Chris Cooper plays supporting role to John Abraham

By Subhash K. Jha Sep 3, 2007, 13:48 GMT

Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) So far Indian actors, whether it was Shabana Azmi in 'The Revenge Of The Pink Panther' or Kabir Bedi in 'Octopussy', had to be content playing secondary parts in Hollywood films. But things have changed now and Hollywood no more thinks of Bollywood as third world entertainment.

Proof of this lies in the fact that Deepa Mehta's 'Luna', which has been postponed from winter this year to spring 2008, will star our own John Abraham along with Hollywood biggies Rachel Weisz and Dustin Hoffman.

The latest Hollywood stalwart to join the 'Luna' cast is Chris Cooper, the Oscar-winning actor from 'Adaptation', who was also seen at his brilliant best in 'American Beauty', 'Syriana' and 'Sea Biscuit'.

'Chris is an actor I've admired for years,' Mehta told IANS.

'He'll play Dustin Hoffman's right-hand man. But yes, John is the male lead of 'Luna', no two ways about it,' she added.

More proof of India's growing clout in Hollywood?

Mehta offered to pull out of 'Luna'. But the producers, Warner Brothers, insisted on her donning the director's cap.

'It's true. When 'Luna' got delayed, I told my producers I'd only film it in February 2008 because I wanted to capture a particular look in Philadelphia. I did offer to pull out. But they very kindly agreed to postpone the project,' said Mehta.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service