Hollywood Stars in Indian Cinema – Foreign Masala in Our Movies

Hollywood’s star studded glitz and glamour would probably not be the same without the breadth of talented actors and actresses spanning the globe, from stars like Jackie Chan and Jean-Claude Van Damme all the way to our own Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and a bunch of other A-listers. However, there are surprising instances where there have been a number of Hollywood and international film stars that have starred in Indian cinema. We take a look at some of the more popular as well as the not-so-well-known appearances.

Clive Standen in Namaste London

Famous for his roles as Bryan Mills in the Taken series and Rollo in Vikings, Clive Standen has starred in several other popular movies and TV shows you may recognize, including Everest, Vendetta, Doctor Who and The Morning Show, among others. Bollywood fans will recognize him as Charlie Brown, Katrina Kaif’s British boyfriend she intends to marry in Namaste London, leaving him disappointed at the end as she does a runaway bride to be with Akshay Kumar instead.

Brandon Routh, Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone and Holly Valance in Kambakkht Ishq

Kambakkht Ishq, a remake of Kamal Hassan’s Pammal K Sambhandam, (which in turn, was a remake of The Bachelor), had enough popular Hollywood cast members to qualify as an Avengers-style mashup, featuring Akshay Kumar working with Brandon Routh, famous for playing the Man of Steel in the much-maligned Superman Returns, Denise Richards of The World Is Not Enough, Love Actually, Wild Things and way more and of course, Sly Stallone, who’s been in more movies than we can even attempt to recollect.

Sir Ben Kingsley in Teen Patti

“Inspired” by the Kevin Spacey starrer 21, Teen Patti followed Amitabh Bachchan and Madhavan as they descended into a mayhem of mathematics, betrayal and greed in an absolute train wreck of a movie. The invitation to Amitabh is extended by none other than Sir Krishna Pandit Bhanji, or Ben Kingsley as he’s more popularly know, in a potentially interesting but ultimately wasted, cameo.

Toby Stephens in Mangal Pandey: The Rising

Born to Sir Robert Stephens and Dame Maggie Smith (yes, the same Minerva McGonagall), Toby has achieved fame through a number of his roles, including 13 Hours, Hunter Killer, Black Sails, Lost in Space and more popularly, squaring off against Pierce Brosnan as Gustav Graves in Die Another Day. He’s also famous over in India for playing Mangal Pandey’s friend who owes him his life, Captain William Gordan as he tries to help Aamir Khan’s character and stave off the rebellion.

Gordon Liu in Chandni Chowk to China

Warner Bros’ first Hindi film saw Akshay Kumar’s character go from cutting vegetables in Delhi end up all the way in China to end the tyranny of Hojo, played by Gordon Liu. Famous for the 36^th Chamber of Shaolin series, and a ton of other martial arts movies, Gordon was memorable for his roles as Johnny Mo and Pai Mei in Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the master of martial arts was bested by Akshay who finally dispatches him with his kick-ass vegetable cutting skills.

Paul Blackthorne in Lagaan

Playing Captain Andew Russell, the unlucky bloke that wagers the lagaan against Aamir Khan’s Bhuvan only to miserably lose and pack his bags to Africa, Paul Blackthorne has starred in several movies and TV shows including ER, 24, Arrow and The Flash. When the village in which Lagaan was shot was destroyed in an earthquake, Blackthorne helped raise funds by running a charity exhibition of his photos in London.

Ray Stevenson in RRR

Playing the heartless and excessively cruel Governor Scott Buxton alongside Alison Doody (remember Elsa from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Ray has featured in many, many movies and TV shows including GI Joe, the Divergent series, the Thor movies, Vikings, Rome, Dexter and more recently Ahsoka. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see his latest work on the Star Wars show as he passed away last year, three months before the first episode aired.

Martin Henderson in Bride and Prejudice

One of the more well-known appearances is Martin’s in Gurinder Chada’s Bride & Prejudice as he played Darcy to Aishwarya Rai’s Lizzy Bennet in the Bollywood version of Jane Austen’s novel of manners. Martin’s other notable roles was in Grey’s Anatomy, The Ring and Everest.

Will Smith in Student of the Year 2

Will Smith’s dancing cameo in Student of the Year 2. ‘Nuff said!

James Cosmo in Jagame Thanthiram

One of the most respected actors in Hollywood and British cinema, James Cosmo has some truly impressive acting credits to his name, including Highlander, Braveheart, The Chronicles of Narnia, Wonder Woman, Trainspotting, Troy, Sons of Anarchy, Chernobyl and most famously, as the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones. So it was pretty surprising to see his role as the head of a London mob in the Dhanush starrer Jagame Thanthiram, where it felt like, sadly, none of the audience had much of a clue to the actor’s pedigree.