Comic. Strip?

I saw the Rituparno Ghosh directed (and authored ;-) ) Raincoat this weekend. Quite a decent film and I think George's review of the film perfectly summarises it.

I am no Aishwarya Rai fan. I don't hate her or something, but I have yet to be dazzled by her acting skills. I admit to getting a little hot under the collar when people went gaga the week she turned 30. What I'm about to write here is a little unlike me, but I'm sure many of you will recognise the pragmatism in these words.

Ms. Rai is never going to hit it big in the acting registers. She has had her innings for over 5 years now. She has had several major acting roles, opportunities that have been seldom offered to better actresses. Mainly, she has been incapable of being even average, barring very, very few sparks. Just look at the mess she made of a reasonably decent role in Raincoat. So objectively speaking, she is unlikely to grow into a better actress.

OTOH, Ms. Rai's agent has been successful in hoisting her onto the leading US talk shows. This is obviously a well-thought out strategy to project her in Hollywood. But Ms. Rai's disinclinations towards making a spectacle of herself (if you know what I mean) seem to be a crippling roadblock. The problem is that no casting director is going to hire her on the basis of her histrionic skills (especially if s/he saw Devdas). So what's left is the "Joey" tactic: take it off.

I'm not being s3xist or anything. Frankly, she is not going to make it otherwise. Perhaps she should cast an eye homewards, at the careers of sundry Koppikars, Aroras and Dhupias. She was lucky enough to not have to require such steps at home, but if one takes a hard look, Hollywood's not all that different.

Surely, it's none of my business, but I'm really getting tired of these endless promotions. They hardly lead anywhere. I wish the lady would decide how ambitious she really is. One way or the other, please put a lid on these "Cannes" ooh-la-lahs.