Last year, through an Instagram post, Deepika Padukone announced her much awaited Hollywood debut project: xXx: Return of Xander Cage. With that, Bollywood had another star ho shined all the way to Hollywood. After Priyanka Chopra’s massive success in the industry, Deepika Padukone took the plunge to become Hollywood’s next big thing from India. Disappointingly, in the teaser of the film, Padukone was only seen thrice, sans dialogue. She was effortlessly gorgeous, and seemed pretty confident in her skin, but alas, her presence was hardly felt. After watching the trailer, I began to ponder on the times that Bollywood stars head out to Hollywood and what the fate of those projects was.
Priyanka Chopra
Bollywood’s very own Desi Girl, PC had quite an interesting journey to reach the level of stardom she has attained in Hollywood. She began her journey with music, her first song ‘In My City’ featured will.i.am, and her second single ‘Exotic’ featured Pitbull. The latter debuted and peaked on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs at #14. From music, Chopra then shifted her radar to television. She signed a deal with ABC, the studio that gave us Modern Family and many other hit TV shows. As Chopra revealed, she told the producers that she is “used to playing leads†and she was only going to work in a show that cast her as an integral part of the story. She struck gold with this deal, and in 2015 she gave us Quantico, with Chopra playing Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who has been accused of being a terrorist. The show opened really well, and is currently shooting for its second season. Priyanka is also shooting opposite Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron in next year’s Baywatch. As she is playing the villain in the film, we know she will be brilliant and will be a badass as the sexy Victoria Leeds.
Films done: Disney’s Planes (Success) & Baywatch (shooting)
TV: We may not like it but Quantico is a certified success.
 
Irrfan Khan
The extremely underrated Bollywood actor, Irrfan Khan (Irrfan), has starred in many Hollywood films. He began his mainstream Hollywood journey with a role in the ensemble film, New York, I Love You and later went on to star in The Amazing Spider Man, playing the significant role of Dr. Rajith Ratha. The same year he took part in the biggest spectacle of the year, Life Of Pi. He played the role of the narrator and of the older self of the central character. He was terrific, and stole every scene he appeared in. His story was heart warming and was visually stunning. Irrfan’s latest Hollywood biggie was last year’s blockbuster, Jurrasic World. He is currently shooting for Inferno starring Tom Hanks, releasing in October this year.
Films done: New York, I Love You, The Amazing Spider-Man (Success), Life of Pi (Success), Jurrasic World (Success), Inferno (shooting)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Called the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Woman’, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has also had an interesting stint in Hollywood. She started her career in the American Film Industry with a leading role in Mira Nair’s Pride and Prejudice, which was generally well received by critics. Then came the critical and commercial failure Mistress of Spices, Aishwarya’s performance and the film was not well accepted and it was a film where she was playing the titular role. She then starred in the multi starrer, The Last Legion opposite Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley. The film did not do that well, and was another flop for Aishwarya. Her last Hollywood outing proved to be unsuccessful as well, as The Pink Panther 2 was a washout, unlike its predecessor. Aishwarya then maintained her distance from the industry.
Films done: Pride and Prejudice (Success), Mistress of Spices (Flop), The Last Legion (Flop), The Pink Panther 2 (Flop)Â
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan has appeared in one Hollywood film, The Great Gatsby. His character did not make it to the poster of the Leonardo DiCaprio film, but had its moments in the trailer, where he talks about Mr. Gatsby, with his booming voice and star presence. Amitabh’s stint in Hollywood was short and successful, as the film was a blockbuster and did really well at the box office.
Films done: The Great Gatsby (Success)
 
Anil Kapoor
Sonam Kapoor’s daddy got to do some very interesting and successful films in Hollywood! He was a part of the hugely successful and critically loved adaptation of QnA, in Slumdog Millionaire. He played Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Prem Kumar, and his famous line from the film “chaiwala!†was repeated over and over again by hundreds. He also got a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast alongside cast of the film. He then went on to star in Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol as Brij Nath, an Indian media tycoon. While he had a small role, it was quite significant. The film was a major success. Kapoor has not acted in any other Hollywood film.
Films done: Slumdog Millionaire (Success), Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (Success)
 Deepika Padukone
Seeing the trailer of Deepika’s latest Hollywood venture, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, it was safe to say that she was completely overshadowed by Vin Diesel, Ruby Rose and Samuel Jackson. It is true that the other actors in their films overshadowed most of the actors mentioned above, however, none of them were one of Bollywood’s biggest stars at the time. In 2015, Deepika gave us great performances in Piku and Bajirao Mastani, the latter becoming the year’s third highest grossing film. So my question is: why crossover when you have a super successful career, when you won’t be present onscreen for a long time. The film seems to be totally backed up by Vin Diesel and at least in the recently released trailer, Deepika seems to be getting no scope! We hope we are proven wrong, because we really want Bollywood’s Queen to shine in Hollywood as well!
Films done: xXx: Return of Xander Cage (shooting)
