

I can bet SRK, Aamir, Mr Big B and all our directors are no match to Hollywood. Quality is important after-all and we seldom produce that. I can also bet that all our idols dream of adulation from the West as much as they receive it from fans here. In a way, you are saying: hey we cant match those guys anyways in quality so lets be happy with whatever crap we produce.

Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

This is no news to me. I've been hearing stuff about this boy. Apparently, now he's planning to marry Freida in India only. And they've commercialized this in a very huge way. I guess lack of publicity last year forced them to concoct this 'so called marriage show'. As far as Freida is concerned, she surely knows how to get full attention. Earlier too she was in the news because of ditching her boyfriend/hubby...not sure who exactly he was but she certainly got enormous publicity for that and now this...

After the success of Slum, these people have no life!

Anonymous said...

@divya virmani:Im sick of backward indians like u who can't even be happy for the success of ur own country girl..One thing most of the white wannabe indians need to understand is pinto is appreciated in west because she corresponds to there beauty ideals.All those so called indian beauties like kareena or katrina would never be considered as even average looking in west

Vijay said...

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a hindu seeker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

@Lolita... Lady, firstly calm down! Secondly, if you think Freida Pinto is a beauty then you need a reality check. She's no better than an average girl. Yup, her luck was amazing at the time and she got a break w/ Slum. Glad she made our country proud. And heck no, not comparing her to Kareena or Katrina. Both are plastic for me.

And white wannabe Indians? Are you serious? What do you know about Indians living in abroad? Who have you met? Have you seen how we celebrate every single festival here? Have you come across how we follow every single tradition?

Anonymous said...

@divya: lol if freida is not attractive why would she be considered as one the most stunning women in the world by western media and ppl there.Do u think a director like woody allen or even a production company like fox studio would hire for there big budget film(Rise of apes) if she is so avg as many indians say.I wish u would look at ur face in mirror before commenting about others look.Like many other crab mentality indians ur too jealous of pinto's fame in the west

Anonymous said...

@lolita:well said baby.The only ones who make hatred/racist comments against freida are all indians or some other south asians who can't digest the fact tat she has become more popular than all there stupid bolly stars.Just look at any of pinto's post in rediff.Almost all the comments are like she is ugly/black/dark/ housemaid.But luckily for girls like freida and mindy they don't need to be in a racist country like india to be successful.

a hindu seeker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

@krunal:Are u so dumb to compare pink panther with a successful franchise like apes prequel?..first of all ash played only supporting role in pink panther.But pinto is playing leading role in two of the most anticipated 3d films of 2011 like rise of apes and immortals...kareena and katrina won all those titles only frm indian magazines(where even a pig would be considered as beautiful if it looks white)

Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

@Krunal, couldn't agree more!
@Adman, if it wasn't for Slum, you would have never even looked at her. Only because she was casted in Oscar winning film, you are going gaga over her. And I guess the only reason she got a chance in those two movies is because she was supremely famous at the time. People like you want to see her more and there you go, dream come true.

Fox or the director of Slum did not pick her because of her looks, they only picked her because of her acting skills. Which, I'm sorry but was no where to be seen. Dev Patel is a good actor and so is Anil kapoor but she barely had to show off her skills.

Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

@Krunal, couldn't agree more!
@Adman, if it wasn't for Slum, you would have never even looked at her. Only because she was casted in Oscar winning film, you are going gaga over her. And I guess the only reason she got a chance in those two movies is because she was supremely famous at the time. People like you want to see her more and there you go, dream come true.

Fox or the director of Slum did not pick her because of her looks, they only picked her because of her acting skills. Which, I'm sorry but was no where to be seen. Dev Patel is a good actor and so is Anil kapoor but she barely had to show off her skills.

a hindu seeker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

@divya:ur once again proving tat a ur dumb bitch.pinto was hired for immortals and rise of apes only this year.why would they hire a avg looking girl tat too for the role of greek and mexican girl when there lot of white actress who are much popular than pinto?..if i go by ur theory then megan fox and rachel bilson should be getting all these roles considering the fact tat they get much more media coverage than pinto.freida is doing much better than most of the famous white actresses despite being an indian.Before a month forbes listed her as the 2nd most wanted minority actress in holly behind zoe saldana.Do u think a popular cosmetic brand like loreal would make her as there international brand ambassador if she is avg?.. pinto commercials are shown in all the countries in the world except for racist india

Divya (Virmani) Chadda said...

