Quite recently, Bollywood’s hot and young director Karan Johar, said in a press conference about the NRIs, “They are all Indians and in fact the NRIs are more Indian at heart than any of us in India.” It surprises little to think why Bollywood is a strong attraction for NRIs, obviously because Bollywood movies are very popular abroad. For example, Karan Johar's ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ earned around Rs. 20 crore in Indian cinema halls while it made more than Rs. 30 crore abroad.

There is a long list of actors who born and brought up in foreign lands, but tried their hands at Hindi films. So far, the actors who caught the eye of Indian audience include: Neelam, Lisa Ray, Upen Patel, Geeta Basra, Katrina Kaif and Jiah Khan. These actors have their own reasons for their inclination to Hindi cinema. “You don’t get to dance in Hollywood or British films. I have a passion for dancing. So, our films are definitely better,” says Geeta Basra. Upen Patel feels that he would not have got so much of recognition and acceptance anywhere else.

The only problem that these NRI actors face is the language problem, but they showed a great deal of interest towards learning Hindi language. Take a close look on these promising actors’ identity and career graph.

Jiah Khan

This eighteen-year old bubbling Jiah Khan made her debut with none other than Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma's ‘Nishabd’. Jiah Khan was born in New York in 1987 and brought up in London. Her mother Rabia, who is originally from Lucknow, has brought her up single-handedly. Besides acting, Jiah has a passion for singing and has had formal training in classical opera. She knows as many as five different forms of dancing. She knows how to play the piano and she recorded six pop numbers also. Not just this, Jiah has been consistently learning different styles of dancing for the last nine years. Today, she knows belly dancing, salsa, lambada, samba and Kathak. But acting, Jiah says, is her first love.

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif is one the most attractive Bollywood actresses of the recent times. Born on July 16, 1984, Katrina Kaif is one of eight siblings, all girls, from a mother who is a Caucasian of British Nationality, and a father who was formerly from Kashmir but who has since acquired British citizenship. Katrina Kaif grew up in Hawaii, but was brought up in London. She started modeling accidentally at the tender age of 14, when she was approached for a jewelry campaign. Thereafter, she continued modeling in London. Continuing to model was the reason she got her break in a Bollywood movie ‘Boom’ offered by none other than filmmaker Kaizad Gustad. She was flooded with modeling assignments the minute she set her foot on Indian soil, especially with her innocent expressive face, hour-glass figure, and drop-dead gorgeous looks. ‘Apne’, ‘Partner’ and ‘Namaste London’ are some of her released films, while ‘Balram Vs Taradas’ is her upcoming film.

Upen Patel

Upen Patel was once better known as Amrita Arora's hunky boyfriend. Today, he has made a name for himself in the fashion industry, and is one of the hottest models in town. Born in 1980 in Britain, Upen has modeled for brands such as Hugo Boss, Paul Smith and Zegna. Currently, he has bagged some big campaigns with names like Wendell Rodricks, Vikram Phadnis (with Salman Khan) and Westside (with Yuvraj Singh). Now, geared up to make his Bollywood debut with Subhash Ghai’s ‘36 China Town’, Upen is already rated among top stars. He has even signed for a four-film deal with Eros Films, which is known to be worth Rupees three crores. The first film under this deal will go on floor by June next year.

Geeta Basra

The new Bollywood damsel Geeta Basra is one of the most attractive faces that is going to be seen in Bollywood films. Born as the daughter of the emigrant Punjabi parents in London, Geeta Basra always dreamt of Bollywood stardom. She is an ardent fan of Madhuri Dixit for many years and performing Madhuri numbers. Geeta Basra's desire for Bollywood kept growing, and at the age of seventeen, she came to Mumbai and joined the Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting school. She returned to London after taking her acting lessons. She was introduced to Aditya Datt, the director of her debut film ‘Dil Diya Hai’. However, for some reason the movie got rejected on the very day of its release. But, Geeta Basra did not have to end up there with her dreams. She has already signed a contract with Shyam Bajaj's ‘The Train’. She still dreams that she cannot be Madhuri Dixit with one film and there is a long way to go before she accomplish her dream.

Lisa Ray

Born on April 4, 1972, Lisa Ray is a Canadian actress and former fashion model. She grew up in Toronto, as the daughter of a Bengali father and a Polish mother. Ray started her modeling career at the age of 16 and was the brand ambassador for Lakme cosmetics in India. She did numerous endorsements for various Indian companies before becoming involved in films. She began her acting career with the Bollywood film ‘Kasoor’in 2001 opposite Aftab Shivdasani. She subsequently starred as the female lead of Canadian director Deepa Mehta’s romantic Indian-Canadian romp, ‘Bollywood/Hollywood’ in 2002. In 2005, she worked again with Mehta in the latter's most recent film ‘Water’. Although she has been living in Los Angeles and pursuing acting career there, she aspires to be always a part of Hindi films.