‘XXX Trailer Out….But Where Is Deepika Padukone???!!!”

The eagerly awaited trailer of XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage  shows very little of our own Deepika Padukone.

The entire trailer  is about Vin Diesel ,and not much else.  This is a made-to-order Diesel vehicle, all engines revved up. And, going by the trailer, Deepika is not the main lead opposite Disel.

Nina  Dobrev is. At least Ms Dobrev seems to have more footage in the trailer .She is also shown to share some intimate moments with her all-pervasive costar.Deepika has one shot all to herself while for the rest of the trailer she is shown in  a fleeting shot  as part of Diesel’s team.

That’s it.

Deepika , though had it coming.

A filmmaker who has worked closely with her wonders, “What did she expect? This is a Vin Diesel film. Fans go to his films to see him and his stunts. Deepika ko ek-a-ek Hollywood ka nasha chhad gaya hai(she has suddenly become obsessed with Hollywood). She is been wrongly advised about the global market and her potential as an international star.She will soon realize  Hollywood has no prominent space for Asian actors. Even Mr Amitabh Bachchan had only a cameo to perform in the Great Gatsby.”

Back to the trailer, it opens with ‘handler’ Samuel L Jackson announcing how it’s believed that the world is a lot safer now than it used to be.(Really?!).

“Do you feel safe?” Jackson asks. Before we can answer with a  volley of expletives,we are introduced toXander and his new army of recruits who have to take on a villain named  Xiang(Donnie Yeh).

Clearly the film’s main conflict will converge on Vin Deisel and Donnie. The rest are props at the most.Given the rather grim space-situation in Hollywood Deepika has two options.  She can either slot herself in the West as the exotic Sanjay Leela Bhansali beauty. Or like Priyanka Chopra she can try to be one of the Hollywood actresses. The latter option is  tough.

Says a major filmmaker, “Deepika has very distinctly Indian looks whereas Priyanka looks more cosmopolitan. It’d be easier for Priyanka to play a culture-blind characters. Deepika’s personality is harder to assimilate into the global perspective.”