From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch
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They are the two biggest movie makers in the world: California-based Hollywood, and the Mumbai powerhouse informally known as Bollywood. Collectively, they have been the most prolific and successful producers of movies since the dawn of cinema, but historically they have always seemed distinct, separated by oceans, cultures and languages. However, a few stars have crossed the divide throughout the years, finding fame in another region by starring in an unfamiliar industry. Here, we look at the biggest names in film who have made the jump between Hollywood and Bollywood…

By Victoria Luxford

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Irrfan Khan – Irrfan Khan was just 53 when he passed away in 2020. While he passed far too soon, he left a legacy of incredible acting that included hits in both Indian and American cinema. Having shown promise as a cricketer in his youth, Khan instead turned to acting and built a reputation as a Bollywood star in productions like Haasil (2003) and The Namesake (2007). US audiences may remember him best from his move to English-language films in the late 2000s, starring in Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Life of Pi (2012), and Jurassic World (2015). He remained a regular fixture in India as well, earning the coveted Padma Shri award for services to the arts in 2011.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Sylvester Stallone – It doesn’t get more Hollywood than Rocky himself! A giant of such action franchises as Rambo and The Expendables, he also brought his fearsome physique to 2009 Bollywood action-comedy Kambakkht Ishq, where he plays himself saving the heroes from a gang of tough-looking thugs. The stunts may be a bit outlandish (at one point, he pulls a parking metre from the ground and uses it as a weapon!), but they’re in keeping with the fantasy world that unfolds in the movie.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Amitabh Bachchan – Big B, Star of the Millennium… Amitabh Bachchan has many nicknames, and has been a towering figure in Bollywood for over half a century. Given the number of Bollywood productions he has starred in, and the success he has enjoyed, it may be surprising that it wasn’t until 2013 that he made his first appearance in a Hollywood film. Of course, the superstar would only work with the best, appearing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby. DiCaprio himself was a fan, saying he was “honoured” to work with the legend.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Toby Stephens – A Bond villain in Die Another Day, an astronaut in Lost n Space, a god in the forthcoming Percy Jackson series… Hollywood star Toby Stephens has made a name for himself as a versatile actor in a number of different roles, and not just limited to American productions: he stepped into history as the villain of the historical epic Mangal Pandey: The Rising in 2005. His reputation for complex performances made him the perfect foil-turned-ally for star Aamir Khan, who played the title role of an Indian revolutionary.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Priyanka Chopra – Lovers of celebrity news may be more familiar with her as one half of a power couple with pop star Nick Jonas, but Priyanka Chopra was a star in her own right for years before they became a twosome. Having won acclaim in Bollywood with films like 2002’s Thamizhan, in 2015 she made history as the first South Asian woman to star in a US network show, the criminal drama Quantico. She also appeared opposite Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron in Baywatch (2017), and entered the sci-fi world in 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections. She also continues to produce both English and Hindi productions.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Sir Ben Kingsley – An English actor of Indian descent, Sir Ben Kingsley came to prominence in Hollywood for starring in Oscar-winning drama Ghandi (1982), and has since held a number of roles across the world. Considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, movie fans were very excited when he teamed up with Bollywood’s own national treasure Amitabh Bachchan for the 2010 Bollywood film Teen Patti, about a mathematics problem relating to a card game.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Suraj Sharma – Whether or not Suraj Sharma is a ‘Hollywood’ or ‘Bollywood’ star is open to debate, given that he started his career after being plucked from obscurity to star in 2012’s Life of Pi. However, the New Delhi native has since enjoyed success in both industries, having starred in Hindi films Umrika (2015) and Phillauri (2017), as well as appearing in US hit TV shows Homeland and Star Wars: Visions.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Will Smith – A Grammy-winning rapper, an Oscar-winning actor… and a Bollywood fanboy? Will Smith has worn many hats during his career, but while filming a series called Bucket List, he confessed to having always wanted to appear in a Bollywood movie. Karan Johar made his wish come true in 2019’s Student of the Year 2, which featured Smith dancing in a musical number for a few minutes in a brief but history-making moment.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Anupam Kher – When you have appeared in over 500 films, it’s likely that you’ll start attracting the attention of other industries. A veteran of the Bollywood world, Kher has worked with American directors like Woody Allen on 2010’s You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger; appeared opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook; and featured in historical drama Hotel Mumbai. A highly decorated actor with eight Indian Filmfare Awards, he continues to be successful in a number of languages.

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Some Bollywood actors have made cameo appearances in English-language productions, but Aishwarya Rai Bachchan can boast of working with some of the finest Hollywood has to offer. After becoming one of Bollywood’s biggest stars in the ‘90s and 2000s, the former Miss World then found success in Hollywood, playing it for laughs with Steve Martin in The Pink Panther 2 (2009), working with Colin Firth on historical action The Last Legion (2007), and putting an Indian spin on a British classic in 2004’s Bride and Prejudice.

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Kal Penn – American audiences may know Kal Penn from his starring role in the Harold and Kumar movies, or appearing in TV shows House and How I Met Your Mother. He also appeared in the 2014 film Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, directed bi Ravi Kumar and based on the industrial chemical disaster of 1984 that claimed thousands of lives and injured more than a half a million people. Considering Penn was also a part of US President Barack Obama’s cabinet for a period, it makes sense that he would have an eye towards political issues!

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Indira Varma – Another star who can claim to have worked in many different industries, British-Indian actor Indira Varma first found fame in the 1996 historical drama Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, directed by filmmaker Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, 2001). Featuring in film and TV shows in a number of countries, she would appear in Hollywood productions such as 2014’s Exodus: Gods and Kings – but it was her work on HBO phenomenon Game of Thrones, as the character Ellaria Sand, that would propel her to new heights as an actor and celebrity. Varma most recently featured in the latest Mission: Impossible film with Tom Cruise and on British TV show Doctor Who.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Brandon Routh – Sylvester Stallone isn’t the only American star who got in on the fun in Kambakkht Ishq: Brandon Routh, who played the title role in 2006 film Superman Returns and has been a veteran of many US movies and TV shows, also appeared in the film as the actor for whom star Akshay Kumar is a body double. Given Routh’s wide variety of roles across his career, it’s no surprise that the actor would be a useful addition to an already star-studded cast.

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch.
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Shah Rukh Khan – Despite being about as big as one can get in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan has been hesitant to make the move to America, despite many offers to work on Hollywood productions. He did, however, technically star in an American film, albeit one that had ties to his Bollywood work. My Name Is Khan was a drama directed by Indian filmmaker Karan Johar, starring Khan as a man travelling across the US to meet the president in the wake of the September 11th attacks. The talent and dialogue in the film may have been predominantly Indian, but the film was produced by Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox, making it their first production starring a Bollywood actor. Khan seems unlikely to move into English-language cinema, having cited his English skills as a factor in the past, so this may be the closest he gets to a crossover!

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From Bollywood To Hollywood: 14 Stars That Made The Switch

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