Bollywood Update: New Boy in Town

As we continue to explore the richness and diversity of the Subcontinental cinema, it's important to discover new talent, don't you think?  This gentleman, for example, has been a fixture of India's non-Hindi film industries for the past decade, making some 70 films in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telegu.

He rejoices in the euphonious name of Prithviraj Sukumaran, and he is only now making his actual Bollywood debut, in a new picture called Aiyyaa, which is apparently a sort of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? for the new century.  Popular ingenue Rani Mukherjee has the Katharine Houghton part, with Prithviraj as the slightly-too-dusky love interest.  The still above is from one of the picture's steamy musical numbers, "Aga Bai," which you can check out here if so inclined - there's an intriguing sequence featuring the leading man in white organza and gold earrings, if that's any incentive.

He's only just recently bulked up to become the remarkable creature seen here; it's a striking effect, but I can't help regretting, ever so slightly the somewhat goofy charm (and especially the classic 'stache) that he's sacrified on the way:



Before

I fear that what he's gained in Imposing, he may have lost in Endearing.  We'll have to hope that in future outings a balance is struck.  In any case, it does seem he'd bear watching...