@Adman,
The language you used clearly shows you are a true WHITE WANNABE INDIAN [actually non-Indian] living in US.

Well, mister, you may enjoy Pinto's performance in the two upcoming movies. I'm okay with the fact that 'she's just an average girl'.

@Krunal,
very well said! Adman proved everything you wrote in your previous comment...

Unknown said...

MAY I PLEASE SAY " SHOBHA DE YOU ARE A NEGATIVE WOMAN, NOT A REAL JOURNALIST JUDGING BY THE FACT THAT YOUR ARTICLE SOUNDS LIKE A REJECTED BITTER TEENAGER! STOP GIVING DEV A REALITY CHECK..INSTEAD GIVE YOURSELF ONE! YOU WERE NEVER A GOOD JOURNALIST AND NO MATTER HOW SELF RIGHTEOUS YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU NEVER WILL BE A GOOD ONE!"
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A LOT MORE TO YOU BUT HONESTLY I DONT THINK YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND. GOD I PRAY YOU READ THIS!

a hindu seeker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
चंद्रमौलेश्वर प्रसाद said...

nice civilised comments :)

Anonymous said...

@krunal:lol why would she do a crappy indian films when best directors in holly are casting her for there films?..ur copycat bolly directors could never make a masterpiece like slumdog....................@divya:Im sure americans have better taste than fair skin obsessed indians like u. pinto has looks which will be appreciated in US.

Anonymous said...

As an non indian(french) fan of FP I have noticed many indians say hateful things about her and cite aishwarya and karina as more beautiful.I looked up to these two ladies and yes aishwarya is beautiful but she wears too much of makeup.I Prefer FP's high cheekbone and lively face.karina on the other hand is no beauty.she has huge face and big head and very masculine jaws. Look at perfect symmetry of freida's face.All features are nice balanced and her cheekbones are to die for.Her is figure is great too and to top it off she has that million dollar smile.Indians should be proud of her

The Panorama said...

I think it was brave of Dev Patel to come out with his statements. Just because the great Omar Sharif had to get a regular job after Hollywood, that makes it ok to cast Asian actors in stereotyped roles? Sorry,ms De, I don't agree. Hollywood needs to change with the times. I mean, America elected Barack Obama to symbolise change, so why should we accept such attitudes as are prevalent in Hollywood?
Dev is right about racism. Please don't mock the poor boy, ms De. He is talented and deserves to be treated better.

Anonymous said...

@adman:Omg are indians blind?..she is the only attractive indian i have seen in my life.Its funny reading comment like she is avg looking/typical indian girl (in just jared) when in reality she looks more like latina than indian.Even in her next few films she is playing the role of latin girl.Indians should obviously be jealous of her considering the fact that she earns much more than what 85% indians could never think of earning even if they work for 100 years.yep according to Forbes pinto's earning from 2009- july 2010 is $4 million.

Another Kiran In NYC said...

Dev Patel is very young. The young say many things they regret later when life actually does bite them in the arse. I am still learning that. OW! OW!

Dev Patel got his soundbite in. Some casting director will read his soundbite and put a post-it marker on his file before putting it away in thier "ethnic look actor" filing cabinet. Not bad really. Atleast his folder will be found more easily when the filing cabinet is opened. As a strategy his little outburst may not exactly backfire.

Now he will need to put his head down and do all the roles of cabdrivers and gas station attendants and mideastern terrorists that come his way until he is type-cast enough to be the "go to" guy for all ethnic roles. A working actor without the ego of instant stardom is the best kind of actor. That is the only kind of actor who has a rats chance of becoming anything at all in Hollywood. Come middle age perhaps he will get his breakthrough role where he gets to be more than a pretty boy. Think Harrison Ford not Tom Cruise!

Lets face it, Dev Patel is never going to look like or be convincing as a pretty boy in his underwear (Tim Cruise and various vampires) which is what very young breakthough stars usually have to be. Its simple economics yaar.

It is not racism, it not jewish lobby, its not white fatcats. It is the same reason that South male actors are not cast as Hindi Movie heros. Most times Southern male stars simply dont look like or speak like the people buying the majority of the tickets. It is economics. Shitty and unfair but there it is.

