DIVERSITY, INCLUSION A PRIORITY: PAULA

Actor Paula Patton (right) feels Hollywood is ready to write a new chapter on diversity. The star, who has worked with actor Anil Kapoor in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, says many artists in the entertainment business in the West are now making inclusion a priority.

The colour debate has been underway for long in India and abroad. It attracted more attention with the diversity debate at the 2016 Academy Awards. Hollywood has been accused of whitewashing ethnically diverse characters, with Scarlett Johansson as Agent Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, and Tilda Swinton as The Master in Doctor Strange, being cases in point.

Patton, however, feels that Hollywood is opening up to the idea of casting different genders, and people from different races. “Many artists in this business are making this a priority. I hope that what will end up happening is that Hollywood is listening to the pulse and heartbeats of the people of the world, who are asking for this and that... Hollywood will need to respond and give the people what they want,” says Patton.

Patton likes projects that not only entertain, but also give the audience something to contemplate about, and leave a positive impact about certain issues. She adds, “I believe that entertainment and art are best when they can entertain and make an audience think and feel in ways that are surprising and new. I hope that opens up audiences’ minds to issues they may not be aware of.”

Apart from her work, Patton has been in news for her messy divorce battle with American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke. The couple share a seven-year-old son Julian Fuego.