When Tom Alter passed away in September 2017, ‘blue eyes’ featured prominently in most profiles of the actor. Now, ‘blue eyes’ was not merely a physical description – it was also a code for ‘angrez’/ ‘firang’/ ‘gora’ /‘white.’ Most obituary writers juxtaposed this description with the breathless assertion that he was completely Indian – born here, lived here, worked here – and that his Urdu diction was near perfect. It was an unlikely combination, or so we were told – repeatedly.
Then there was the matter of his Bollywood career – the first half of which began with Ramanand Sagar’s Charas in 1976, and later saw him play the stock ‘white evil character’ in movie after movie even as he was occasionally given more meaty roles.
Alter’s ‘foreign origins’ are only a small part of the story. Many people of European origin have made India their home. Even two centuries ago. In fact, William Dalrymple’s White Mughals is entirely devoted to documenting that kind of historical personage. In recent times, many others of European origin, have made India their home. One of them could have become Prime Minister.
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