And no, Amitabh, Aamir, SRK etc would never have been successful as young actors in Hollywood either. And now in middle age they just too complacent. too stylised and too full of themselves to take on the real acting challenges that Hollywood demands. They will never again have the abject shamlessness that acting demands.

It takes a not-recently-so-successful actor like Anil Kapoor to go forth and work in the west like he has nothing to lose. He wins I think by sheer dint of not letting his ego precede him.

Unfortunately our cultural baggage does not include appreciating the learning experience there is in failure and sheer persistance. Dev will be wise to remember that.

As for Frieda. I think she is lovely and she is very personable and articulate ... totally works for western sensibilities.

Sidhusaaheb said...

Perhaps he should seek a few words of advice from a certain Mr. Kal Penn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal_Penn).

Unknown said...

to the lovely "The Panorama". your comment was so pleasing and it really made me smile from the heart. wish there were more people like you in this world who were positive and very forward and keeping with the times. I have always argued the fact that us indians and many of us once colonised by the british happily speak the "english" language, but when it comes to being part of films that are made in that very same language , our own countrymen rise up against us saying that we are being stupid dreaming about being part of those films. when there are so many indians living in every part of the world and not just india , why cant we be represented approproately in western films as well which honestly a lot of indians living in india DO watch

Latha said...

'we must respect our top stars for not crawling all the way to Hollywood, begging for breaks. If Hollywood has nothing substantial to offer SRK, Bachchan, Salman and Aamir - it is Hollywood's loss.'
Bravo, Shobhaa, this is why I come to your blog. You say it just like it is.
I think there are many dhobhi ka kuththas here who are ashamed to be Indians & will never be accepted as Americans. Even if they get the citizenship, they are always American Indians. You can't blame the Americans. We don't look like one among them. Why would we want to ?
@krunal 'first of all i have zero respect for freida who ditched out the guy who she was engaged to and who was financing her modelling profession. i wish she falls flat on her face.' Me too.
@others, I don't care what the western world thinks of Kareena & Katrina. We have our own taste & it is fine that they are pleasing to our eyes. Who cares what other people think of them ?
@Emmanuelle beart- 'she is the only attractive indian i have seen in my life....when in reality she looks more like latina than indian.' That says it all. You like Freida 'cause she doesn't look Indian - looks latino with high cheek bones. fine. (Look who is racist). Good that you are frank. Well our standards of judging beauty is different. We also like people with a little chubby cheeks who look very much Indian. We need not adhere to the western standards & like Indians who look like somebody else. That doesn't mean we are blind, okay ?
And we are supposed to be jealous 'cause she earns a lot. Well you'd be disappointed to note that we are not. We are not obsessed with money. There are other things like character, trustworthiness....leave it. You will not understand.
@Lolita (nice name)..'ur copycat bolly directors could never make a masterpiece like slumdog....................'
hahaha. I'm sure you haven't seen a single malayalam film. Slumdog is a combination of 2 or 3 malayalam films. But of course, even if we know the truth, our worship for everything white will tie our tongues from admitting it. One needs guts like that of Shobhaa De to tell the truth as it is.
Maybe the dark skinned malayalys copied Slumdog years before it was made !

kakaka said...

not true take penelope cruz her bf...javier bardem(i think), these spanish/latin actors retain their accent and act in gr8 movies, act well and win awards too.
Freida will not do well becuz i can tell shes not a good actress. Dev patel is not attractive to me, he needs to build his muscles and stuff if he doesnot want to do the geeky boy roles.
But lets get real, most Indians i meet here are geeks, we come here to study and work in non glamorous fields. Plus we are only .6% of the population. There is a huge latin and afro american population here to watch these guys.
Dev Patel does not stand half the chance say denzel washington stands....so there Americans are not racist, it is just simple business.

Anonymous said...

@latha:If u think im racist then u should read the horrible racist comments pinto gets from ur fellow country ppl in Just jared.Actually some went to the level of saying she is too dark to represent india.

Anonymous said...

Why do we Indians think that we hae "arrived" only when Hollywood acknowledges us? It is high time we let go of that subtle inferiority complex.
South Indian heroines feel superior when they work in Hindi cinema..and Hindi cinema ppl think that they are superior after working with the gora.... As an entire country , we definitely need a huge change of mindset.

Anonymous said...

