Bollywood actors in Hollywood is the crossover the South Asian community needed.
In the world of Bollywood, we know stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol who have ruled the industry. But what about the stars that have dominated both Bollywood and Hollywood?
Deepika Padukone
Starting off strong with the queen herself, Deepika Padukone. The Indian actress has starred in many Bollywood blockbusters, including Om Shanti Om, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Pathaan.
In 2017, Padukone starred in Hollywood film XXX: Return of Xander Cage, an action movie that focuses on a rogue military agent who saves the world. Padukone co-starred with Vin Diesel and Nina Dobrev, making her mark in Hollywood.
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan worked in the Bollywood industry and acted in many hit films such as Piku, Billu and Yeh Saali Zindagi before sadly dying of cancer in 2020.
However, he spread a lot of joy and entertainment worldwide as he was also part of many Hollywood films, including The Amazing Spider-Man, Life of Pi and Jurassic World.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
After winning the 1994 Miss World pageant, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan turned to acting, starring in many Bollywood films, such as Dhoom 2, Devdas and Mohabbatien, before doing films in Hollywood as well.
Aishwarya has starred in five Hollywood movies to date. Her most famous Hollywood films include Bride and Prejudice and The Last Legion. Bride and Prejudice is a swoon-worthy movie adapted from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, where Aishwarya plays a girl named Lalita alongside Martin Henderson, who plays her love interest. Besides these two hits, she was also in Mistress of Spices, Provoked and The Pink Panther 2.
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher has starred in many Bollywood films, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the last being one of the biggest Bollywood films of all time.
Happy with his success, Kher decided to turn to Hollywood, where he starred in many movies and TV shows, such as Bend it Like Beckham and New Amsterdam. The film Bend it Like Beckham focuses on a young Indian girl who wishes to play soccer against her family’s wishes — Anupam Kher plays the young girl’s father. New Amsterdam is a TV drama series which focuses on doctors working at the United States’ oldest public hospital.
Priyanka Chopra
After winning the 2000 Miss World pageant at 18, Chopra starred in popular Bollywood films such as Krrish, Dostana and Bajirao Mastani and produced movies such as The Sky is Pink.
After dominating Bollywood, she gave Hollywood a shot and found much success. She debuted in Quantico, a TV series about young FBI recruits training to become agents. Chopra has also extended her acting career in countless other films and TV shows, including Amazon Prime Video’s series Citadel, as well as films Love Again and Baywatch (2017).
Alia Bhatt
The newest to the list is Alia Bhatt. She recently starred in Netflix’s Heart of Stone alongside Gal Gadot and Jaime Dornan. The film was full of action and espionage, earning its way into Netflix’s top 10 movies for several days after its release. Bhatt was also in a Telugu film called RRR. A song from the film “Naatu Naatu” was the first Indian song from an Indian production to win an Oscar this past year.
Bollywood actors in Hollywood are extremely inspiring to the South Asian community. Having these stars in mainstream media gives us the representation we need. We can only wait in anticipation to see which next Bollywood star will make a Hollywood appearance. Fingers crossed, it’s Shah Rukh Khan!