Sikhs, Anglo-Indians and Christians are no longer cameo performers, but main characters who perform within their ethnic backdrop, Remember Mrs D’sa, the very strict but soft-hearted landlady in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anari (1959)? The film is a unique example of a beautiful relationship between Raj Kumar (Raj Kapoor), the hero, and his landlady, whom he nurses and looks after in her dying days.
Today, we see Christians and Anglo-Indians no longer as cameo performers but as characters in a film set within their ethnic backdrop. Two examples of this are Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Black’ (2005) and Guzaarish (2010).
Guzaarish is said to be a celluloid improvisation of a real life, wheelchair-bound paraplegic, Ethan Mascarenhas, in the film portrayed by Hrithik Roshan.
Maharaja features
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