People from North East India have never really featured prominently in mainstream Bollywood movies. Because apparently, "They don't look Indian enough." So, you'd think that a biopic on legendary Manipuri boxer Mary Kom, a five-time World Champion and an Olympic medal winner, would be the perfect opportunity to introduce a fresh face from Manipur to Bollywood, right? It could start a trend that would lead to a more equitable representation of actors from the North East in popular cinema.

Instead, they opted for a special effects solution from Shah Rukh Khan's visual effects studio, Red Chillies VFX.
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But why go through all that trouble? Why not pick an actress from the North East?

How about Geetanjali Thapa? The Sikkim-born actress just won a National Award for her recent film Liar’s Dice. In 2013, her film Monsoon Shootout was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. And she'll soon be seen opposite Emraan Hashmi in Oscar-winning film maker Danis Tanovic's film White Lies.