Global gateway

HOLLYWOOD REEL

This year, the Toronto International Film Festival resembled a celluloid fantasyland, catering to cinema junkies, party hoppers, producers, publicists and agents.

Despite the hype and the frenzy associated with the festival, three Indian faces "" Mallika Sherawat, Nandana Sen and Lisa Ray "" were brightly lit in the 'Indian summer' sun of Toronto.

Emerging from a limo at Sutton Place a confident and ravishing Mallika Sherawat, was accompanied by the best known Chinese actor in the world, Jackie Chan. Mallika's first international feature, The Myth, was enthusiastically received at its Toronto premiere.

Chan plays an ancient Chinese general reincarnated as a modern-age archaeologist and Mallika is one of his two love interests. Mallika plays an Indian princess who saves Jackie by accident from the bad guys and ends up falling in love with him. "I did all my stunts on my own and I am very proud to say that," said Mallika.

Mallika claimed that she was constantly asked by Indian fans what it was like kissing Jackie. She said: "There is no kissing in a Jackie Chan movie." On her future plans she added: "Now that a new market is opening up, I would like to be a part of global cinema."

In another part of town, the soft-spoken and dreamy-eyed Nandana Sen arrived at the after-party for the premiere of Joseph Costello's The War Within at Club Monaco Lounge.

The War Within is the story of a Pakistani-born, western-educated engineer who becomes radicalised by his arrest and brutal imprisonment. Scarred in every way, he arrives in the United States to seek revenge and Nandana plays a Muslim Arab-American girl torn between her roots and the events after 9/11.

At the after-party, the glowing Nandana Sen (daughter of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen) revealed: "It was the most challenging role of my career. It's a film and character that opposes religious fanaticism." Nandana, who played Rani Mukherjee's sister in Black, will appear next as Salman Khan's fiancee in Willard Carroll's Marigold.

Sipping tea at the Four Seasons Hotel was a young woman with disarming laughter in her light green eyes and a touch of exoticism in her warm, auburn hair.

Constantly being chased by the paparazzi, Lisa Ray was the talk of the festival especially since she had home ground advantage. Born to a Polish mother and a Bengali father, Ray grew up in Toronto.

She also played the lead in Deepa Mehta's Water. Following the premiere of Water, Ray's photographs were splashed on the front pages of all the Canadian papers.

This is the first Hindi language film being distributed worldwide by Fox Searchlight Pictures. "It has been closed in every territory, except India. I hope Water gets a proper release in the country of its origin when it releases worldwide in November," said Ray.

For a woman who calls three countries home, Ray is now busy choosing between the many scripts being thrust at her by Hollywood producers for her next international celluloid venture.

Feeling a little sleep-deprived but better informed about the world of cinema as I left Toronto, I spotted an outsized poster right above the railway station featuring the most prominent Indian face in north America, Aishwarya Rai.

I boarded my train knowing that Indian stars were soon going to conquer the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.

The writer is the President and CEO of Lall Entertainment and can be contacted at lallentertainment@hotmail.com