Author Salman Rushdie is no stranger to tinsel town. He has not only dabbled in writing scripts (namely “Midnight’s Children” where he was also the narrator), appearing as himself, and acting, he dated quite a few leading ladies (like Olivia Wilde, Riya Sen etc.), much younger in age and successful in their careers. Although his IMDb bio starts with mentioning him as the ex-husband of Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, Rushdie’s appearances as an actor are quite remarkable on their own without the mention of his romantic entanglements with celebs. As the Booker Prize winner recovers from the vicious attack of August 12, we offer you an assortment of 5 films/TV shows/music videos where Rushdie wore the actor’s hat.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
In Bridget Jones’s Diary, a clueless Bridget (Renee Zellweger) meets Salman Rushdie at a book launch where she is tasked with introducing the author. In an attempt to enter into a scintillating conversation with Rushdie, perhaps as a means of impressing either Marc Darcy (Colin Firth) or Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), one can never be too certain, she instead asks for directions to the loo.
She further embarrasses herself when introducing the “Greatest book of our time,” by a relatively unknown author in front of a visibly offended Rushdie.
U2 - The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2000)
Rushdie's novel “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” contains lyrics for a song of the same name. In the novel, the fictional character Ormus Cama writes the lyrics as a lamentation for his lover, Vina Apsara. After completing the novel, Rushdie sent a copy of the manuscript to U2 lead vocalist Bono and asked him to set the song lyrics to music. The song appears in the 2000 film “The Million Dollar Hotel,” by three time Oscar nominated German director Wim Wenders who also directed the music video. Rushdie appears in the video, which was shot in Dublin, Ireland.
Scarlett Johansson - Falling Down (2009)
Actor Scarlett Johansson apparently had a full-blown alternative career as a singer with two albums-- “Anywhere I Lay My Head” (2008) and Break up (2009) -- and four EPs (2008-2018). Her song “Falling Down” features Rushdie in an intimate scene nuzzling her neck.
Then She Found Me (2007)
In this directorial debut by actor Helen Hunt, Rushdie plays Dr. Masani, a gynecologist with a quirky sense of humour. This is another Collin Firth starrer that puts Rushdie’s acting prowess to test, especially since he very rarely appears as anyone other than himself.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2017)
The critically acclaimed HBO sitcom about a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles has been running since 2000. Rushdie appears in season 9 after the show’s creator/lead gets “fatwa’d” by the Ayatollah. Larry had promoted his plans to make a Broadway musical about Rushdie called “Fatwa” on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, which angered the supreme leader of Iran. Rushdie later encourages Larry to embrace the sexual frisson that a fatwa provides, and wingmans him to win over Elizabeth Banks.