Paz Vega acted in the high-octane Spanish flicks Lucía y el Sexo / Sex and Lucía and Hable Con Ella / Talk to Her. Naseeruddin Shah is an arthouse icon who also pulls off mainstream roles, as in Krrish. Both are superb actors. Sharat Saxena, a competent veteran, regularly plays major roles in commercial Bollywood ranging from Fanaa to Phir Hera Pheri.

Vega comes to Hollywood and is cast as a maid in an Adam Sandler flick.

Shah and Saxena hop across the pond and are cast as security guards in The Great New Wonderful:

Two Indian immigrants (Naseeruddin Shah and Sharat Saxena), neighbors as well as colleagues, work security for a visiting dignitary… Is Satish (Mr. Saxena), the stouter, less talkative of the two security guards, in such a bad mood because of Al Qaeda, or is he just generally a grouch? Is his partner and pal, Avi (Mr. Shah), obsessed with staring at women’s backsides as a result of the attack, or does he just happen to share an interest with whoever is operating the camera? [Link]

Shah previously landed a stereotypical turbaned Hindoo role in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.

How much is lack of seniority in Hollywood vs. a focus-grouped racial sieve, I can’t say, but these are the roles you get when you don’t write your own screenplays.

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