You decide.
I got a frantic email from a friend yesterday claiming she had seen Hrithik in a commercial on TV here in the US. (No, it's wasn't Bollywood-on-Demand.) Thanks to the wonders of the internet, she was able to procure the promo from YouTube which I've posted below for your viewing pleasure.
As for the decision part, Has my boyfriend been darkened in the reggae scene or is that just a really nasty shadow? Just taking a friendly poll. You know how much I like blackface!
At any rate, Hrithik looks as delicious as always. He's working the Latin flavor pretty well. Which is marvelous considering his next costar is Mexican telenova star Barbara Mori. It has been said that Sonam Kapoor turned down a chance to star opposite Boyfriend #1 because the role in the film was "too bold". (Sounds another lawsuit opportunity...)
There's very little info about the film online as of yet--the working title is "Kites", Papa Roshan is involved though not directing--but gathering from the tidbits on Barbara's wikipedia profile, it has been suggested that filming will begin in late July with locations include New Mexico, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.
There is a reasonable chance that I'll be in Los Angeles in July and August. (more on that later) If I see Hrithik in LA, I will pass out...which wouldn't be a bad thing. If I don't pass out, I will inevitably become a bumbling mess of too many words and not enough
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8 comments:
Argh! It IS blackface; at least, it looks like blackface when he gets into the "reggae" mode. Argghhhh... This is not the first time I'm disappointed with Bollywoodian racism:
1. SRK in the Fair & Handsome ad...
2. Hrithik's comments about "eyes like little slits" in China...
3. Rimi Sen's comment on making "black Africans" look pretty...
...arrghhhh!!! Perhaps my anger is further fueled by the fact that I'm reading Randall Kennedy's book on the N-word, which is, admittedly, about something completely different, but I still find this all so terrible! What's worse is that, apart from some non-Desi and NRI blog posts, I don't see this stuff taken up as an issue!
Hmmm. *simmers*
*sigh* that sure is blackface. was it really necessary??!!
This is certainly not blackface. His skin was just slightly darkened to look like a person of another race whose skin is darker than his. This isn't even an exaggeration of black people's skin tone - Jamaicans have a much darker skin tone than what he had in this video. You guys are oversensitive and overreacting.
Let me tell you that most Indians (who live in India) aren't aware that there exists anything called "blackface", leave aside all the negative implications associated with it.
Hello t-hype,
This is Gaurav from Kolkata,India.I have been following your blog for quite some time.I am also a fan of Hrithik and hence I should clear the doubts that in the sony ericsson ad,he didn't have a black face;trust me,we in india see that ad almost everyday,so we know the truth.Samehow a shadow came onto his face in the youtube video but actually it's only the hair that indicates towards the reggae style and not anything else.Also,I would like to tell you gladly that Hrithik has done a new item Number for his dad's upcoming movie "Krazzy 4",I am giving you the link here,you can see if you want to.http://macroentertainment.blogspot.com/2008/03/download-video-song-of-hrithik-from.html.Enjoy!!!
hey t-Hype wish u a belated happy birthday. I am a bit surpised to know that you are of the same age as me.
I was around during the last blackface debate on your blog and I felt I had a pretty clear idea of what you meant by blackface,
But this time i am a bit puzzled as to where does "looking the part" end and "blackface" begins in your book.
i.e. if Hrithik were to portray an afro-american person in a movie and darkens his face to "look the part" does it automatically become offensive to you. where do you draw the line ?
BTW Hrithik is simply awesome in that song from Krazzy 4
Hi nic.
Thanks for the b-day wishes! (Wait, you're 30 too?)
Generally, I don't get super pissed about people portraying folks of another ethnicity unless it's used derisively (which isn't the case here) but I don't think I can really answer your question properly.
I don't supposed the portrayal in this commercial would fall under any traditional understanding of blackface. Still, I have to admit, when people dress up like another race regardless of their acting ability it strikes me as trying to take a drag queen seriously. *Yes, I do think you're pretty but you're trying very hard.*
Don't mind me though. I'm still stuck back in 1992 trying to figure out how Daniel Day Lewis got to be the last Mohican...Maybe I just have issues with casting.
I thought I read something about Kangana getting the 'Kites' part... I was quite intrigued by that, but the Barbara Mori thing sounds interesting too...
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