 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Latinas scorching the desi screen
It's salsa season in Bollywood.
More and more Latin American actresses are finding a place on Indian screens, from song sequences to full-time roles, and Indian directors are wasting no time snapping up the stunners.
Here's a look at some hot, hot Latin women making Indian audiences drool.
Giselle Monteiro in Love Aaj Kal
We didn't even know this 22-year-old was Brazilian till much after we saw her in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal, playing Punjabi beauty Harleen Kaur.
Starting her modeling career at the age of 17, she travelled around the world before hitting India in 2008. She auditioned for the part of Jo, Saif Ali Khan's Caucasian girlfriend in the film but Ali felt she was just right to be leading lady Harleen, who went on to steal the thunder from Deepika Padukone.
Bruna Abdalah in Cash
Born and brought up in Porta Alegre, Brazil, Bruna is a striking half-Indian half-Brazilian girl who made waves as soon as she was spotted here in a tacky Shekhar Suman music video.
She went on to be the hottest thing in Anubhav Sinha's dud Cash, and while the film didn't work, the music did, and Bruna's Reham Kare song was a huge hit.
She's since hosted a show for Channel [V] and danced on TV, and apparently was in the running for Barbara Mori's role in Kites.
Maria Gomez in Teen Patti
She hasn't done much yet, but Brazilian model Maria Gomez has made jaws drop with her Neeyat number in Leena Yadav's flop Teen Patti, the picturisation of which has drawn criticism towards 69-year-old Amitabh Bachchan but brought forth plaudits for Gomez.
She's left for Brazil but Indian filmmakers are reportedly very keen to hop aboard the Gomez bandwagon and are flooding the model with song and film offers.
Daniela Lavender in Taj
Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro, a Brazilian actress, better known by her stage name as Daniela Lavender, has been married to Gandhi star Ben Kingsley since September 2007.
Having worked mostly in TV, now it is learnt that Lavender will be playing wife to Kingsley's own Shah Jahan in the actor's production of Taj, a period film about the Mughal emperor.
Mumtaz Mahal hasn't been cast yet, but Daniela will play Princess Kandahari Begum, the emperor's first wife.
Barbara Mori in Kites
32-year-old Mexican actress Mori has been the subject of much tabloid speculation in India speculating on rumours linking her with co-star Hrithik Roshan, but the actress is poised for a big release anyway with Anurag Basu's Kites being one of the longest-awaited releases for some time now.
Discovered as a 14-year-old waitress, Mori went on to become a model and rose to prominence acting in Mexican television.
She was diagnosed with early stage cancer, and is now a proud survivor, something that will be shown in a documentary about cancer survivors also featuring Kelly McGillis and our own Lisa Ray.