The other desis: Hollywood actors of Indian origin

The excitement that follows the news of an Indian actor working in a Hollywood project often gets nullified by the negligible screentime that is allotted to the actor in the filmrsquos final cut Think of Anil Kapoor in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol 2011 and Irrfan Khan in The Amazing SpiderMan 2012However that doesnrsquot really diminish the brouhaha associated with crossover cinema With Nargis Fakhri making her Hollywood debut in Spy which also stars Jude Law hitlist takes a look at Indian actors who are doing reasonably well in Hollywood but have chosen to stay away from BollywoodDev PatelAge 23Notable films Slumdog Millionaire The Last Airbender The Best Exotic Marigold HotelThe lowdown The Londonborn bunnyeared actor has shifted base to the US As of now hersquos starring in four films Child 44 The Road Within The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 and The Man Who Knew Infinity He also appears on the popular TV show The NewsroomDileep RaoAge 41Notable films Avatar Inception Drag Me to HellThe lowdown Remember the bearded Yusuf in Christopher Nolanrsquos Inception In the film his character drives the van into the river The Los Angelesbased actor juggles films with TV and will be next seen in Murder of a CatKal PennAge 36Notable films The Namesake Superman Returns Epic Movie The lowdown An advocate for Obamarsquos presidential campaign Kal is active in public administration However he is also engaged in Hollywood and his next The Sisterhood of Night is slated to release in 2014Kunal NayyarAge 32Notable film Ice Age Continental DriftThe lowdown Famous for playing the eccentric scientist Raj Koothrappali in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory Kunal has two releases mdash Dr Cabbie and The Scribbler mdash lined up this year He also turned producer last yearArchie PanjabiAge 41Notable films Bend it like Beckham The Constant Gardener A Good Year A Mighty Heart TraitorThe lowdown Last year she won an Emmy for her performance in the hit show The Good Wife and she will be next seen in the film San Andreas This upcoming action thriller also stars The RockSanjeev BhaskarAge 50Notable films The Guru London Boulevard Scoop The lowdown Popular for his show The Kumars at No 42 which has been renamed this year as The Kumars Sanjeev is shooting for the film Absolutely Anything He is active in British films as well as American onesNaveen AndrewsAge 45Notable films The English Patient Provoked A True Story Diana The lowdown One of the most recognisable faces in crossover cinema Naveen is presently shooting for the TV series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Hersquos planning to turn directorIndira VarmaAge 40Notable films Kama Sutra Bride and Prejudice Basic Instinct 2The lowdown A regular in popular television projects the actress was last seen in the TV series Game of Thrones She is currently shooting for the film Exodus Gods and KingsFreida PintoAge 29Notable films Slumdog Millionaire Rise of the Planet of the Apes ImmortalsThe lowdown The Mumbaiborn actress is yet to work in a Bollywood film and her next outing Knight of Cups will see her star with Christian Bale and Natalie PortmanSuraj SharmaAge 21Notable film Life of Pi The lowdown After wowing audiences with his work in Ang Leersquos magnum opus the Delhiborn actor will be next seen with Jon Hamm in the film Million Dollar ArmAasif MandviAge 48Notable films SpiderMan 2 Margin Call Premium RushThe lowdown Aasif has worked in a number of Hollywood films and he will be next seen in Million Dollar Arm