Simi Garewal, (known in the West as the courtesan Kamala in Conrad Rooks’ Siddhartha, 1972) currently hosts India’s Most Desirable on News Corp.’s Star network channel Star One. Lady Gaga was a guest, in her first appearance on an Indian talk show, “I have seen a few Bollywood films and I love how theatrical they are, and that’s my favorite part – that they are so surreal and full of fantasy.”
Recorded in Singapore, Gaga dressed in black with a neon green hair-do, fashion icon Lady Gaga complimented Garewal – the veteran Bollywood actress turned TV presenter who usually dresses in white — for her fashion sense, “You are so stunningly gorgeous. We all gasped when you walked in.” Gaga may visit India as early as October for her first concert. She has previously admitted to loving Indian food and culture.
In the meantime, Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan has approached her to sing a song for his next home production Ra One. This would not be unprecendented: Snoop Dogg, recorded Indian’s #1 Hit, as recently as 2008, Singh is Kingg.
What this means:
India’s movie and entertainment culture is sampling the west in a bigger way, driven now by the appetites of its audiences to experience the West beyond simply an exotic venues in its movies. After the 1960’s and the Beatles’ fascination with yoga, sitars and marijuana, India had been absent on the global pop music until just five years ago. The trend is now irreversible.
