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The other Bollywood starlet: pretty and not ‘white white’

Blame it on the great Indian white skin fixation. Or, if you prefer, on a new body code that values skinny, tall women which, in turn, has eroded the flimsy wall between modeling and acting. Most of all, blame it on Katrina Kaif: that long-legged, half-white ‘Sheila’ who is a certified ‘hit’ with millions of Indian men, particularly the ticket-buying middle class.
Years after she rode into Bollywood on the back of an oddity called ‘Boom’, she has blown away most of the criticism about her inability to speak Hindi, her disconcertingly foreign accent, and questionable talent. Katrina Kaif’s contribution to Indian cinema is debatable, but there is no doubting what she has given to hundreds of young foreign women: hope. If she can do it, why not I?
Why not, indeed. As long as a girl is pretty and can pass off as vaguely Indian, she’s got a shot at Bollywood stardom. Certainly a better shot today than ever in the past. Giselle Monterio’s career took off with one line of dialogue in Love Aaj Kal, and now that she’s playing one of the lead roles in the forthcoming Always Kabhi Kabhi, making the Brazilian model a lodestar for dozens of her compatriots.
Welcome to tinseltown
Camila Granato, 22, and Taciane Matos, 18, are both from Brazil. They share the same apartment and modelling agency (Toabh Talents), and will appear together in a song sequence for the forthcoming Mere Brother ki Dulhan. If either girl gets noticed by other directors, she might get more film work, of which they have done little so far.
Camile has been an extra once in a movie shot in Turkey (she doesn’t remember the title) and Taciane was part of the background in Thank You.
Most Bollywood aspirants come in as models, having signed up with one of the handful of Indian agencies that bring in international talent to work in commercials and fashion shoots. Advertising is where the real jobs are, and there are plenty to go around. Varun Katoch, business head at Toabh, manages about 30 models of which 20-odd are foreigners.
“But I could hire 200 models and still have work for all. There are tens of thousands of Indian brands and they all want professional models,” he says, “The foreign girls often start modelling as young as 14 and by the time they come here, they are quite good at their job.”
Varun claims that a foreign model’s biggest asset is her appearance: “We actually try and pick models who look a little bit Indian. Brown hair, tanned skin. They’re not all white white.”
However, once in the city, other windows of opportunity open up. The women soon start receiving offers for minor parts in music videos and films. However, Katoch is measured in his enthusiasm about their film careers: “We get queries from production houses. And there’s Katrina Kaif, of course. The girls hear about her and they want to try their luck. Sometimes, during ad shoots, directors will encourage them to try films. But then speaking Hindi is a must.”
Hindi is often the biggest hurdle facing foreigners in Bollywood. While shooting advertisements, merely looking beautiful is sufficient. Films, however, require a basic facility with the language, especially since very few Hindi film scripts have foreigners written into key roles.
Some of the aspiring actresses are less impressed by the Hindi requirement. “In Hindi films, a female actor just needs to look pretty. The only other thing that matters is who she’s hooking up with,” says actress of mixed parentage (she speaks Hindi quite fluently), “They just get pedantic about the accent when it suits them.”

As long as a girl is pretty and can pass off as vaguely Indian, she’s got a shot at Bollywood stardom. Raju Shelar/Firstpost

I am NOT an extra
But the hopefuls remain, well, hopeful. Evelyn Sharma, a half-Indian, half-German 23-year-old, has enrolled in an acting course, is learning Hindi and taking Bollywood dance lessons. “I grew up in Germany and came to India as a travelling model. But I love acting. I have done some theatre and one American action film,” she says, “But Inega, my agency, will not let me do bit roles in Bollywood. The first film is so important.”
However, most agents are anxious that journalists get the “story” right. Sure, their models may take on non-lead parts in ‘major productions’, but they’re not ‘dancers’ and they’re very emphatically not ‘extras’.
This anxiety about branding reflects the explosion of white skin-as-scenery in Bollywood movies. And there is certainly no shortage of these human props.
All an interested woman has to do is hang around at Colaba Causeway and wait for a ‘talent’ scout to come along looking for foreigners. If she gets cast, the extra will likely have to put up with a 12-hour shift, famously bad food, tacky costumes, and plenty of boredom. In return, she will get paid anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. The system is so well-established that travel websites now ask tourists to hang out in Colaba as part of their ‘Experience Bollywood’ plan.

The stakes are, however, higher for these cheerful, beautiful girls who have descended upon Mumbai from Germany, Brazil, Russia, or the UK. Yes, they’d like to be in Bollywood but not as props on a set, not as shadowy figures wiggling in the backdrop of a ‘classy’ video. They’re here for a sprinkle of stardust – and sometimes just to earn a decent living.
As Camila explains, Brazilian girls often start modelling to support their families. Unless they attend expensive schools, it is difficult to even to learn English. Besides in countries like Brazil, there is not much of a film ‘industry’, and its production values are worse than television.
Taciane would love to try her luck in Brazilian TV – there’s money and fame, and she could be near her beloved mama. “But I’d have to go to Rio for auditions, and living in Rio is too expensive.”