@emmanuelle beart:Indians are self hating white wannabes.They try so hard to make there black skin look white by wearing to tons of white makeup.ppl here hate freida only because of her dark skin.If u visit sites like just jared or eonline u would know wat i mean

Ugich Konitari said...

Please. A simple walk around, say, Bandra, will throw up hundreds of young people like Frieda and Dev. For that matter, even better than them. They were just at the right place at the right time.

That they should cause so many people to get nasty with each other on this blog, is amazing.

Leave them alone.

Akshay said...

Good he received a reality check..after living in Europe for almsot 4 years now, I have come to realise that its not only Films that are restricted to "goras" but also jobs. But i guess that the way the cookie crumbles..

@ Divya Virmani...i soo agree with you any1 who thinks Frieda Pinto looks good need some kind of shock to jolt them back to realtiy...why do ppl keep 4getting that she was chosen to play the older slumgirl..i mean has any1 tried to imagine wat the casting director must hav had in his/her mind at that point of time...

Anonymous said...

@akshay:u sound like a jealous retard.If pinto is n't attractive why would loreal chose her as there international brand ambassador?..Danny boyle in his interview has said tat he has chosen freida for her stunning looks.Except for freida all the other indians look worst than a slumdog.we have better taste than backward indian white wannabes like u.

Latha said...

@Lolita-definitely you are not Indian. Your filthy language shows your culture ! We Indians are tolerant enough even to publish your rant irrespective your colour. But definitely you have the audacity to write about us in our own sites. Our opinion about Freida or any other Indian is our business. But you better mind your language when you write about us. Why don't you get out & pour your dirt in some of your own sites instead of littering other people's places ?
@other Indians-why do we allow these people to come to an Indian website & write filth about us ? Or is it true what they write - that we don't have any shame-or self respect that we will take all their shit because they are white ?

Anonymous said...

Lolita:well said gurl...one of my asian frnd told me about how much indians worship fair skin ppl..but wat more can u expect from white ass lickers alias slumdogs?..pinto should feel happy tat she is not in tat racist country anymore

nishant said...

@ppl concerned
u were born in india and still say things abt it. leave freida and evrythng else aside, u shud be ashamed of urself. peace out !!!

Harish said...

dev might be on the world map. but he had no contribution to it per se, slumdog was a director's and a child artists' phillim. and it also belonged to rasul and rahman and thoda thoda to freida. see how beautifully the others managed their climb in hollywood. ekdam smooth sail.

and this confused videshi export is trying to play the bollywood trick... poor patel doesnt know that such controversies only work in bollywood. hollywood mein nahi. it is not wrong that he raises his concerns, just that, he has to be smart enough to bake the cake, and eat it too, with the cherry.

having said that, i feel he is exactly what you called him - Bachha. And in the long run, he will learn the ropes and do summersaults.

i am so happy that the one film wonder has so many supporters. look at the comments.. WOW.

even i appreciate his braveness, just that he has to be little smarter in using his firebrandness in a proper way that he lagaaos vaat and doesnt get marooed laath.

i know what hollywood will be telling to him.. in parsee tone..

kaiko kaali peeli bom maarta hai..

Akshay said...

@Emmanuelle beart......good going mate..ur apt choice of words reflects ur maturity...1stly i feel sorry for your choice...2ndly what sells now at the moment (no matter how avg. he/she might look) will b the face of products no matter wat...plus if u invest in a multi million dollar project will u b wise enough to degrade the people u take for it...think abt it u say he said she looks stunning??..haha..stunning lookin chick to play a slumgirl..i think he was being more sarcastic...oh ya n next time u commnet have some respect for others opinions...i was jus agreeing with some1 abt wat i think abt her...ur wise response was never required....so u try not to b so retarded the next time...

Akshay said...

@Lolita and Adman.....very mature looser's.....i do not want to waste my energy on dolts like u who dnt even knw how to talk...

The Guy Next Door said...

And forgot to add to the debate above - I think Freida is pretty

MangoMan said...

Sooper post! I just wish Dev Patel gets to read this. :D

Joseph said...

Before a month forbes listed her as the 2nd most wanted minority actress in holly behind zoe saldana.Do u think a popular cosmetic brand like loreal would make her as there international brand ambassador if she is avg?.. pinto commercials are shown in all the countries in the world except for racist india

Joseph
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Unknown said...

Shobhaa at Sixty by Shobhaa De was just the kind of book I was looking for my wife at our 25th marriage anniversary.