I know many of us that write on this website, as well as those who come to read it, get annoyed when western culture tries to exoticize Indians, and especially Indian women. There is more to India than Kama Sutra and Yoga we chide. Well, at the Cannes film festival actress Mallika Sherawat is taking a different approach. India Daily reports:
Mallika wants to show the world that she is Jackie ChanÂ’s seductive Indian Queen ready boast on her skin and voluptuous body.
Embellished with Rs 4.5 crore worth jewellery, actress Mallika Sherawat is all set to dazzle at the Cannes film festival as the ‘Exotic Princess from India'”.
“I will be in Cannes to promote the Jackie Chan flick The Myth, where I enact the role of a princess from India who is rescued and later turns into Chan’s love interest,” said Sherawat.
What is The Myth about?
The Myth (GAING TIN JUEN KEI) is a film being produced by Jackie’s brand new company, Jackie Chan Emperor.
Jackie describes The Myth as totally different from Around the World in 80 Days and New Police Story; it’s more like an Indiana Jones film. In the movie Jackie will reportedly play a Qin Dynasty general and an archeologist. The film, which Jackie says includes a lot of fantasy, is being filmed right now in Shanghai before it moves to Xian, Lanzhou, Guaizhou, Yunnan, and India. A 2005 release date is anticipated.
I ain’t gonna hate. If I had a brand new production company named “Abhi the Emperor” I’d have an “exotic” Indian princess cast opposite of me as well.
Mallika continues:
“The image is going to be classy, elegant, Indian, and yes of course very sexy. I will present myself as the desi exotica,” she said adding the packaging there would be different from the one she presents at home.
well, if it wasn’t a fellow asian brother who was the love interest, would you be pissier?
anyway, western women have been degraded for generations in the interests of “freedom” and “modernity,” i don’t see why brown chicas need to play “catch up.”
but mebee i’m just bullshitting because being righteous just feels so damn good!
hey, i just figured another righteous card! jackie chan could be her dad! how come we can’t have an ass-kicking 50 year old woman seducing some 25 year old dude?
isnt a 25+ year age difference the norm in indian movies?
Films often reflect the interest of those making the movie, and the target audience. If it’s Jackie Chan’s company, I’m guessing he has a lot of Chinese guys working for him. And, the intended audience is probably going to be Chinese. As such, he wants to resurrect the leading man status he enjoyed in Hong Kong before playing second banana in Hollywood flicks.
As for Sherawat, while she is definitely a hottie, if she hopes to have a long career in films, she’s going to have to take roles that appeal to women. Being the object of men’s desires may be a quick way to jumpstart a career, but men’s desires are fickle, and quickly move to the next young thing. Sharon Stone was the hottest thing in Hollywood with Basic Instinct, but now is well past being a has-been – cause male ticket-buyers were no longer attracted to her, and women could not relate to her characters.
Calm down Razib. Jackie almost never gets “the girl.” Love interest is probably an extremely loose term here.
sahel, thanks for the info. good to know. there are far too many slanted portrayals of brown-brown relationships in the non-brown media. i will be OK with this sort of stuff we are depicted accurately in the Media.
Sorry to be so Page 3 but…
Mallika Sherawat … Hot or not ?
Don’t worry! When she begins to loose some steam, i will teach her the ropes !
“Mallika Sherawat … Hot or not ?”
Please don’t shatter my illusions.
Uh, I find it hard to imagine Mallika Sherawat being convincingly “classy.” She’s sort of the low-rent version of Bipasha Basu…
Mallika: Ab… bas.
Check out the trailer for the movie, it definitely shows some scenes with Indians. Mallika Sherawat is one of the four actors identified by name, so she must have a major role.
http://www.jackiechankids.com/files/The_Myth_Page_2.htm
Okay, I’m a dumbass, I didn’t realize that abhi had already linked to the site I just mentioned.
I for one would be a lot more pissed if it was a white guy, don’t know why though.
Mainly cause I feel sorry for Jackie Chan getting the same old one-dimensional kung fu roles in Hollywood.
Also if the movie is successful in India it might help Indo-chinese political relations.
She’s got a nice bellybutton, he has a nice smile, I think that’s all that went into the decision.
too many slanted portrayals of brown-brown relationships in the non-brown media
wow, was “slanted” a poor coincidence of language or a poor attempt at humor?
dude! that was total coincidence!
“Also if the movie is successful in India it might help Indo-chinese political relations.”
Entertainment has no effect on political relations. Conscious political decisionmaking does.
Jackie can hit it kamasutra style. It does not bother me. Jackie deserve to get the girl for once.
Well not exactly, Raj Kapoor’s movies were instrumental in Russian-Indian friendliness in the 1950s and 1960s.
But yes political decisionmaking is more direct. And I doubt this film will affect anything.
This should lay to rest any questions of whether Mallika is hot… or not. Damn.
This should lay to rest any questions of whether Mallika is hot… or not. Damn.
oh, come ON. her breasts look ridiculous. how much toupee tape did THAT take? look, i’m all for a great set and flaunting cleavage but don’t suffocate the poor things. jeez.
also, the side view? she needs a wee bit more booty to go with that ridicu-rack. then she’ll be way hot.
p.s. i still don’t think she’s drop-dead gorgeous, but she definitely has a wonderful body. i’m glad you found that link, b/c the pictures i saw of her before didn’t do her justice. apparently.
i think she’s pretty hot
I realize those pics are tres cheesy, but sometimes, when you crave it, cheese can be really really good. Especially the Bollywood vixen in Cannes type of cheese. Guiltless and fun.
Now when you’re in the mood for something weightier and more meaningful, there’s always the Nandita Sen-in-Cannes option. She’s gorgeous too.
By the way, ‘toupee tape’ and ‘ridicu-rack’ are hilarious.
cold shower,
wow… yes, those pictures certainly did put the question to rest. the first one pretty much put its foot in the question’s neck and shot it in the head, tony soprano style. 🙂
and no more booty! she is perfect as is! but yes, the induced cleavage was a bit much — it should be a little realistic. 😉
you can do side bends or sit-ups (or use toupee tape), but please don’t lose that butt…
uh…to protest the potential addition of booty assumes she HAS a booty, which she does not. and believe me, i’d know. gang recognize gang and whatnot. 😉 . i’m serious, that’s what you use to keep your breasts in your clothes when you’re dressing like a pornstar: toupee tape. at least that’s what you do at pageants etc, to prevent “wardrobe malfunctions”. if not for adhesive, J.Lo would’ve shown off even MORE in that versace scarf she wore as a dress a few years ago. 😀
I am not a particular fan of Mallika’s..the only movie of hers that I’ve seen is Murder, and I don’t have an opinion of her either way, but I thought some of you might wanna check her out at the Canne film festival, where Nandita Das is is on the Jury, and Aishwary Rai gave the inagural speech..yeah, the ladies of Bollywood seem to have invaded Cannes this year! For pix on Mallika check out: http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/17mallika1.htm
For Nandita (who I think looks absolutely gorgeous in her red sari): http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/12sd.htm
and Aishwarya: http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/12sld1.htm
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/13sld1.htm
and no, Rediff isn’t paying me for this! I’m just a bollywood freak!
Entertainment has no effect on political relations. Conscious political decisionmaking does.
Er…but, arrey…political decision making IS entertainment.
“isnt a 25+ year age difference the norm in indian movies?”
Ananthan: not anymore for the most part, with three glaring exceptions: Salman Khan (15-20 years older than his last three heroines, but he’s dating one of them too); Anil Kapoor (20 years older than 2 of his recent heroines); Sunny Deol (same).