Thai actors apologise for Bollywood charades clip

A short clip of two popular Thai boys’ love actors playing a word-guessing game on a talk show has drawn heavy criticism in India, after it was widely shared online there.

The exchange took place on an Oct 2 episode of The Celebrities, hosted by Yu Katanyu Swangsri, featuring “Gemini” Norawit Titicharoenrak and “Fourth” Nattawat Jirochtikul.

In the game, Fourth was blindfolded while Gemini tried to get him to guess the phrase “Bollywood Hero” without saying it directly. Fourth acted out clues by shaking his head, moving his neck, spreading his arms and making exaggerated body movements. He also sang Dhoom Machale, a popular Bollywood song. Gemini laughed and clapped along.

Many Indian viewers and fans of Indian descent were angered by the segment. Several said the gestures were comic movements passed off as Indian dancing, rather than a true portrayal of a Bollywood hero.

Mainstream Indian media including The Times of India and the Hindustan Times also covered the topic.

Others online defended the pair, saying it was only a guessing game and that Fourth was acting out what he understood of Bollywood to get the answer. They said there was no intention to disrespect Indian culture or to be racist, and that Gemini was laughing at his friend’s effort and silly movements, not at Indians.

As of Oct 9, both actors had posted apologies on their social media accounts. They said they had no intention of making fun of Indian culture. They added that they would learn from the incident and be more careful in future.

Source – Bangkok News