The one trademark characteristic about our country is that we are enamored by the West. Be it Pitbull coming over for a concert or Tom Cruise making a quickie visit or Katy Perry tying the knot in Rajasthan, we are enchanted by everything that has anything to do with the West. So imagine the pride when Hollywood directors start casting Bollywood stars in their big ticket films over their Western counterparts. Yes, the bridge between the two film industries is being slowly but surely lessened as an increasing list of Bollywood celebs are taking to doing Hollywood films. From nobodies like Mallika Sherawat to the bankable Irrfan Khan, we take a look at some Bollywood stars that are making waves abroad:

It would be impossible to start with anybody but Anil Kapoor, (not because of all the award winning performances he has given, but because we are afraid he will unleash his yakety-yaking daughter on us if we don’t). And while he admire the work he did in the TV series 24, his list of international films includes Slumdog Millionaire, a movie based on India in which he got called on to play Amitabh Bachchan’s part, and Mission Impossible 4 : Ghost Protocol which had a blink and you’ll miss it role, so excuse us for not being too impressed. Which is why it struck us as a bit odd when in a recent interview, he contentedly announced that, “Everyone knows me in Hollywood, there is no identity crisis. 24, Slumdog and Mission Impossible 4 are like my visiting cards there”. Great to know that, so now can we hope to see you in a role that lasts longer two minutes?

And we are sure that Mallika Sherawat is reading this blog now and pouting ‘coz her name hasn’t been placed at the top in bold lettering, (that is of course if she is done following back every nobody who follows her on Twitter). So just to keep her happy, yes, Mallika Sherawat also does a lot of Hollywood films every year; in fact she has taken up permanent residence in their B- grade section. She started out with a Chinese film, The Myth and badgered every casting director she crossed paths with until five years later, she got a role in Hisss. And the five year gap wasn’t coz she didn’t get any offers; nah, every two-penny director was beating down a path to her door but she was forced to refuse them as was tied up doing some really important films like Aap Ka Suroor – the Real Love Story and Maan Gaye Mughal e Azam. She recently appeared in Politics of Love and is currently busy chewing everyone’s brains out at the Cannes Film Festival. Well, here’s to hoping that she meets lots of C – grade directors there and they take her and keep her!

Thankfully, our list of Bollywood exports isn’t confined to these two - the quiet Irrfan Khan, who lets his films do all the talking, has worked along with Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart and will soon be seen in the upcoming The Amazing Spiderman where he plays the role of Dr. Ratha. And of course, we have Freida Pinto who shot to fame overnight with Slumdog Millionaire and has gone on to star in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Immortals.

However, the Bachchan clan takes the cake when it comes to doing international films. Aishwarya Rai has appeared in a horde of English films including Provoked, The Last Legion and the Pink Panther 2. And the best part is that Amitabh Bachchan will soon be making his Hollywood debut in The Great Gatsby alongside industry stalwarts Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. (Wow, at times we almost feel sorry for Abhishek Bachchan; his entire family is making it big, in India and abroad, and he hasn’t had a hit film since Dostana.). And if Amitabh Bachchan’s first film is one alongside Leo DiCaprio, we can just imagine what the rest will be like.

So which Bollywood star do you think stands a good chance of making it big in Hollywood? Tell us in your comments!