MUMBAI: Hema Malini and Sridevi had to work on their Hindi to reach the numero uno position. The new crop of actresses can’t speak the rashtra bhasha as well as the Queen’s tongue (or at all), but they’ve managed somehow. Here’s looking at Bollywood’s gori mems….
Lisa Haydon: On Kapil Sharma’s show, Lisa recently spent all her time nudging Anupam Kher asking him what everyone was saying. In Queen and The Shaukeens she played non-resident Indians, so that worked for her. But for how long?
Ileana d’Cruz: This Mumbai girl is more conversant with Telugu, admits her Hindi is “theek nahin” and having a firang boyfriend doesn’t help either, but she at least tries. She hired a diction coach and since Barfi has been dubbing her own lines.
Nargis Fakhri: She throws in the towel when it comes to speaking the language of Bollywood. And it’s not that she isn’t trying. Ms Fakhri has even hired a purely desi staff. Even so, her maid insists on speaking with her in angrezi. She admits her complete unfamiliarity with Hindi largely ruined her performance in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. But for Main Tera Hero, she spoke in her own voice.
Giselli Monteiro: The Brazilian Giselli was seen playing a Punjabi kudi in Imtiaz’s Love Aaj Kal, despite being unable to follow or speak a single word of the language she was acting in. Can we imagine an actress in French or Chinese cinema who isn’t conversant with the language?
Katrina Kaif: Probably the only competition Deepika Padukone has today, Katrina Kaif was, for the longest time, known to mug her lines without knowing what they mean. For years, her dialogues were dubbed by a professional. By and by, she hired a Hindi teacher. And now, she delivers her own lines!
Freido Pinto had to master the American accent to get mainstream roles in Hollywood.
WHY WE DON’T MIND IT…
Javed Akhtar offers his take on why we don’t mind Bollywood leading ladies who can’t speak Hindi. “Hum British hukumaat ke sachche ghulam hai. It is perfectly fine to mispronounce Hindi or Urdu words and considered okay if a foreigner can’t speak Hindi. But if an Indian can’t speak English, he’s considered down-market.” -Courtesy DNA
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