Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan are not great actors, says the New York Times.

That Aishwarya Rai is a less than mediocre actress is known to all serious Bollywood fans. Do we need the New York Times to tell us that?

Hrithik Roshan is a few shades better than Aishwarya Rai.

But to be fair to Aishwarya and Hrithik, most Indian stars including Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and a lot many others are awful at their job. They wouldn’t recognize good acting if it hit them on their face.

The few Indian stars who can act are Aamir Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Nana Patekar, Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Pasupathy, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna.

Reviewing Jodhaa Akbar in the Saturday’s edition, the NYT, like everyone else, says the film is too long:

Forging a political alliance, Akbar marries Jodhaa, a Rajput princess (a Hindu), and then sets out to win her heart. These royals are played by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, two rather astonishing specimens of human beauty. Neither is a great actor (emphasis added).