Giselli Monteiro made her film-debut in Love Aaj Kal. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Evelyn, who has already worked in a Hollywood production, says Bollywood is a bit easier to break into. “In LA, everyone is there to become an actor. It isn’t like that in Mumbai,” she says. A moment later, she shrugs and laughs. “I don’t know. Perhaps it is like that here too. But not everyone gets a chance (in Hollywood).” It’s certainly easier to get a shot at the big time in India than the United States, which offers few opportunities – however small – for anyone who looks exotic, Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz aside.
Mumbai, then, is a place that offers at least hope – and a way to pay the bills to sustain the dream. The work in advertising and fashion offers a decent living, and half a foot in that door to stardom. Film work, on the other hand, is less rewarding.
Bollywood pays foreign models only as much as— and sometimes even less than— Indian supermodels, says one of the talent managers in the city: “On an average, payments range between Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000, for songs and minor roles. Sometimes, it might be Rs 1 lakh.” But no international model, he says, can afford to stick around in Mumbai unless they’re making at least a lakh a month.
Work in Bollywood offers little money, and a slim chance of stardom. And yet these women persist. Evelyn says that a lot of her foreign friends are aware they may not become ‘super famous’, but they still want to experience the magic of being in the movies.
“In commercials, you are always playing someone else. But it is only movies that let you be yourself even while you are acting. At least once in your life, you want that,” she says.
Evelyn admits that you’d have to be half-Indian or pass off as Indian —“like Giselle”— to get a real break, but her hopes remain high. “Bollywood is changing. More foreigners get lead roles. I know a Swedish girl who is playing the lead in a small production,” she says. She pauses, and then adds, “I can’t wait for it to change.”
Blame it on the medium then. Look at the way the camera lingers on the faces of actors, while it merely glances at dancers. The women in the background make a living. They are likely better trained and more talented than the girl standing up ahead, pouting at the camera. But it is that girl who we truly ‘see’. The camera loves her, and so do we.

Lebron James’ girlfriend and mother of his two sons, Savannah Brinson, was recently profiled by Harper’s Bazaar magazine; the interview revealed a lot about the woman who has been by BronBron’s side for the last 8 years — primarily that she’s not into rocking the boat — even if that means being a baby mama instead of a wife, and commuting back and forth between Miami and Cleveland. Poor thang!

One thing we were not surprised to hear was that Savannah wasn’t thrilled about Lebron’s decision to go to Miami. After all, who wants their man playing in a city that is a hotbed for HOES? At the end of the day though, Savannah just rolled with the punches:

“Personally, Miami was not my favorite place. Vacationing there is great: You go for three days and get some sun, and it’s time to go home,” she explains. But the weather helped win her over. “When they told me it doesn’t get any colder than 50 degrees, that sold me. We get below-zero weather in Cleveland. … I can’t wait to have a sunny Christmas,” she says. “It will definitely be an adjustment, but we’ll make it. We’re not complaining.”

“Whatever LeBron felt was comfortable, I’m with him,” she continues. “I just love him so much. We’re soul mates.”

It’s just such devotion that makes James gush about his longtime love. “A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she’s that,” he says. “She’s got my back, and I love her for that.”

While James settles in on his new home court, Brinson plans to split her time between Miami and Akron. She didn’t want to uproot her sons—LeBron Jr., five, and Bryce Maximus, three—from their neighborhood, where LeBron Jr. will be starting kindergarten in the fall. “Cleveland is home,” she says. “Nothing is going to change about that.”

Some cynics might argue that long distance and superstar athlete equals disaster. And if VH1′s hit series “Basketball Wives” is to be believed, Miami groupies are as gorgeous as they are aggressive. Fresh from the Midwest and flush with cash, James could be quite the target. But Brinson isn’t nervous about their partnership. “I’m not worried,” she declares, sounding assured. “We’re good. Our relationship is good.”

Her mother, Jennifer, who has been minding the kids while Brinson talks, makes a good point: “Don’t you think he knows the difference between ruthlessness and love?” she asks. “If LeBron was going to do something shady, he can do that around the corner. He doesn’t have to go to Miami.”

In fact, it’s their honesty with each other, Brinson says, that has sustained the couple’s relationship through all the hoopla: “We communicate very well. Before, there might have been issues that I was afraid to address, but now we keep it real with each other.”

Whoa Whoa Whoa… wait a minute? That started out sweet, but ummm is this broad delusional? You want your kid to start kindergarten in Cleveland? It’s kindergarten we’re talking about here — not high school. SMH. Savannah you better take Little Bron and Bryce and find a school in Miami before your man ends up gallivanting with Gabrielle Unions buddies.

A few weeks back we asked whether Savannah would end up wifed up like LaLa, but in her interview with Harpers Bazaar she plays the extra passive role:

She says a wedding is not on the horizon, though she has been dreaming about that day since she was six. “I’ve definitely not put a fire under his ass,” she says. “I would never rush him to do something like that. We’re really comfortable with the way things are now. And it’s not up to me. When it happens, it happens.

“We talk about it. If we do it, I want it to be forever,” she continues. Until then, Brinson knows that the blogosphere will continue to refer to her as James’s baby mama. She’s not bothered by the description but makes it clear that she feels like she’s more than a catchphrase. “I’m the mother of his children,” she says proudly. “I’m not a baby mama. There’s a lot more to me than that.”

Wow Savannah, Lebron has really got you trained. You’d never rush him to do something like that? Something like the right thing you mean? Sorry but, last time we checked rushing him would have meant a ring BEFORE you popped out two school-age children. Eight years with that man and you’re content being his ‘sidekick.’