Are you kidding?! Have you ever heard of Gandhi? His characters are just people. It never says anywhere that he is a white guy. He’s just a person. Why does every role have to be so race specific. Do all Indian actors need to be dancing around the screen in a sari or turban?

I find that many elasticities accuse someone of their own race being ‘white-washed’ when they don’t fit into their own stereotype. I was called white-girl and white-wannabe by many Indians simply because I have an ethnically diverse group of friends, I’m dating a non-Indian and I only own 2 Indian outfits. Haters gotta hate.

Being the meticulous (read anal) person that I am, I had the application proofread, all supporting docs in duplicate and had come prepared with everything that could possibly be asked for in the visa interview. After about 20 minutes in the line, it is my turn at the window. I get asked for my documents and duly pass them to the official reviewing them across the counter. He looks at them for 30 seconds and returns them with a curt reply that a visa cannot be issued. Taken aback, I ask why. The reply “You are not a resident of UK. Apply from India”. Having anticipated a potential issue related to residency requirements, I pull out the printout of the Belgian consulate issued directive clarifying that visas can be issued to foreign nationals in UK, if they are under valid work visa (which I was).

In front of 20 odd people standing in line for their visa processing, this what the official at the window says to me – “You people from third world countries think that you should be given all the privilieges in the world.”

There was pin drop silence in the room. No one said a word till the official called out “Next” summarily dismissing me. Shellshocked beyond words, I simply walked out of the embassy.

Post script: I did get the last laugh(smirk?) though. A couple of hours later, I went to the Luxembourg embassy a few blocks over, met with a very cordial official who asked a few questions, looked at my invitation letter and handed me back my passport with an approved visa by the end of the day. I then accompanied my friend back to the Belgian embassy to collect her passport. After she was done, I went to the same counter (with the same official behind the glass) and flashed the approved visa at his face. I made sure he had a good look at it and then walked off without a word.

The look on his bigoted face went a long way in appeasing my earlier desire to punch his face out but my regret to this date is that I should have done something to prevent this from happening again at that that embassy. Not sure though what it could have been.

Oh please, I interviewed BK back a few years ago, and he went to lengths to share his true, Gujurati name, his upbringing as part Indian in the racially challenged UK back in day, and even shared some anecdotes about his Daddy. Needless to say he can rock an Indo-head cock better my friends.

I didn’t mean this at all! It was more a sense of national pride and cultural connection ; like when I found out the chess champion was Indian this year, or a gold medal was won by an Indian in the last summer olympics. I love bk’s acting and it would be great in the West to have such a prominent actor that was desi…there’s no such thing as any racial dilution nonsense. Just a little national pride, that there’s an actor that comes from the same country I was born in, and he happens to be one that I admire a lot.

Some of us halfies favour one side more than the other for various reasons. I probably favour my Asian side more because something about it speaks to me in a way that the other does not. Yet in my teens, Asianness was only a minor factor as I was trying to fit in at a mostly white school. I know other mixed people who seem to see themselves as more white; it depends on family dynamics, who they grew up around, all kinds of things.

Kingsley came out of a time when racism in Britain was more prevalent, and when someone named Krishna Banji could not get acting work no matter how good he was. If he’s got into the habit of downplaying his Indian-ness to succeed in the racist system, blame the racist system instead.

In any case, unless you follow every single interview Kingsley has ever done, it seems strange to make the claim that he has NEVER mentioned being Indian and then SUDDENLY brought it up now.

I was wondering about that too. It just isn’t something someone entertaining entertainers would say. Show business is full of — well, all kinds. Makes no sense at all unless she was certifiably deranged, and he doesn’t claim that, but maybe she was. Still, actors are masters of the Big Fish story. oh, and btw, I always knew Kingsley was half-Indian. He’s an actor in England, a country whose national art form is acting and where the best roles are like to be playing Englishmen (and prior to 1960s that meant white, remember?). So naturally he plays down the Indianess. If I were living in India and wanted to make it there, I’d play down my non-Indian side.

When I was in Switzerland in 1989 I remember a very kindly flaxen haired girl about 18 who went out of her way to converse with an elderly Jewish couple. I got to talking with her and she told me her nationality and then she said, “I am not very proud of it.” I knew what she meant, but I’m not into feeding others’ emotions. I let them reveal themselves in their time and fashion. And then she said, “You know the history?” I said yes, of course. Don’t recall where it went from there, but I knew the evil deeds of a political/military “ism” movement had overwhelmed any cultural and scientific achievements of her countrymen in which she could have taken pride. This person was kind and accepted the “guilt.” Those are the types that do. The less kind come to resent it, and it can lead to recycling whatever it was that started it all in the first place.

And I hope comment #64 gets deleted. It would be akin to suggesting that Enola Gay hasn’t taught those dirty Japs a lesson. Also, Germans aren’t Huns. If anything Magyar come closest to Hun ancestry…

wow what a statement; reminds me when I hear the garbage that some people on blogs or comment section that all south asians are racist. I think every group of people has their racist jerks…no need to state all germans are like this.

I can’t believe some of you think that bk is in someway trying to hide his indian/desi heritage. He’s played all sorts of roles from every ethnicity and he embraced his gandhi role; to the point that I’m sure many americans thought he was indian. hell as a little kid, I thought he was indian, but as a kid i thought a lot of people who weren’t indian, were indian, elvis for one. This comes from living in queens, nyc and being surrounded by indians.i was disapppointed when i realized bk was half-white b/c i’d love his acting. linzi, i think ben looks like he’s an indian but then I don’t really see too much difference between indian features and white features, except indians have a varying degree of skin color.